[ feeling her hand tremble under his aches, too. hikaru is so small, and so young. she has had the entire world on her shoulders, it seems, and not for the first time, he's reminded of a younger version of himself, who had been so unbelievably sure that he had done the right thing, who always wanted to do the right thing - even when it continued to go so, so wrong.
he gives that small hand a squeeze, and then shifts to kneel down in front of her to negate some of their height difference. if hikaru will let him, xie lian very gently starts to try and pry her fingers out of that tight fist as he talks, in a gentle, calm voice. ]
...sometimes, no matter how badly we want to do the right thing, we don't always have sight of what the right thing is. Our perspectives can feel narrow, especially when you're in a situation that feels desperate, and you want to make sure that you find the best case scenario, where the least amount of people are hurt. We all think, "if I could just go back", or "if I had known better" as we look to such events with hindsight - but ultimately, there is no changing the things that have already happened.
[ this advice comes from somewhere personal, for xie lian - his xian le and the entire world on his shoulders, the people of yong'an, the refugees, the guoshi stir in the back of his mind, old and never once forgotten. even so, he keeps his gaze on hikaru's small hands, his touch exceedingly gentle and careful. ]
What you did in the past, unknowingly or otherwise, is not what makes you the person that you are, but rather... what you do after, is what matters. As you grow and change, it is important not to forget the loss in its entirety--not just the pain and the consequences, but the lessons that you have learned from the aftermath, too.
How you approach it, how you try to fix it... these are things it sounds like you still may yet be able to do, when we finish in the Realm. The world here seems only to have taken a brief pause. [ tilting his head up to look at her properly, xie lian pats her hand, a small, warm smile on his face that's all sincere. ]
I would be happy to hold onto this memory for you, Miss Hikaru, so that you do not lose sight of something so important. It would be an honor.
no subject
he gives that small hand a squeeze, and then shifts to kneel down in front of her to negate some of their height difference. if hikaru will let him, xie lian very gently starts to try and pry her fingers out of that tight fist as he talks, in a gentle, calm voice. ]
...sometimes, no matter how badly we want to do the right thing, we don't always have sight of what the right thing is. Our perspectives can feel narrow, especially when you're in a situation that feels desperate, and you want to make sure that you find the best case scenario, where the least amount of people are hurt. We all think, "if I could just go back", or "if I had known better" as we look to such events with hindsight - but ultimately, there is no changing the things that have already happened.
[ this advice comes from somewhere personal, for xie lian - his xian le and the entire world on his shoulders, the people of yong'an, the refugees, the guoshi stir in the back of his mind, old and never once forgotten. even so, he keeps his gaze on hikaru's small hands, his touch exceedingly gentle and careful. ]
What you did in the past, unknowingly or otherwise, is not what makes you the person that you are, but rather... what you do after, is what matters. As you grow and change, it is important not to forget the loss in its entirety--not just the pain and the consequences, but the lessons that you have learned from the aftermath, too.
How you approach it, how you try to fix it... these are things it sounds like you still may yet be able to do, when we finish in the Realm. The world here seems only to have taken a brief pause. [ tilting his head up to look at her properly, xie lian pats her hand, a small, warm smile on his face that's all sincere. ]
I would be happy to hold onto this memory for you, Miss Hikaru, so that you do not lose sight of something so important. It would be an honor.