“Yes?” Cirice asks as Veliky says her name, her own voice hopeful. Then Cyran says they can leave and a little of that hope crumbles. Maybe this wasn’t the best idea, but she doesn’t want to leave until she can be sure Veliky won’t regress. Not that she’s even sure any real progress was made, but she has to believe something in Veliky changed, even if it was tiny.

Then the quarterling turned her cold gaze to Yoci and Cirice opens her mouth to jump to her defense, but the gnome answers for herself. They all stand there, uncertain. She struggles to think of what to say, what might make everything okay and smooth over Veliky’s anger. But nothing comes to mind.

Luckily Yoci is there to once again save the day. “A walk sounds nice! We’ll catch up!” She chirps.

They disappear down the stairs and she turns to Cyran, her face twisted into an apologetic frown, “Sorry. I didn’t mean for… I didn’t think… I… Thank you. If you don’t want to stay that’s okay. You’ve helped me so much. But I can’t leave until I know Vel is gonna be okay. She needs help. Did you see her face? She looked… Afraid. I want to make sure she never feels that way again.”

Despite Yoci’s anxiety, and the one-sided unpleasant memories that arose from their last meeting, Cyran’s handshake was firm. “It’s lovely to meet you too.” A single silver eye flicked towards where Cirice was offering a muffin to Veliky, love radiating from the stretch of her smile and the light in her eyes. Veliky, on the other hand, looked panicked, almost as if she expected to be attacked. Cyran didn’t blame her. He was sure that his own presence was partially the source of her discomfort, after all.

By his side, his hand twitched. It would be all too easy to erase himself from this happy scene, to give Cirice the chance to enjoy this time with her friend without Cyran here ruining things for her…

He hastily shoved his hand in his pocket when he heard Veliky speak up, addressing Yoci directly. Demanding to know why the young engineer hadn’t stopped any of this. Yoci remained as nervous as ever, though to Cyran’s satisfaction, she did not back down from the glaring, demanding quarterling. She truly did care about her boss, enough to help arrange this insane scheme, all to make sure she had a nice day out.

Miss Veliky fell silent. There was something odd in her gaze, something Cyran couldn’t place. But the explosion he’d expected, the angry demands for them to get the fuck out and never grace her doorstep again - they never came. As they stood there expectantly, the seconds stretched into minutes, no one spoke, unsure of how to ease the tension, least of all Cyran. There was nothing he could offer the woman that had not already been said, and there was certainly nothing that a lowly assassin could say that would ease her worries.

Their saving grace, somehow, came in the form of Yoci. Cirice perked up, latching onto the idea of a walk around Sol City. Cyran supposed it sounded pleasant enough, and would get Veliky out of the house. Gods knew she could use a break. Even in her dreams, the poor woman was working…

He frowned as he remembered the eye that they’d seen through the window. What in the world had that been? As the group made their way down the stairs with varying levels of enthusiasm, Cyran decided to shelve that inquiry for later. There would be another time to look into it, perhaps, for Veliky’s sake. Even if he didn’t get the chance to ask the woman herself about it - though he doubted that would yield him any answers of substance - Cyran would have to do some research.

Cirice looked oddly somber as she approached him. As she started to apologize, Cyran only shook his head, resting a gentle hand on her shoulder.

“There’s no need to apologize. Not to me. You care about people, Cirice. Your kindness, your passion for helping those you care about, that’s one of the things I love most about you. I just…”

He trailed off, the thought dying on his tongue as he glanced towards the stairs. There were some people that were just beyond saving. That much, he knew. As much as he wanted to believe Veliky wasn’t one of those people, he had a duty as a godfather, to make sure that Cirice wasn’t hurt, first and foremost. Veliky’s weapons were her sharp tongue and her pointed words, the barbed wire that kept people out of her fortress. Cyran had seen that look of fear on the woman’s face, too. He knew what those walls hid. But he wouldn’t watch Cirice tear herself to shreds in an attempt to climb them.

He gave her a reassuring smile as Cirice insisted that it was okay if he wanted to leave. “As if I’d miss out on the chance to spend the day with you.” He let out a small laugh. “You don’t need to worry. I am there for you, always. Whether that entails breaking into the house of one of the most feared businesswomen of Sol City… or taking her out for brunch.”

He offered Cirice his arm to lead her downstairs, after the other two.

“Even if she does feel that way again, I know she’ll be okay afterwards. She has some of the most wonderful people in the world looking after her, ready to catch her when she falls.”

That much, he was certain of.