spinatalltale | [WEEK 5, FRIDAY POST-INVESTIGATION: Lief]

[WEEK 5, FRIDAY POST-INVESTIGATION: Lief]

[like clockwork, she comes and finds him, though it isn't until after she's warmed herself up and dried out her clothes to stave off an episode of hypothermia]

[wherever Lief may be, she's approaching, expression neutral]

. . . you think Jinah knew?

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[Lief doesn't know. Why only Yona, why this island had to give him false hope that the girl he promised to protect was all right.

He doesn't have a response for Magilou.]

[she doesn't, either]

[. . .]

[she settles a hand on his shoulder, warm and firm, and squeezes. she's not good with words that convey actual feelings or kind words of comfort, but.]

[if there's one thing this island taught her, it's this]

[...

He glances at her, before managing a soft smile.]

Thank you, Magilou. [a pause] For everything.

Oh, please.

[she grins at him in return]

No need to thank me. I was just doing what I selfishly felt like doing, you know?

[He's quiet for a moment, and then, perhaps randomly—]

You were the only one who trusted me—do you know that?

[she blinks at him, eyes wide in genuine surprise]

[. . . geeeeeeeeeez]

I find that hard to believe. An upstanding do-gooder like you is someone people should know they can put their faith in from the very beginning.

[So it seemed on the outside, didn't it? Everyone kept telling him how kind he was, or how he seemed like a good leader. But really, how much did that even mean in the end?]

And yet no one truly ever wanted to tell me anything. You and Jacopo were the only ones.

[And Jacopo—well, he hadn't been so thrilled that Lief ratted him out to Vriska, so to speak. In a way, it was a surprise to know that Jacopo still cared for him so highly afterwards.

He smiles mirthlessly.]

Even Prussia did not mean to tell me her role. It came out by accident.

[He's being unreasonable, he knows. And a hypocrite, too, for has he not lied to his closest friends back home and even those here for reasons of his own? Not all of which have to do with trust?

There isn't really anything specific that's brought this on; just the end result of exhaustion piling on for weeks. Yona told him he could stand to depend on others more, but he wonders if he was nearly as dependable as she thought him to be.]

[ah. . .]

[her voice is quiet]

It's not like there were many others besides you who trusted me. You were the first to give me anything.

[any sort of information at all, on roles or the Sirens or anything. and that still boggles her mind to this day]

Maybe that's why we worked so well together.