Paige's anger slowly begins to fade as Amy speaks up, guilt taking its place. She draws in a deep breath, attention shifting from Kirill to Amy, shoulder slumping ever so slightly. "It's-..." she begins, dispelling what little of her frustration is left with a deep sigh and an exasperated shake of her head, "...it's not your fault, Amy. Certainly could've been handled better-..." she explains, shooting another glare Kirill's way,
#Traveler'sGorge – February 1, 2020
the target of her accusation. He doesn't look particularly troubled. He's no stranger to Paige's ire. "...but there was no way in hell that we were just gonna stand by and let that ASSHOLE-..." she raises her voice, gaze briefly turning towards Earl as if hopeful that the thick panels might not fully muffle the remark. "...drag you off."
Kirill shifts in place ever so slightly, gaze tilting Amy's way when she apologizes. When Paige quiets down he agrees with a small nod. "Earl is gonna do what he's gonna do, Amy. If he pulls his support?" he gives a shrug of his wide shoulders, doing a good job of hiding whatever concerns he may have over the prospect. "Then we'll figure it out. We always do. Ain't that right, Paige?" he asks, attention shifting her way.
Paige just about has to grit her teeth to keep her scowl at bay. It's the one that crops up any time she's faced with Kirill's blind optimism. But with Amy nearly on the verge of tears, she lets it go this time. "We'll... figure it out." she agrees reluctantly with a small dip of her head.
Amy doesn't respond, just drawing in another breath as her eyes open, head low and staring intensely at her feet.
Kirill, never the sort to say more than needs to be said, joins Amy in silence, merely watching through the window as Earl and the others start on their way. Once they're out of eyesight he passes a glance to Paige who has also resigned herself to silence. "You-... uhh-... mind grabbin' her coat...?" he asks, cocking a thumb back towards the door.
Paige nods, passing one more glance Amy's way before the sound of the sliding doors announces her departure.
Kirill shifts against the grow table once Paige is gone and a silence once more fills the room. Not the comfortable sort, like while they were working. It's more charged. "...Sorry you had to have your business put out there like that." he offers gently once he's sure it's just the two of them, gaze still fixed to the windows as he watches people go about their day.
Kirill falls silent once again, not particularly sure what to say. The seconds stretch on before, eventually, Paige returns, jacket in-hand.
Paige reorients the jacket in her hand, taking a second to make sure it's oriented the right way as she reaches out to pass it off to Amy. "Here you go." she says. She attempts to prop up a friendly smile but it doesn't quite reach her eyes, a bit of that discomfort seemingly having settled into her as well now that things have quieted down.
Amy glances Paige's way only so far as she has to to grab the jacket, avoiding her face. There's a mumble that might've been a thanks as she slips it on. She remains in place hesitantly for a moment before breaking the silence. "I'm-... I'll-... I've gotta go." she says quietly, gesturing vaguely towards the door and suddenly setting off towards it.
Kirill is quick to step away from the grow table when Amy speaks up. "Now, hold on a second." he says in an attempt at slowing her down. "I'll-... Why don't you let me walk you back to your room?" he asks.
Amy flinches a little when Kirill speaks up, but she does stop near the door, glancing back and hesitating a little before offering a small nod, although she looks like she'd prefer to just teleport out of there.
Kirill is quick to lfit a hand and wave off her silent offer to join them. "I'll just be a few." he assures the young woman. "You go on ahead and get back to the others." he says as he joins Amy.
Paige's frown deepens, wishing there was something she could say or do to help the situation. "Okay..." she acknowledges. As her gaze shifts back to Amy she opens her mouth to speak but quickly rethinks whatever she was going to say, stammering for a second. "I'll-... I'll see you soon, Amy." she offers instead.
Amy looks briefly in Paige's general direction with a motion approximate to a nod and a non-committal noise before slipping out the door ahead of Kirill, hands burrowing in the pockets of her jacket as she starts heading straight for her prefab.
Kirill gives a small, appreciative dip of his head to Paige before falling in line behind Amy and facing the cold outdoors.
The few that had gathered outside have long-since dispersed. A number of people who were working on the wall are beginning to file back inside, Mayra included, and they're currently assembled near the gate chatting amongst themselves.
Kirill once again lets the silence take the lead as he merely does exactly as advertised: walks Amy back to her prefab. If silence is what she wants, then he's not about to take that from her, leaving the ball in her court to initiate conversation during the trip.
Amy doesn't say a word during the walk to the prefab, her gaze firmly on the space in front of her. She doesn't stop until she reaches the door, keying in the code and only then turning towards Kirill, albeit still avoiding meeting his gaze. Feeling as if she ought to say something, or that he must have something to say since he walked her over here, she hesitates in place, but no words come.
Kirill meanders just behind Amy during their walk back to her prefab, idly watching passerbyers, exchanging a few nods or simple greetings to a few as he goes. Back at the prefab, as Amy turns to face him, he lets out a sigh. "Well, here you are." he says, his cold hands retreating to the warmth of his jacket pockets.
Amy nods faintly, hesitating for another moment before looking up at Kirill only to immediately turn away and head through the door, hitting the 'close' button as she does. The door slides shut but remains unlocked.
Kirill opens his mouth to speak when Amy beats a hasty retreat, leaving him in the cold with mouth agape and causing him to simply close his eyes, head dipping low. He gives himself a few nods, letting out a heavy puff of breath that mists in the cold winter air before taking a step up to the door. Despite the door being unlocked, he's just not the sort to barge into someone else's room so he gives the interface a tap to buzz the
Amy heads right for the bed, sitting down and starting to tug at her boots, but the buzz on the door causes her to stop, shoulders slumping. There's a couple of moments of silence before she lets out a reluctant "Come in...". She can't exactly lock out the person that gave her a place to stay in the first place, as much as she'd like to.
Kirill taps the interface once more causing the door to slide open. Not wanting to track snow into the small room, he remains at the door and leans back against the inner doorframe. Folding his arms across his chest he gives a glance back out towards the road as his attention is momentarily pulled away, causing him to dip his head in greeting to someone in the distance out of view to Amy. Once again silence sets in for a few moments
as Kirill sifts through his thoughts as he people watches. "Like I told you before, Amy. All sorts of people come here for all sorts of reasons. I've been doin' this for-..." he draws in a breath, an unamused smile forming beneath his beard as he contemplates just how quickly the years have passed him by. For a moment he swears he can feel the grey in his beard. "...For a while now." he decides softly, dismissing the number.
"It's not an easy life, but if there's one thing it's taught me it's that it doesn't matter who you were yesterday." he says, finally turning his head to rest his eyes on Amy. He gives a small shake of his head. "It doesn't." he reaffirms. "What matters is who you are and what you do today."
Amy 's hands withdraw from her boot as the door slides open, resting uneasily on her knee. She stares at an arbitrary spot on the floor as Kirill speaks. As she listens, her head drops lower, loose strands of hair falling in her face as her arms draw in closer, wrapping around herself. She doesn't respond, and at first there's only silence, but it's soon cut through by a quiet sob.
Kirill falls silent, merely watching Amy. At first there's a hint of anger that enters his features. Anger at Earl for putting this kind of weight on her. But it quickly peels away as a sadness settles in. Realizing there's no way he can just leave her like this, he gives the doorframe a few soft kicks to dislodge a bit of the snow from his boots and shifts just inside of the door so he can close it and beat back some of the cold
Amy barely seems to notice Kirill stepping inside, but when the door closes her gaze darts up. The tears that she's been fighting to hold back have started to roll down her cheeks, hurt mixing with humiliation and shame in her face. She's quick to duck her head down again, hiding her face with a look off to the side as another sob slips out.
Kirill remains near the door for a few more moments before approaching Amy. His sore body protests as he takes a seat beside her, culminating in a low, painted grunt. Paige is more than capable of handling things back at the greenhouse. Keeping this place running is about more than figuring out where their next meal is gonna come from. More than trying to keep the power running, or the water clean. More than just logistics. It's about
the people. Making sure they're taken care of. And right now, one of the people he's responsible for needs him. And if she doesn't want to talk, that's fine with him. But he sure as hell isn't about to leave her here, crying all alone in this small, cold shack. So he'll offer what he can, even if that's just a shoulder to cry on. "C'mere." he says, gently reaching across behind her to lay a hand on her opposite shoulder,
Amy doesn't seem quite sure how to react at first, shrinking a little further into her seat, hugging herself a little tighter as the tears continue to flow. Her body tenses a little with Kirill's hand on her shoulder, but it's not long before the urge for comfort overcomes her embarrassment and she leans against Kirill, face disappearing against his jacket as her hands drop back down into her lap. The fact that she's been shown
Kirill gives Amy a gentle pat on the shoulder as she buries her face against his jacket and he settles into place, seeming to be in no hurry to leave her. There's a somber look on his face as his eyes turn towards the floor and he questions what kind of father would do this to their own child. But he's careful to avoid dwelling on those thoughts for too long. Careful to avoid the road that takes him down and the pain that comes with