Duskfire Glacier ever since i was a kid,

for once, she listens. she doesn't offer any snide comment, any backtalk she was infamous for. she simply let him speak his mind. the words settled heavily between them, and her eyes drifted to peer at him with less sharpness than before. something akin to concern, to worry. 

truthfully, she hadn't stopped to wonder how taxing this must be for faust. as a warrior, war was simple; you go, you fight, and you either win or die. but for a leader, a chief? it was an entirely different beast. the politics of it all, the aftermath, the fallout...

it was a burden so heavy that even the strongest of men would struggle beneath it. her lips purse in thought, eyes flitting between the winking stars and the tired man beside her. the vulnerability not so easily shared in his words...it was no lost on her. 

"you built darukaal from nothing. you have kept it safe, have kept it secured. it will not fall. not today, not after the war...everyone here believes in you, faust." she pauses, the words heavy. honest. there was no bite. 

"and we will fight to keep darukaal alive." she promised. they had all made that promise the moment he'd called upon them to rally. with a playful grin, she leaned over to bump their shoulders. "the Faust i knew never let his doubt win."