I have a question for Amata and Winona: what's your favorite thing about the other? How much has it changed over the years?
Winona: My favorite thing about Amata?
Amata, snickering playfully: I bet it’s a long list.
Winona, smirking back in challenge: Anyway, my favorite thing about Amata--... well, there’s a lot. I love how brave she is, how she won’t take no for an answer. She’s independent, a forward thinker, and I like how she’s the one person who will always just ‘get it done’. She doesn’t rely on anyone else.
Amata, blushing through a sheepish grin: God, stooop, I change my mind, this is really embarrassing!
Winona: Hey, don’t leave me hanging! C’mon, tell me what you like about me. Cater to my ego, I deserve it for putting up with you!
Amata, laughing: Alright, fine, but you asked for it! My ultimate favorite thing about Winona is tied into her creativity and her diplomacy. She’s constantly coming up with new ideas and inventions--and I admire how nothing seems to rattle her. She just takes a deep breath, says ‘I got this’, and moves on. As for how our friendship’s changed--... it’s hard to put into words. It’s... mature? I guess?
Winona, nodding: Yeah, yeah, I get what you mean.
Amata: I’m seriously glad you didn’t say your favorite thing about me was my vocabulary.
Winona, grinning through a laugh: The maturity thing, though? Yeah, our friendship’s matured with us. When we were kids there was trust and loyalty and whatever, but trust back then is keeping each other’s secrets. Now, it’s--... it’s something else. She could tell me the craziest, most unbelievable thing and I wouldn’t doubt her for a second. Our support of each other has become more mindful and honest, too. Like, when you’re young you think supporting a friend is positive and non-questioning even if you disagree with their decisions, of if they’re self-destructive.
Amata: That’s exactly what I meant, trying to put it into words. It doesn’t register to you that support of a friend might also mean having to stop them from themselves. Having to tell them “hey that’s not a good idea”. As we’ve grown we’ve realized that support sometimes means that you have to tell the other person the hard truth, that you have to shine a light on the bad and that it’s never with malicious intent. You only ever want to see the other person grow. It’s also really hard to be away from each other, sometimes. She’s seriously like my other half, I don’t know what I’d do without her.
Winona, an arm around Amata’s waist and her head on her shoulder: My inventions probably would’ve killed me half a dozen times if you weren’t around.
Amata, laughing gleefully in a returning embrace: You’re the crazed inventor and I’m the one with the fire extinguisher, that’s how this friendship works!
(thanks for the question, doll, and I hope you enjoy the long read! <3)
