@broughtflowers : ❛ do not go far from me. if we are out of earshot, you are too far from me. ❜
molly nods, resisting the instinctual urge to back up when she comes into his space. not forcefully, of course. nothing about her has ever been forceful. he understands that a bit better. the way they met. the circumstances that led to meeting on that road were abnormal. it was out of her control & he’s been working to chip away at the fear caked into the gaps of his ribs, slowly but surely stripping away the nightmarish image that haunts him.
❛ i won’t. i promise, ❜ he says softly, in that way he knows brings pain to these people’s eyes. mollymauk had never been so serious. always flamboyant & blasé about possible dangers. he cared, of course. didn’t intentionally rush into danger or search for trouble, but the tiefling held recklessness & risk in both hands. anything could happen. anything did happen. & that was back then, when they were all still a fledgeling team of misfits. not like anything now. the more polished group with defined roles & skillsets that far outpaced his own ceiling. molly hasn’t had the luxury of a few months to acclimate to body. even if his body remembers, his mind is stronger this time. he worries too much. gets stuck in his own head & it makes his body stutter.
molly’s always had the burden of his own mortality lining his stomach. it’s another thing entirely to take caution with him into a dungeon instead of following it to the longer, more winding paths that steered clear of danger. ❛ stay in the back. step into the ethereal plane if i need to get away. stand clear of spells, use potions if i need them. you’ve all done a remarkable job preparing me. ❜
in convincing him as well. molly had been the one to ask for the chance to join them, but even he remained reticent about plunging into danger. how many did he have left ? it’s less terrifying to consider his life as a set of unknown changes than to think about the infinite.
he smiles. ❛ i won’t be a burden. ❜
CRITICAL ROLE : accepting