It doesn't take much effort to intimidate Shiya. She is so meek, so gentle-hearted, that she is comparably weak to others. Both of her parents had been soldiers and yet she is stripped of any strength she could have had. She knows only joy, only happiness and laughter and love. Anything beyond those are easily able to catch her off guard and stun her into silence. In time, she hopes, her mind and heart will harden. In the meantime, Shiya has funneled her energy into the kindness that Fennick offered. It isn't that Gallows was rude or frightening, but simply intimidating.
Shiya's weakness is reflected in her cowardly mannerisms no matter how she tries to straighten herself. She wants so bad to hide it, to be a rugged soldier like the others, but her heart is far too soft. In deep thought she nibbles on her lips. The answer is there, waiting to be exploited, but she mulls it over like it's her final word. "Direction," she finally says when her slit pupils find Gallow's studious face. Is there more of an answer that she wants? Or is there more that Shiya is pressed for?
A pensive hum vibrates through her as she considers the possibilities. "Independence, purpose," she begins again as the words come to mind. There is more but her mouth is filtered and her lips are suddenly pursed. Does she really want independence from Eight? Perhaps not but she assumes it is what he wants for her. He hasn't been near for quite some time; Shiya assumes he abandoned her and took all the joy she had. It leaves her as a fragile shell lost in the dark. Without direction Shiya doesn't know where to turn or whose voice to follow. She's alone, trapped, confused.
A breath catches in her throat and she takes a slow, hesitant step back. "I just don't know where to begin, Gallows." The truth spills out of her like blood from a wound. The Queen's question - so simple and yet so intimate - is nails scraping down her whirling mind. It rips her open and leaves her vulnerable as her head drops in shame.
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