She wouldn't have ever asked for it, but when Abby reaches out and pulls her into a hug Clarisse falls into it. She presses her face against Abby's shoulder and holds onto her like she's terrified of what will happen if she lets go.
When Silena died, nobody touched her. She just held the body and wept and eventually she got up and went into battle. And nobody touched her, even long after the enemy had retreated. Chris hung back. Waiting, he said later, for her to tire herself out.
This time there is no body to cry over. And it doesn't make sense. She can understand death, and tragedy, and loss. But in this way, where the other person just disappears, and there is no closure and no reason? She can't wrap her head around this. It feels like she's drowning in the contradictions of it, and the only thing she can do is cry into Abby's shirt and hold on tighter.
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When Silena died, nobody touched her. She just held the body and wept and eventually she got up and went into battle. And nobody touched her, even long after the enemy had retreated. Chris hung back. Waiting, he said later, for her to tire herself out.
This time there is no body to cry over. And it doesn't make sense. She can understand death, and tragedy, and loss. But in this way, where the other person just disappears, and there is no closure and no reason? She can't wrap her head around this. It feels like she's drowning in the contradictions of it, and the only thing she can do is cry into Abby's shirt and hold on tighter.