She would always hate herself. It didn’t matter what he thought. Since the day she was born it was a festering wound. All she wanted was to be alone, that is, until he came along. But it doesn’t make sense to her, how he’s being so nonchalant suddenly about this. Even when he’d grabbed her arm she wasn’t sure what was going through his mind. It was like a switch at flipped in his brain. He was running on fumes, survival mode.

Taking whatever he could get. Is that how he thought about her now? Like scraps to gobble down when he was feeling more or less like he needed a warm body under him? The smile does nothing to help and she quirks an eyebrow at him, confused by this sudden change in his character.

The necklace falls against his bare chest, it looks nice on him. She always admired how the jewels she carved went well with his skin tone and his general features – he was handsome, he was beautiful. She rubs the spot on her arm where his hand had been not moments ago.

“I don’t understand,” is all she can say.

Echidna kneels in front of him, she sits back. He looks a bit like a lunatic but she isn’t sure how to approach the situation. It feels like something could blow up at any moment. Echidna bites her lower lip worriedly before she reaches out to pass a dirty thumb over the gem around his neck.

“It looks beautiful, where it belongs,” Echidna says. “I made it for you before everything blew up like it did. It’s a feather from my wing and I mined the gem myself. It has some of my blood inside it.”