[ Two quiet words slip free before his throat closes again. It's quiet, that sense of closing in, of being trapped deep down and watching all of this happen. ]
No, I...
[ He's gone still, at least. He hears him, hears what he's saying but it's impossible. If he says it, it becomes true. That one shaky pillar goes crashing down and he doesn't know what comes after that. It's terrifying, in a way that has him reflexively recoiling from the idea every time it's brushed up against.
We can still do the job. We still have purpose.
He tries to breathe deeply again but it hitches. He stops. Tries again. ]
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No, I...
[ He's gone still, at least. He hears him, hears what he's saying but it's impossible. If he says it, it becomes true. That one shaky pillar goes crashing down and he doesn't know what comes after that. It's terrifying, in a way that has him reflexively recoiling from the idea every time it's brushed up against.
We can still do the job. We still have purpose.
He tries to breathe deeply again but it hitches. He stops. Tries again. ]