Noctisardor Bypass teil eins

Laurel had not seen Mahler much since their trip to the Grotto where she had broken down. Seeds of doubt had sown in her head and she was very torn: between wanting to see if she could make him into something that she could use — to destroy Merrick, to avenge Indra — or if she should stay away from him because... We both know where manipulating men has gotten you in the past, don't we, my dearest? Torn in indecision, her fear had made her pick the latter path. She hadn't noticed that he had been secluded because she herself had avoided him mostly.

As she made her way towards the river along a creek leading through the territory, she did not initially see Mahler laying there. Laurel approached the creek from opposite side, and only when she was almost there did she notice Mahler laying there. She startled visibly as she suddenly noticed him, and cursed her senses that they had not warned her earlier.

Sorry, I didn't see you there, Laurel said with an awkward apologetic laugh. Instinctively trying to make smalltalk to avoid the bigger subjects — such as her breakdown — she said, I met your son the other day. He's a little uncertain, but he has his heart in the right place. A thing she would not often say about men, positive as it was; although, perhaps, in the presence of other men, a thing she would say slightly more often.