“You know me, I have a way with words,” she gives her a little wink, teasing her. If he can’t get her to share her ill feelings with him, then maybe he can annoy them out of her. For a few moments, he just watches her, dark brown eyes over her body as she focuses her attention at the very sky over their heads. Anton turns towards it as well and slowly, without neither invitation nor self-awareness, lies next to Amelia, face-up towards the stars and the clouds. It takes him a bit longer to realize what she was talking about, but when he does, he immediately tries to rally against her thoughts, to somehow defend the other side of the argument, but nothing comes out, no thought, no words, just a general feeling of bliss, or is it apathy, as lies there, a hand on the back of his head, the other on his chest, mesmerized by the freedom, the vastness, before him. Anton has never considered himself a significant cog in the machine, and he never intends to, already satisfied with just getting his few crumbles, pieces, of good times. “Well, I mean, it may not be perfect, but I don’t know…” He doesn’t notice himself shrugging, making a face. “It just feels perfect. This moment. Here. Now. Us.” He pauses as his eyes squint towards a lone star. Did he chance upon a falling one? Or was it just wishful thinking? “Lying here? With you? I wouldn’t trade this for the world, Ames.” Moments of genuine peace, far from the chaos of his past and present, without the need to make such a great effort to reach it… Anton rarely gets such opportunities. He closes his eyes, heaving a delighted sigh, as his lips curl into a warm smile.
Amelia takes her eyes away from the starry night just as Anton sets his own gaze on the spectacle above them. It had been one of the perks of being forced to live in campus, she’d had to admit as much after a couple of weeks of this never-ending hell. The sky was darker and hence brighter than in Athens. Here in their own particular corner of the world, Artemis’ kingdom shone and she loved and hated her for it. Anton settles down beside her and Amelia finds herself gazing with curiosity in her eyes– such a carefree persona, he seemed to be... and yet he was not. The girl had prepared her shield for the arguments that always came in one of their conversations as if he’d convinced himself it was a duty of his to talk back and contradict and show the never-ending source of look on the bright side! Amelia truly didn’t know what it was that drove him to sit down and listen to her brood time and time again, didn’t know what it was that made him walk over tonight and lie down. Not that she was exactly complaining about it.
She's not prepared for the words that come out of his mouth next, they throw her into an emotional crossroad she can barely make sense of it all– even after three years of uninterrupted meditation. They sound familiar and warm, and come from a figure that is not so distant from those two things either. Out of a book, that’s what they sound like... and she understands them. The simplicity of the moment, the quiet of their surroundings, the moonlight and the shooting stars... the peace– even if peace has always felt alien in her body. To her credit, Amelia gives an incredulous chuckle at the last statement– surely he would trade it for a similar moment with other people. Surely. But the way he smiles and gives that sigh that is full of warmth and content in the chilly night... She hates it. Hates how he’s able to feel like that, to dismiss the constant tragedy that composes their lives, to ignore the knowledge of being nothing but a pawn in a game as old as time. The girl bites down on her bottom lip, threatening to draw blood as her gaze turns towards the sky again and the bright bright moon that does not smile, but instead smirks as if it knows.