Benevolence is one of my frequently-lauded traits. Usually hand-in-hand with vengeance, but I don't think you've done anything I ought to avenge.
[And truthfully, even if she had, Alia would not seek any sort of recompense. Alina is sharp, but she is sweet, she's dangerous and warm, like a cat purring in a sunbeam. Claws and burning, but also the nuzzle of something soft, something affectionate. Alia truly doesn't know what to make of that contradiction.
Except bring it gifts, her own supplications, little silvery packages of chocolate, handfuls of sweets, linen napkins wrapped around still-moist cake. Alia thinks of Paul saving her the best morsels at dinner, when her dreams had her fitful and feverish, of him appearing at her bedside to coax her into eating, into sleeping, when even their mother stayed away. She understands that now, she thinks.]
I am pleased to have performed adequately. [That could be sarcasm, but Alia is amused by it, by Alina's careful tiptoeing around the fact of their bodies pressed together in the steamy, heated night.] Have I earned a repeat performance? Or is more cake needed? I hear they're making a sort with strawberries, tonight.
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[And truthfully, even if she had, Alia would not seek any sort of recompense. Alina is sharp, but she is sweet, she's dangerous and warm, like a cat purring in a sunbeam. Claws and burning, but also the nuzzle of something soft, something affectionate. Alia truly doesn't know what to make of that contradiction.
Except bring it gifts, her own supplications, little silvery packages of chocolate, handfuls of sweets, linen napkins wrapped around still-moist cake. Alia thinks of Paul saving her the best morsels at dinner, when her dreams had her fitful and feverish, of him appearing at her bedside to coax her into eating, into sleeping, when even their mother stayed away. She understands that now, she thinks.]
I am pleased to have performed adequately. [That could be sarcasm, but Alia is amused by it, by Alina's careful tiptoeing around the fact of their bodies pressed together in the steamy, heated night.] Have I earned a repeat performance? Or is more cake needed? I hear they're making a sort with strawberries, tonight.