She hopes, with his attention on the horizon, that Selaphiel doesn’t see the way she flinches slightly at the mention of Gale. The Curse was an unfinished threat out there in the world, one she needed to take care of before he harmed anyone else.
One she should have taken care of before he had harmed Ryatah.
Old internal battles of needing help but being unwilling to let anyone else put themselves in harm way rage in her constantly. The desire to not be alone anymore often wins. Past mistakes need to be avoided before she finds herself caught up in the same horrible loop. She wants to protect what she's earned, and that which she's starting to recover.
Like a friendship with Sela.
It is not a wide, shining smile that he offers her - and it does nothing to warm up his eyes - but it is something. It’s a start.
“Would you like to walk with me, Sela?” Her smile grows a little more as she waits, trying not to give attention to the nerves that arise up or the expectation of a refusal. “Let’s act like two friends should. I’ll pretend to believe you when you say I’m bigger than he was, and you can pretend to believe me when I tell you that your worth to me doesn’t lie in your ability to predict death but just in your friendship and the simple fact that you exist."
@Selaphiel