Acting the role of kind lover ought to make her stiff, but her thoughts are overtaken by an obsessive vigilance and protective instinct - these things drown out all else. She may be infecting Lux with her paranoia, she knows. She’s thinking of it constantly, that she is putting the fear of the dark in this woman. Worse, when it was Irelia’s work that was meant to allow others to not be afraid of the dark.
“Why don’t we call a taxi?” If they called one on the right street, the chances of trouble were minimal. While she had worried about cars and the like in certain scenarios, relying on randomness was an actually effective strategy in this situation. It would be hard to force Irelia into a rigged taxi, after all. Her hand, intertwined with Lux’s, squeezes back reassuringly as her thumb rubs up and down, before she stops briefly. Anxiety was natural, of course.
Leaning in, she turns and wraps her other arm around Lux’s shoulder. From a distance, it might appear as though she were whispering sweet nothings and flirting openly, but all she whispers are reassurances.
“It’s okay to be scared. You don’t need to take the whole burden onto your shoulders. You are my friend. I will protect you. You’re safe with me. Repeat it back to me Luxanna - You’re safe with me. I will tear this city apart to keep you safe.” She suspects that her ‘reassuring’ words are not so reassuring after all, but it is all she can offer. She is a fighter at her core, a wardog with no home, and she is at a loss as to how to be ‘gentle’. Her sincerity is her weakness, she can only offer her honest intentions.
But with those intentions, her hand brushes against Lux’s cheek and she levels a serious, sincere gaze upon her friend. “It will be okay. I will not let you down.” And having said so, she turns and hails a taxi, whistling sharply as they turn towards a more congested street. Dragging Lux along at her own pace, Irelia guides them into a cab, passing a few bills forward and gesturing for Lux to offer an address.
Her hand never leaves Lux’s, even clambering into the taxi.
Her previous daze with the situation really was coming to catch up on her, the calm exterior was merely that, and her heart pounded as she couldn’t help but glance around nervously. though the hand she was gripping did offer some grounding, and she felt herself step away from being overly panicked, enough that she felt she could carry off the charade they needed to pull to survive this little meeting.
She nods her head at the other’s words, trying to pull a smile but it doesn’t reach her eyes. “that sounds like a good idea.” she agrees, simply because even in her panic she still trusts the other’s decisions to get them out of here safely. though, even if her own car was not safe, she can see how taking a taxi would be safer than walking.
she’s, admittedly, a little caught off guard by the arm wrapping around her, mostly because she was doing her best to keep her attention on their surroundings, trying to be as vigilant as possible. yet, with only a small stumble of her feet and the smallest moment of a flinch of surprise she quickly relaxes against the other, trying to appear as if this were natural. it was not that she was not used to how irelia seemed to be rather hands on, yet it was not quite to this level thus far. it’s nothing she couldn’t deal with however.
and as she started speaking, she felt less panicked -- more thankful for the reassurance. she can feel herself relax a bit more, the tension in her back and muscles - held taught as if ready to run at the slightest of wrong looks from someone passing by, released their tension. “ i am safe with you.” she repeats back as asked, muttering it not once but twice, finding herself more assured with each utterance. though odd the words in some cases -- the other didn’t need to tear apart the city after all... it was genuine, which she could sense, and that was all she needed. “ thank you.” she mumbles out softly, offering a small, shakier yet more genuine smile before they were turning towards the taxi.
it was quick work for her to ramble off an address, a house or two up from her own residence, but she felt it was safer to give a close enough but not quite address, just in case. it would only take mere seconds for them to reach her apartment block from there anyway. from there it was a quick and mostly quiet drive. lux doing her best to take in the taxi driver’s appearance, qualifications -- try to commit it to memory should it be necessary.
she holds back the temptation, as well, to call for the towing company or contact her family, lest it either give away details that could lead to all of them being compromised or the like, instead reserving that for when they got inside. the actual car ride didn’t tall all too long, fingers still intertwined tightly with the other’s - tho comparatively less constricting than before.
even as they arrived to their destination, and she spoke a quiet thanks to the taxi driver, their hands remained joined, proving helpful as she gave the other a small tug. “ my place is just over there, i thought it would be a little safer if i didn’t give out my exact address, just in case.”
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