[ the tight hug squeezes the air out of her lungs, but for once, lumine doesn't have any complaints, her hands once more curling into his clothes. pressed against him, solid and warm, it reaffirms that he's alive and well, that the vision was just that: a vision. it was nothing more than history that wasn't written on paper or stone.

but tears begin to fall again anyway, soaking into the fabric of his shirt, as she also pulls him closer, steeping herself in his presence, before she draws back. lumine wipes her tears with the back of her hand, shaking her head. ]

Funny you say that now when you were just suggesting to have me protect you instead earlier.

[ that's where the other lumine failed: protecting him and protecting aether. and it isn't for the lack of trying, she thinks, as she's always had full trust in what those two were capable of.

but still ... ] Aether's going to think you're the root cause of my being upset again.