@khoihuwi (lena)
“ dunno ‘bout unreasonable, love, but don’t know many people less selfish than you. ‘n i ain’t sure you’ve got a cruel bone in your body. “
she offers a small smile, eyes hesitant despite the warmth of her expression; worried about saying something wrong, worried about not being enough to provide whatever reassurance the other woman needs.
“ it was bad, yeah? after overwatch fell apart….. wherever you were after that, whatever you did- i know you were just tryin to help people. bein alone for so long is hard enough. ya don’t need to punish yourself even more. “
she knows better than anyone the pain of isolation. and the pain of blaming oneself for every life that couldn’t be saved. she just wishes she could take that pain from lucretia.
“you would be surprised,” murmurs the woman. years of self-exile and isolation had aged lucretia drastically; between her stress and the prototype staff, she looks every bit the seven years since overwatch’s disbandment. it had also taken a toll on her mentally, emotionally. but that, perhaps, is for another day. “the things i’ve done to come this far, lena, was...”
she didn’t want to think about it. she COULDN’T think about it. all the pain, all the lives she’d failed to save. her hands tremble as she clings to the staff. searching for its strength, its warmth, its protection. all those years, melded into one terrible, wonderful weapon.
“i went home,” she finally replies, smiling over at the other girl. “i went as far as i could with what limited resources i had. several governments wanted to hire me, but we-- we know what they would have done with my research. the past seven years have been difficult, lena, but i’ve been doing them for us. for those we’ve lost. for those we will SAVE in the future.”
