Cordelia didn't say a word while Trychon explained in detail his various exploits since she'd seen him last. She didn't balk at his descriptions of violence, or gasp when he told of some of the malice he'd done.
She simply listened, expressionless save for the occasional nod that was the only proof she was really listening.
When he finished, she nodded again and stood up, beckoning for him to follow suit. When he stood she gave him another hug, grabbed his hand, and began walking through the forest again.
Trychon let her lead him down random paths for some time before pulling on her hand and stopping.
"Talk to me, Cord. Please."
She turned and looked at him. "What in space do you expect me to say, Trych?" She followed it with a quick punch to the arm and a small flash of a smile. Just enough for him to know she didn't hate him.
She continued before he could answer though. "What you've done... what you've been through... it's unbelievable. It's the sort of thing we'd say is out of a bad holodrama, except that's not true. Nobody would buy that story. If you tried to sell that story to anyone else, they would laugh in your face while they spit on your pad." She was speaking more frantically than she normally would.
"So basically your response is 'Wow...' and that's it?"
"You expect me to yawn it off?" She looked at him quizzically.
"You're not going to call me a monster?"
She shook her heads. "Either a joke to change the subject, or go straight to the heart of the matter. That's the guy I grew up with, alright." She grabbed his hands and held his gaze straight on, neither blinking or looking away. "Many people would, or from your telling of it, do call you a monster for some of what you've done. My opinion doesn't change that."
"I'm not asking them."
"Which is why you should let me finish. I've known you longer than any of those people that would call you a monster." She let go of one of his hands long enough to wipe away the formation of a tear. "I've missed you. No matter what happens or what you do, I'll always love you at the very least for the boy I grew up with. That can never change."
He let go of her hands, not upset or disappointed so much as understanding. "So I may be a monster, but you'll always love the ghost of the kid you used to play pranks with."
She hit him again, much harder this time. "That's not what I said. Don't try to turn my words into your own self doubt." The look she gave him caused him to look to the ground. "I will always love you because I know who you are, under everything else you may be or do."
When he still wouldn't look at her, she punched his arm again, harder yet. "You look at me when I am talking to you, especially when I'm telling you I love you." She could no longer hold back the tears, and she let them go.
He looked at her, and she began yelling at him in return. "An idiot like Pon or Thad would not be the same after going through a fraction of what you've put yourself through."
Trychon tried to stop her, but she quickly cut him off. "Don't interrupt me! You've changed, too. I know that. I'm not an idiot." She sobbed quietly, trying hard to regain control of herself. "But I still see you when I look at you. Underneath it all. I see you."
She gave up fighting her own emotions and fell to her knees, sobbing. She landed softly in a small puddle of quickly gathering rainwater and dirt. Trychon looked up briefly, wondering when it had begun to rain.
Leaning over, he picked her up without the aid of the Force, and held her to his chest for several minutes while he waited for her loud sobs to devolve into quiet sobs.
"Take me home." She whispered, barely audible over the sound of the rain in the trees and her own labored breathing.
He kissed her the top of her head in response, and turned back in the direction of the village.
"No." She whispered again.
He looked around briefly to get his bearings and turned to his right towards his old camp, doing his best to shelter her from the weather as he walked.
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