who: @zaidhassani where: mountainside / yara's cabin
The cabin smelled faintly of lemon balm and something warm like cinnamon, though Yara couldn’t quite remember what she’d last burned in the little ceramic dish by the door. She opened it before he had the chance to knock again, pulling her sleeves down over her hands like it might make her look a little less worn around the edges. "Sorry." she said, voice soft but steady. "I really didn’t mean to switch things around on you last minute. Emily’s been running warm all day, and I just… didn’t want to drag her out in the cold." There was a line of tension between her brows, and the kind of tired that no amount of sleep could fix clung to her face, but she still smiled. "Thanks for coming all the way out here. Sorry for the mess ⎯ " God, she needed to stop apologising over things that were out of her control, didn't she?
She stepped aside to let him in, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as she glanced toward the back room. "She’s finally down now, so we’ve got some quiet. For however long that lasts." Her tone held a tired kind of humor, the kind only people who’d tiptoed through naptimes and sick toddlers understood. The space around them was small, but warm; a little cluttered, with things that didn't belong to her. Old memories, of a life that should have been. She tried to ignore the boots by the door, and the basket of toys half-tucked under the couch. "I made tea." Yara added after a second, because it felt like something you said when words ran short. "Or I can make coffee if you need something stronger."
