Efret closed the space between them almost immediately.
Casimir did not react beyond the subtle turn of his body toward her. There was no need. The choice told him enough. Whatever had happened before his arrival, Efret wanted him close now, and he settled easily into that place beside her.
Anet Raine.
He committed the name to memory while the discomfort surrounding the woman pressed faintly against his senses. Casimir felt it for what it was, something unnatural clinging at the edges of instinct, encouraging unease where there was already reason enough for caution. He acknowledged the sensation and let it pass through him without giving it anything to take hold of.
His attention returned to Efret when she spoke.
"I doubt it's hurt you."
There was an edge there that Casimir rarely heard from her.
He remained quiet.
The exchange had clearly begun long before he arrived, and Anet's attempt to frame the conversation as an exercise between scholars only seemed to sharpen something inside Efret. Casimir watched it happen in increments. The tension in her posture. The growing force behind the borrowed voice. The anger pushing itself forward until the words were no longer merely spoken.
When Efret mentioned Humbarine, understanding began to take shape. Not complete understanding. Casimir had missed too much of the conversation for that. He understood enough to recognize what Anet had been digging at.
Efret's voice rose.
Casimir's gaze shifted toward her. He did not interrupt. He did not reach for her simply because she was angry. Instead, his hand moved into the space where she could see it, two fingers drawing a small, deliberate motion near his chest.
I hear you.
Efret quieted herself before continuing.
"But this? Both of the events we're celebrating were invasions that we perpetrated."
Casimir's expression changed almost imperceptibly.
There it was.
It was ot regret in any simple form, nor was it condemnation either. This was something caught between conviction and conscience, with neither yielding enough ground for Efret to stand comfortably between them.
Then she stepped away from him.
Only part of a stride, but Casimir noticed.
His earlier request had been for her to stay close. He did not repeat it.
Efret did not need permission to confront Anet, and she certainly did not need Casimir pulling her backward because the conversation had become uncomfortable. He let her take the space she wanted while remaining exactly where she had left him.
"I still understand it, but don't like this preemption."
Casimir watched Anet for a moment before his eyes returned to Efret.
His hand rose again.
This time the movement was smaller, meant for her rather than the conversation.
Both can be true.
His hand lowered.
Only then did Casimir finally speak.
"Understanding something doesn't require you to make peace with it."
His attention shifted toward Anet.
The words were not an argument against her. Casimir did not know enough about the woman, her experience, or even the entirety of what she believed to offer one. They were simply a refusal of the premise that understanding required Efret to resolve the conflict Anet had found inside her.
Casimir looked back toward Efret.
He stayed where he was.
Close enough that returning to him required only a step.
