Noctisardor Bypass the place from where i fell

thank you for joining <3 & ty so much for the kudos!

A quivering voice approached, and it caused Laurel to turn her head. She looked away again quickly, trying to hide her emotional state even though it was of no use. He was a man, but he was a young one. Presumably Mahler's son, she presumed, thinking back to her talk with Sequoia. He did not seem to have the suave eloquence that Mahler did, but perhaps it was because of the place that she had put him in.

Laurel listened to his stammered apologies, thoughts of how he thought it was his sister — Laurel thought back to the visit to the Grotto with Mahler, how he mentioned a trip there with his daughter — and eventually he got to the gist of it and offered help.

Considering his youth and his lack of confidence in the situation Laurel did not immediately feel intimidated by him as she would normally in the presence of a man. Feeling emotional and helpless, Laurel angrily said, You could kill Merrick. As she said his name — as she spat out his name — Laurel felt another sob heave her body. She didn't mean it, of course — well, not for this boy to run off and attempt such a thing, anyway — but oh, how she wished that someone would do that for her. How she wished she could do it herself.

Do you now, dearest? she heard Iliksis' poisonous voice whisper inside her mind, Does it give you peace? Will it give you what you want, you think? Did it give you what you wanted when you killed me? She shuddered, because she knew the truth. It pleases me to know that. She resisted the urge to shout back at Iliksis, knowing that he wasn't really there, knowing that he wasn't real, and sniffled as she looked back at the water, at her own ugly reflection, to avoid looking at the awkward boy and his attempts to console her.