Praeteritus

[Char Aznable]

Annika's response, yet again, took a few moments. Partly though, this was due to the nebulous nature of Freya's offer. 'Trust her again'. A part of her almost screamed with joy. Here Freya was, the person that put her through so much hardship, was responsible for nearly everything that had gone wrong in the past few years, offering what was essentially an apology. By Freya's standards, at least. It felt incredibly satisfying to that part of her... But the past few years had also taught her something else.
People were not to be trusted. They always followed their own agenda, their own goals and their own logic. Freya didn't offer to bury the hatchet without an ulterior motive. That much was certain. It pained her to bury the childish, giddy part of her once more, but it was a required deed to regain her composure again. Weakness was not tolerated.
Slowly but steadily, she recovered a little bit of composure. It wasn't quite there yet, but at least she was able to look up again without howling in angry frustration. Why did she have to come back now? Why didn't she help her when she had asked for the hatchet buried so many months ago? What was her goal? She fixated her eyes on Freya's, a little of the steely glare that frightened her subordinates so effectively returning, but a betrayed anger flaring up just as much - like a teenager that just found out her best friend had been cheating on her.
"Trust you again? Why, do you want to take over the helm and try to steer a crashing ship back on course?" The dripping sarcasm cut deep, but not only Freya's flesh. It was both a jab at her former mentor and herself, admitting that none of them had been able to succeed. The fact that Eistochter had returned during what amounted to her darkest hour didn't help, either. For a moment she regretted her defensive attitude towards the older woman, who appeared to be honest in her attempt to make amends. But if she truly wanted to do so, she wouldn't stop just because she saw how broken Annika was, partly due to Freya's actions too.
Still. Olive branch. She calmed her voice and relaxed her muscles again.
"... Sorry."

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#notmyfrankfurt