[That changes things a little. But, to be fair, he had not asked and she had not explained. Ezio shifts a little, eyes that watch her before his hands undo themselves and he leans forward slightly.]
Then allow me to ask something: did you die from this drop?
[He needs to know, even if she doesn't want to speak of it.]
[She's silent for a moment, and looks down even when she speaks. Her voice is quiet. It doesn't shake much anymore.]
A lot of people did. I heard my best friend scream as she fell. Her... her guardian did too, after that. I made the climb to the top, but we were attacked. I took one step back too far.
[A beat. She blames herself for getting that cornered to begin with.]
[Her words explain so much for him that Ezio has to pause himself, and breathe out through his mouth for just a moment. Death is never easy, to watch or to feel. He has been lucky in all his time to avoid it, but he is no stranger to feeling it himself.
For a moment, he sits in silence, thinking of how to approach this and also how to not make her run. If it were a novice, he would embrace them, but with how skittish she is, he doesn't risk it.
Ezio pauses, opens his mouth once, closes it, blinks, then starts again.]
Did I ever tell you, Tris, what happened the first time I tried to freerun?
[The question comes a little out of the blue, but it has a purpose to it.]
[It all the ways that it's uncomfortable to share with anyone, it still feels like a weight off her shoulders, as well. She doesn't question the seeming abrupt change of topic, glad to be talking about something else, regarding Ezio with a bit of careful curiosity. Her couldn't be more simple.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
action.
[His voice is gentle, and he does not push. There is a point to this.]
At some point, Tris, you are going to come across the same jump where you fell. What will you do when that happens?
action.
It wasn't a jump. And it wasn't a drop any kind of preparation helps with.
action.
[That changes things a little. But, to be fair, he had not asked and she had not explained. Ezio shifts a little, eyes that watch her before his hands undo themselves and he leans forward slightly.]
Then allow me to ask something: did you die from this drop?
[He needs to know, even if she doesn't want to speak of it.]
action.
A lot of people did. I heard my best friend scream as she fell. Her... her guardian did too, after that. I made the climb to the top, but we were attacked. I took one step back too far.
[A beat. She blames herself for getting that cornered to begin with.]
So... yes, I did.
[Only now does she look up again.]
action.
For a moment, he sits in silence, thinking of how to approach this and also how to not make her run. If it were a novice, he would embrace them, but with how skittish she is, he doesn't risk it.
Ezio pauses, opens his mouth once, closes it, blinks, then starts again.]
Did I ever tell you, Tris, what happened the first time I tried to freerun?
[The question comes a little out of the blue, but it has a purpose to it.]
action.
No.