[ so it's the same with him: the uncertainty, the pull of emotions, the feelings of disorientation. but it makes sense, she thinks. first, it was the visions they shared; now, this. but that's what makes things even more terrifying, and the fear that she might slowly lose herself in the process is becoming more and more of a reality.

lumine says nothing for a long while, lowering her gaze to the table as she gathers her thoughts. rifles through it like she would with work, thoroughly and keenly. her hands shake before she balls them into fists, tucking them under the table. ]

I knew that ... I had a feeling ...

[ that day in snezhnaya, right after they've met them, something had felt different. and she'd been fighting against those feelings ever since, unwilling to allow it to change her, but it's always felt like she's been fighting against the sea. ]

But no, I'm still myself, [ she says with a firm shake of her head. ] I haven't changed at all. I know I haven't, or else, Aether would've noticed something.