✿“well… in that case…” martel lowered herself, taking a knee in front of the girl with an unsteadied shifting of her weight. some talks were better to have face-to-face. coco’s love earned no question nor doubt, but such worries were only signs of consideration. however, fretting would do the girl no good. instead, martel presented the options:
“… i see two options: you leave the snugstone here where you found it, or you hold onto it in the meanwhile. if you let it stay here, you risk someone unfamiliar with the item taking it and claiming it as their own… although perhaps it’s owner will find it here later. however, we don’t know if that’ll happen. if you hold onto it for now, you could always keep it safe in your possession as you search for its owner later.”
there is a chance the contraption would be found if left here, but… somehow martel didn’t put much faith in that option. it felt better for coco to hold onto it. but coco is young, she’s at an age where she needs to take authority and decide her own courses of action and navigate their pros and cons.
the elder wrapped her hands around the girls’ as small digits cling to the stone protectively.
“i can’t say whether or not this snugstone is yours, but i can say that you’ll make a wise decision. give it some consideration.”
it’s a bit disheartening, that martel cannot provide a proper answer for her. but then again, coco ought to know better than to expect her to. she can’t quite muster the strength to look her in the eyes, instead casting her gaze to the ground in thought.
“ then... then i want to keep it, ” not as her own, but as martel suggested, “ for now-- j-just in case, i... i’ll look after it in the meantime. ” she echoes the words said to her to help assure her further. saying them herself makes her feel a little better. the warmth of the stone in her hands feels a little more earned in some regard. it isn’t hers-- it couldn’t be hers, no matter how selfishly she wishes it was. coco knows what happened to hers. she couldn’t bear to think it could be the same, not after what they did with it.
she holds the stone close, her hands squeezing around it. no matter how tight her grip, it doesn’t burn, just as she was told. it’s amazing. to think such a thing could be so carefully crafted. to think that someone would be so meticulous when designing it. coco doesn’t feel like she’s quite there yet. she’s yet to think of consequences so thoroughly. if she did, just how many things could have been avoided...? but that thought is shoved aside, quite quickly too.
“ oh, miss martel, i’m so sorry--! ” coco clumsily tucks the contraption away in the pouch beneath her cloak. “ i-i was so caught up in finding the snugstone... i never got to ask if you found anything of yours here! have you? do you need help looking? ”
