"I'm not exactly happy with what I know, but...disconnecting from you, leaving you alone, that's not going to help anyone, not either of us. Things are pretty shit right now, but I don't want them to be worse, for you or for anyone."
He shakes his head, nuzzles hers.
"And I hope if you need someone to talk to, you might reach out in the future. I can be a very good listener."
Her heart clenches at the affection, both elated and filled with dread. It's emotionally uncomfortable, the conflict between feelings, but she leans into it anyway.
"I do have to keep doing it, you know. I can't stop."
"I do know. We're going to keep warning people away from the woods. People will still keep going there, thinking they're stronger or better or braver. The same tensions will exist as they always have."
A hesitation.
"Do you know if, um. If a victim being willing ruins anything for you?"
"...A little. But I also can't use the same victim over and over, either. I start to get less and less out of it. It's better if there's a long span of time in between using the same victims..." Then, awkwardly: "I also just. Prefer strangers."
"I--- You don't have to do that. It's terrible." Plus, she wouldn't want to look at him like that. It still stresses her out that she nabbed Ianto right after hiring him for a job. Especially since shortly after, she had to discourage him from hunting her down and killing her. "...I'll ask. If I need to. But I'm going to try not to need to."
"Good. And you have ways of reaching me if you need to talk. You don't need to hold it all alone, always, Dolly." Surprise, you're not going to be dadded at any less, now that Cerrit knows.
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thethirteenthchild
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Date: 2024-02-15 08:16 pm (UTC)He shakes his head, nuzzles hers.
"And I hope if you need someone to talk to, you might reach out in the future. I can be a very good listener."
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Date: 2024-02-15 08:30 pm (UTC)"I do have to keep doing it, you know. I can't stop."
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Date: 2024-02-15 08:42 pm (UTC)A hesitation.
"Do you know if, um. If a victim being willing ruins anything for you?"
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Date: 2024-02-15 09:00 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-02-15 09:06 pm (UTC)...it's the opposite of what her grandpappy would want, Cerrit realizes.
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Date: 2024-02-15 09:18 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-02-18 02:37 am (UTC)