The Halcyon Girl

"No." She squeezed a marshmallow in her hand, but when she opened her fist, it had turned into rose petals. She threw them at the ground and stood up. "Like I said. You deserve better. And I don't belong here anymore."

She took a breath and knelt to pick up the bowl and gather the marshmallows. "I'm sorry. I should just go. You deserve a fresh start." She squeezed her eyes shut for half a second to keep the tears back. "And someone better than me."

"Because you didn't want me to die," she snapped. "I don't remember exactly. I just remember that it was really nice of you."

"Ah. Interesting." She Found a marshmallow and turned it over in her hands. "You gave me lerasium once," she blurted.

"Knowing you? Definitely a concern." She smiled. "Lerasium? Do you remember lerasium?"

"So you got all glow-ey?" Rue. She didn't remember Rue. She must be new. Well, scud.

"Oh. that makes more sense." She twisted her fingers. "So when did you get all glow-ey?"

"...Lerac. Tried to kill you?"

"Lerac," she repeated, latching to that fragment of the past. "So he's not around here?"

"Wow. I've missed a lot." She had. She'd missed a lot. Too much. She didn't belong here anymore. The one place she'd thought she'd always be able to return to--- the one person she'd thought she could always return to--- no longer needed her. They didn't even want her anymore. "I guess I should just go."

She took a deep breath. "Ah. I'm guessing you won't remember Karden either. So what about the clinic do you know? What's happened since you've been here?"

"Ah. That makes sense." She kicked some of the marshmallows with her foot. "What about the Tower of Genjhei? Do you remember that?"

"Uh... so you don't remember me. What do you remember?"

She scrambled to her feet, knocking over her marshmallow bowl. She swore under her breath. She'd have to pick those up later. "Yeah. Sure. So what's up?" Don't focus on his face. Focus on that bookshelf. Or something else.

Haly curled up in a little nook in the library with a bowl of marshmallows, trying to forget everything that had happened in the past day and go back to being okay. Well, not okay. Just less pain-y. She wished she could go back to yesterday, when all she'd had to deal with was a dull ache in her chest. But now she had to accept that he'd moved on. She'd never thought he'd just move on. It's been years, at least for you, she reminded herself. What did you expect, you idiot? She shoved more marshmallows into her mouth. @The Aspiring Archivist

She couldn't finish the conversation any more than she already had, so she walked away through the wall.

"Yeah. It's okay. Go ahead." She tried to smile.

She nodded. "Yeah. All right. See you. I guess."

Haly bit her lip. "Yeah. I get that." Her insides felt all shriveled up. She'd looked forward to this-- or at least imagined it-- for years now. And now she had nothing to look forward to. He was gone. She had to admit that. The TAAron she knew and loved was gone. That was okay. That was fine. She could deal with this. No. She couldn't. But she was ignoring that for now. "What's been going on recently?"

"Ah. I... I guess I should go then." She scuffed her shoe on the floor, both hoping he's ask her to stay and at the same time desperately needing to escape. "I didn't come here. I just appeared."