“Huh..?” He’s tired - in pain, of some kind, Athena can tell, and it makes her own heart ache. She doesn’t quite understand why - why this man spoke to her to ask her to forget him, why he let her hear the voice of his heart (she tells herself he didn’t, couldn’t, have known, but it is a poor explanation to her aching ears).
“Why would I do that..? Hey, are you feeling okay? You sound really awful.” The words may be harsh, but her eyes are lit with concern.
❝ i can’t force you, naturally. ❞ the tone is not accusatory or judging, only altogether heavy. it would be too much to bother to explain to someone who held no understanding.
❝ sounding awful is only fitting. i wouldn’t worry yourself. ❞ the wryness of his self-deprecation burns, to a point where he can taste his most intimate displeasure with his own existence. in a lost stupor, he assumes it normal. perhaps, he thought it to suit all angels.
after all, none have ever known angels to rejoice outside of stories.











