(Untitled)

[payback]

Day: 10
Characters: Edgeworth mentis_reae and Rin cutest_avenger
Summary: A meeting in the library. After riding horses with Jack, before encountering Kiric in the garden.
Status: Closed | Incomplete

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[mentis_reae]

Much of Edgeworth's day was spent, now, in the library. It was quieter there than most places, more peaceful...There was some shield, it seemed, constructed by the books and periodicals around him, that shut out the noise and the strife of the asylum around him. He could breathe in the sweet must of old paper and think unmolested, not even the occasional visitor equal to disturbing him

[payback]

Most of her weight shifted to the one shelf, the shelf beneath the shelf upon which the book she was reaching for rested, her other leg outstretched, awkwardly bearing only a minuscule proportion of her own weight, meant more as an emergency fallback than as any real means of support, twisted awkwardly and still stretching insistently to get the book she was aiming for - and Rin froze awkwardly, tensing at Edgeworth's voice

[mentis_reae]

He saw she was about to fall and just stood there, frozen with a weightless sort of terror as she teetered unbalanced on the edge of the bookshelf and then fell, hard, to the floor. And he just watched. For a moment when she hit the floor, his throat tightened with terror, certain she had perished - absolutely certain she had perished

[payback]

She supposed she really should have pulled over a chair to stand on, or something - they had to have put a stool in here somewhere. It seemed like they should've, at least, especially now that they were trying to keep up the more civilized veneer (and who knew how long it would last, of course, but even so - ). That would have saved her the embarrassing tumble, and it certainly felt like she was going to be feeling that for some time after. The floors were hardwood, after all, not forgiving...

It was something of a surprise, although maybe it shouldn't have been, to find Edgeworth offering her a hand. Rin stared at it for a moment, awkward and tense, aware as she hesitated how the moment became more and more awkward. Then she looked down, reached out, and took his hand in her own.

It had been tempting just to leave him hanging, in a way. It might have even been less awkward. But Edgeworth didn't really deserve that, and anyway, she had to get up sometime.

[mentis_reae]

Her hand in his was small and rather rough. He was surprised at that, but...he supposed it made sense. She came from such an utterly different environment, didn't she? A different world, as it were, a different life, where survival was not a matter of finding a job and receiving regular pay and ensuring that you looked both ways before crossing the street, but rather a matter of fighting, of defending oneself...She was so very young. She truly was. Even through her twisted, suspicious expression her features still were shaded with childhood. And yet her hand was calloused with weapons

[payback]

Edgeworth's hand engulfed hers; he had long fingers and broad palms, and his grip was quite warm. They were pale and unmarked by the little nicks and gouges garnered by a student of the sword. A scribe's hands, or a politician's. One wouldn't have thought that someone like that would have such a strong grip, but he pulled her onto her feet quite easily.

Then again, Rin supposed it shouldn't have been such a surprise. She'd wasn't an especially large girl.

Rin pulled the hand he'd grasped to her chest after he released his grasp, clasping at the hand he'd touched with her other friend. It had been a strange, familiar kind of touch, and her skin there almost seemed to burn with the aftermath of it. The last person she'd touched... Hisoka. Zack. A day ago, maybe. Rin felt a moue of complete unhappiness pulling at her face and smoothed her expression out only barely. It would be too embarrassing to burst until tears here.

"Yes," she said softly, instead. "I'm fine."