Sunbeam Lair [m] Just give it time, the sands will pass

A wretched, foul man; was that what Lestan was? Reverie had loved him, once. She still did. And she hated herself for that — but how could she forget the gentle way he'd spoken to her, the dedication he'd held through so much of their relationship? He had left her, yes, but he had stayed too.

But maybe that didn't matter so much in light of all that he'd done to hurt her.

Reverie calmed as the woman spoke, internalizing the words even as she processed them. She could only learn to live beyond it. She thought of Boone, then, and she wasn't quite sure why. Maybe some part of her hoped that he would heal these wounds, with his presence alone — but maybe that was stupid.

Sometimes I - She swallowed, glancing down at where the woman's paw rested on her own. The touch was comforting in spite of the fact that she was a stranger. She was a woman, and perhaps that was enough. Did they not all share the same inherent burden? Sometimes I hate myself, for letting him treat me that way. For begging him to stay, even at the end. What - what would you have done? If you loved a man who treated you that way? Her eyes found the stranger again, intent. Somehow she did not think this woman would bend so easily to the whims of men.

Maybe what she needed was to hear the perspective of one who would not have made the mistakes she did.