07-21-2014, 12:00 PM
For a while she just watched him eat, nursing her tea, thoughts of family and DVII locked firmly away.
Sierra Leone had been on the edge of malcontent for years, but was it really coincidence that its sudden slip into turmoil came now, lost beneath the shadow of Mecca? Even if fate conspired genuinely cruel, Natalie did not doubt how quickly the world's powerhouses would take advantage of the situation: there was profit to be had in the soil here, and its citizens were peripheral. Worse, there was benefit in their instability. Even the CCD, with its promised providence of world peace, would not balk at climbing the broken backs of these people to secure it. She was not ignorant to the machinations of politics, layers beneath hidden layers, but the thought of it left a vile taste.
In front of her Ekene stopped quite suddenly, face drained, like the very unthinking mechanics of eating had been pierced by consciousness. The wrist of his good hand thudded against the desk, then lay limp, his eyes cast downwards. His shoulders moved like he was on the edge of tears again, but when he spoke his voice was steady, if quiet. "What happens now, Natalie?"
Her face softened, though he wasn't looking at her. "I spoke to Mr. Timbo. The school is safe. The village is safe,"
she said. Natalie wasn't sure how much he'd known of what had been going to happen, but judging by his vicious declaration back in the car, he had certainly been aware. A curious gaze swept for signs for gratification, or guilt - or even disappointment, but he never looked up. The fingers of his fist curled, then his arm retreated, but only to hang at his side.
Pushing her cup back on the desk, she leaned forward, hands lightly clasped over her knees, her head close to his. Strands of pale gold hair lightened her peripheral like a halo. Ekene's lashes were curved low over his cheek, refusing eye contact, though he didn’t move away either. Pity didn't come easy to Natalie, but she felt a flutter of it as she looked at him; before the resolve to forge strength from these ashes overruled it. "I don't know when we'll go home. The roads will be dangerous, and the embassy is the safest place we could be right now. So we're stuck here together."
She lifted his chin with her finger, gentle but firm. His eyes were flushed pink, swollen sore with tears, and glaring at her defiantly. Despite the hostility she supposed it was a good thing, that spirit still remained, because she imagined he was going to need it. "And while we're here, we're going to do what we can to help."
Without Ekene to look out for she would not still be sitting idle in this room at all, but it was a duty she took seriously despite her reluctance to place herself in the role. She had waited for him, and she would continue to wait. For better or worse, he was her responsibility.
She sat back. "Go and get cleaned up, and then we'll put ourselves to use, okay?"
Her gaze lingered on his strapped arm, considering how much pain he might still be in, but he misinterpreted the look with a guarded scowl and jerked away. "I can do it."
Sierra Leone had been on the edge of malcontent for years, but was it really coincidence that its sudden slip into turmoil came now, lost beneath the shadow of Mecca? Even if fate conspired genuinely cruel, Natalie did not doubt how quickly the world's powerhouses would take advantage of the situation: there was profit to be had in the soil here, and its citizens were peripheral. Worse, there was benefit in their instability. Even the CCD, with its promised providence of world peace, would not balk at climbing the broken backs of these people to secure it. She was not ignorant to the machinations of politics, layers beneath hidden layers, but the thought of it left a vile taste.
In front of her Ekene stopped quite suddenly, face drained, like the very unthinking mechanics of eating had been pierced by consciousness. The wrist of his good hand thudded against the desk, then lay limp, his eyes cast downwards. His shoulders moved like he was on the edge of tears again, but when he spoke his voice was steady, if quiet. "What happens now, Natalie?"
Her face softened, though he wasn't looking at her. "I spoke to Mr. Timbo. The school is safe. The village is safe,"
she said. Natalie wasn't sure how much he'd known of what had been going to happen, but judging by his vicious declaration back in the car, he had certainly been aware. A curious gaze swept for signs for gratification, or guilt - or even disappointment, but he never looked up. The fingers of his fist curled, then his arm retreated, but only to hang at his side.
Pushing her cup back on the desk, she leaned forward, hands lightly clasped over her knees, her head close to his. Strands of pale gold hair lightened her peripheral like a halo. Ekene's lashes were curved low over his cheek, refusing eye contact, though he didn’t move away either. Pity didn't come easy to Natalie, but she felt a flutter of it as she looked at him; before the resolve to forge strength from these ashes overruled it. "I don't know when we'll go home. The roads will be dangerous, and the embassy is the safest place we could be right now. So we're stuck here together."
She lifted his chin with her finger, gentle but firm. His eyes were flushed pink, swollen sore with tears, and glaring at her defiantly. Despite the hostility she supposed it was a good thing, that spirit still remained, because she imagined he was going to need it. "And while we're here, we're going to do what we can to help."
Without Ekene to look out for she would not still be sitting idle in this room at all, but it was a duty she took seriously despite her reluctance to place herself in the role. She had waited for him, and she would continue to wait. For better or worse, he was her responsibility.
She sat back. "Go and get cleaned up, and then we'll put ourselves to use, okay?"
Her gaze lingered on his strapped arm, considering how much pain he might still be in, but he misinterpreted the look with a guarded scowl and jerked away. "I can do it."