Snowforest Taiga wind shear

Her expression remained just as open as before, but inwardly, Alya's mind was churning. They were talking about two different things, it seemed. She had been asking him to share his burdens, to speak frankly with her, and he seemed to think she'd been asking something else altogether. He wanted someone to trust, someone beside him.

Alya could be neither of those things. Not in the long run.

"Alya Ostrega," she said after a moment, figuring that she could, at least, offer him this. She knew she should correct him, tell him that she'd meant only to lend her ears. Instead, she said: "It is only a name. I had no reason to hide it. Or rather - no nefarious reasons." Alya offered a playful flash of teeth. "I hoped it would make you think on me. Did it work?"