week 8 | monday morning (super early)

[baptizer]

[ Elizabeth doesn't think Jason needs to know why she left his room. It was... PG 13, okay. Nothing happened, but she definitely requested to stay in his room after a few nightmares plagued her. He was one of the few people she could trust and after his last adventure? She's keeping an eye on him when he can't.

HA.

Anyway.

Elizabeth had foregone her pajamas, dressed more for the rest of the day. She's stealthy, waiting for anyone who passes her to go on. She's by Jack's room, a sturdy knock without announcing herself.

It had to still be odd. She looked older - tormented by her own guilt with her hair cut short and skin more exposed. This wasn't the little girl he had saw so much "potential" in. ]

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[baptizer]

[ This was bad. This was most definitely bad. The girl would not have come armed, putting her blind faith into the man... however, there were no girls present. She has to prepare for fates she isn't quite fond of thinking of.

He speaks and she shows the respect to him by keeping shut. Her rambles contained with a tight-lipped state. Religion was important to her, mainly because she's so eager to disbelieve it. Yet... everything she read tied back to it. Comstock's prophecies, God's word - they were the same thing to most and only she could tell the difference.

She realizes too late that her words were motivational - not to redeem the sinner but to give him ambition to prove God wrong. Her stomach hollows and all she can do is smile. Her bottom lip trembles only slightly. Stupid, Elizabeth... stupid. She thinks to herself. She made him promises, sold her soul with this alliance for her own personal vendettas. To make sure no one feels as violated as she had. Give the woman a chance to believe and she truly believes he can change - at least, with his last breath, see his fading heaven.

Elizabeth smiles awkwardly, waving him off as if trying to hold back her tears. He sees how much her eyes swell with red, her lip trembling. ]

Please don't make me regret this, Jack. I don't want to go back to - [ She stammers, stiffening her emotion a bit more. She can't cry, she's not a girl anymore. ] I don't want to wish to have never left my tower. Please, please don't make me regret trusting you.

[ She will. Or he will. Either or. ]

[refactor]

[ Jack's smile falters, not quite a waver of confidence, but just realizing that his words hadn't hit their mark at all. To him, his words are nothing short of the sort of inspiration that drives the fervid loyalty to him. No matter what he's done, it's simply a fact that there a countless people that hear this kind of message and take it to heart. He was a violent usurper, but none of his predecessors as CEOs had been able to do what he had. None of them had been able to make Hyperion the most powerful company on this side of the universe.

People believed that he would bring paradise. He believed it. It wasn't something to fear, so why does Elizabeth look so afraid? ]

Woah, hey, hey...

[ Despite knowing better, he's too physical of a person, and he moves without really thinking here. He reaches out with his hand towards her face, since it's the sort of automatic gesture that comes with seeing her eyes fill with tears. ]

I'm not-- Listen.

[ Whether she rejects that touch or not, he pulls his hand away regardless, though it's with a frown. ]

Regardless of anything else? So far as I'm concerned, you're on my team, Liz. I look out for my team, okay? So-- So you're not gonna regret it. I... [ He pauses uncertainly, still seeming slightly confused by why she's upset, but when he speaks again, it's with much more certainty. ]

I don't want you to regret it. Trust me on that, at least.

[baptizer]

[ Just go back to your room - get out! She thinks to herself, scorning herself for giving a seed to a man who undoubtedly had harvested far too many in his time. He'll take her idea and foster it - she can only suspect it will end badly. Elizabeth waves him off, insisting she's fine. She laughs a bit lightly through her sparse breath. ]

I'm fine - this conversation is just a lot harder than I imagined. I'm sorry. [ Instinctively, she apologizes as if it's her fault. From their previous conversations - how she's taken blame for so much... it's not farfetched to be believed that she is apologizing for her emotions. ] I have my answers, you have yours.

[ She can't pull away. He can feel a stray tear or two on his thumb but he feels her warmth quite easily. She's not in hysterics as she forces a weak-willed smile on her face. Elizabeth sees a man who saw nothing wrong with anything. She wondered if that's how Comstock would have looked at her too from behind the glass of her tower? ]

We have a task to accomplish. We have to find these - these things before it's too late.

[ Her hand goes up to his hesitantly, clutching onto the back of his hand to give it a convincingly reassuring squeeze. Elizabeth's had sadness in her eyes her entire stay here - it wasn't anything new. ]

I have my faith and that will get us through. [ Whatever it may be. Her fingers drag from his and she stands, looking around as if she overstayed her welcome. ] I'll... I'll let you get back to your task. I'm sorry for burdening you with this conversation, but I needed to know. I - ...I just needed to.