Mo'rtajha draws herself up, taking a long, deep breath through her nose. She can also read between the lines. For all their similarities Mort knows they are also so very different.
"I was never free before." Somehow her voice is steady with conviction even as she feels like collapsing to the ground and wailing until her lungs are raw.
"It is all I know. Even after my escape what I knew kept me fed and clothed when all else failed." Another breath, thready, as her eyes burn with tears.
"We cannot leave this city. We are here at the whim of our patrons. 'Tis little price to pay than to rely on mine own skills to keep my new masters happy." At last, those tears slips free, running down her cheeks, "I am what I am, and what I always will be, Max."
"I know we don't have the same backgrounds, but I would never ever judge you for doing what you needed to do to survive. I'm not saying you have to stop now if you don't want to." But there's that caveat again, what she wants.
"You are what you are. We are all forged by our pasts. But, Mort, I will never accept that you have to be one thing forever. You can be more. I know you can."
Tentatively, he reaches out to stroke his thumb over her cheek, to wipe away the tears.
"Change is hard. But it's not impossible. When I first got here, I panicked because I didn't know how to live without a Master anymore. But my friends helped me see that I didn't need one. I could be my own man. Now I am. So, I promise you, right now, that if you want my support to find your own way, you will always have it."
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(no subject)
Date: 2022-01-14 05:46 pm (UTC)"I was never free before." Somehow her voice is steady with conviction even as she feels like collapsing to the ground and wailing until her lungs are raw.
"It is all I know. Even after my escape what I knew kept me fed and clothed when all else failed." Another breath, thready, as her eyes burn with tears.
"We cannot leave this city. We are here at the whim of our patrons. 'Tis little price to pay than to rely on mine own skills to keep my new masters happy." At last, those tears slips free, running down her cheeks, "I am what I am, and what I always will be, Max."
(no subject)
Date: 2022-01-14 06:08 pm (UTC)"You are what you are. We are all forged by our pasts. But, Mort, I will never accept that you have to be one thing forever. You can be more. I know you can."
Tentatively, he reaches out to stroke his thumb over her cheek, to wipe away the tears.
"Change is hard. But it's not impossible. When I first got here, I panicked because I didn't know how to live without a Master anymore. But my friends helped me see that I didn't need one. I could be my own man. Now I am. So, I promise you, right now, that if you want my support to find your own way, you will always have it."