without a second thought she gave her answer. ‘ COMPASSION !! ‘ of course there were other things, morals, ethics but ( c o m p a s s i on ) had been the number ONE thing. standing on wobbly feet she held her hands, clasped over her heart, she FELT his struggle in her heart; the struggle of good & evil.
with tears in her eyes she reached out to him, a GESTURE of friendship. no one need EVER know this happened…not the mews..NO ONE. “…you have that, pai. i-i can tell..i can see it..you CARE so much for your people…” she edged closer to him each step was without threat. “ …i-i’m so SO sorry for what happened..and i’m sorry YOU have to fight..”
she was there now, in front of him. he COULD kill her & be done with it, but she trusted him. holding out her arm; she smiled. a smile that held so much UNDERSTANDING & TRUST, a smile that was accompanied by t e a r s good tears though.
‘ lets be friends. pai-san. even if it’s just for today..JUST right now..lets be friends..”
His free hand clenched at his side, gaze wavering slightly as he stared at her; listening. Listening to her words-- He wanted to spat out ‘foolish’ at her, like he usually would to the mews and their incessant words of HOPE, but there was a part of him...deep down...that... That felt she was right. It caused him to grit his teeth, to feel a STINGING PAIN in his chest: How could he doubt his mission? His cause? No, it wasn’t doubt... His... COMPASSION for his people was the very thing she was talking about.
“ I don’t need you’re PITY-- ”
The words were harsh, but they caught in his throat on the way out. His fist was clenched so tight he knew his nails must be puncturing his palm; but he didn’t care. She was right there-- So close... It would be so easy to k i l l her right then. He should do it: For his people...right? For once Pai didn’t have an answer. It felt...wrong. Wrong to kill her like this. His gaze shifted away from her, off to the side, and he raised his fan.
“ ...No more senseless deaths. ”
With those words his fan disappeared: He would not kill her. Not right then, it no longer felt right-- He couldn’t do it, but that didn’t mean they would no longer be enemies; just, for the moment, the fight was done. No more words formed on his lips and his eyes remained focused AWAY from her face; those tears were unbearable for some reason, and her smile... THAT was what made his heart sting.