hugs were a rarity for schnee. a warm embrace such as this , made her trembling heart feel at ease. quieting the sorrow for her lost family members for the moment as she listened to babe’s breath within her cradled arms. the soft motion to her back pulled her back from the stretch of grief to reality. breaking the hold , she wiped her puffy face , reddened by the constant stream of tears. swallowing back bile that built up in her throat she smiled at noelle who slept soundly. ❛ i … want to stop being scared. i just don’t want to hurt her. ❜ i don’t want her to suffer through a childhood like mine : alone , disparity of love , &. outlandish expectations. ❛ thank you , nora. ❜ sniffing , she put the baby back in her bed &. sighed. even with her nap earlier , exhaustion clung to her like a second skin.
❛ perhaps , we can call it a day ? ❜ walking to the kitchen to unravel herself for the night. hands reached for teapot as she began to go through the motions for tea. setting out one mug , she turned around to gaze upon the ginger who had helped her with overflowing kindness. ❛ would you like a cup of tea ? ——— i don’t know if i could offer you anything in return for everything you’ve done. ❜ rummaging through cabinet of an assortment of loose leaves from klein , vocals were finally infused with a bit of cheer. ❛ i have raspberry hibiscus , chamomile lavender , lemon ginger , &. blueberry vanilla. ❜ it was best if she chose the relaxing one rather than a more pungent flavor. dropping that in the cup , weiss waited for the answer to her invitation. back against counter , she leaned shoulders dropping. scratching at her cheek , eyes darted to floor. ❛ i’m embarrassed at my behavior … it was out of hand. ❜
nora wasn’t too great at offering words of comfort, instead preferring to go the physical route (a hug, more often than anything else) most of the time, and it seemed to be working rather well. she hadn’t quite expected weiss to be the one to break away first, but it was neither here nor there. as long as she felt better afterward, was all that mattered to nora. listening intently, she smiled at the other’s resolve, glad that she managed to reach it all on her own. “you don’t need to thank me, but i do appreciate it.” she tried her best to be comforting, giving weiss another quick hug once noelle was back in bed. it was easier to give a gentle squeeze of reassurance once neither of them was holding the child. once she let go again, she double checked on noelle out of habit at this point, smiling down at the sleeping baby.
“i don’t think i’d mind calling it a day at this point.” she didn’t mind watching noelle, not one bit, but children in general could exhaust just about anyone after a while. when weiss started digging through her cabinet, she was rather curious until she saw the teapot. tea sounded lovely right now. “yes, please!” she chirped eagerly, not having had the chance to really sit down and have a cup of tea in what had felt like forever. “um... blueberry vanilla! that sounds wonderful. by the way, the bakery has a few brands of tea in stock, and we get new shipments at the end of every month, so if you want a discount, let me know. they sell out pretty fast, though...” she figured it didn’t hurt to offer, though the brands they sold were rather popular, so it was also a good idea to let her know in advance. nora raised her eyebrow, a bit confused by the sudden confession. “what behavior do you have to be embarrassed of? even if it was out of hand, it’s back... in hand now.” she scrunched up her face as soon as she finished her sentence. “that didn’t quite work like i thought it would. you get my point, though.”