Awlivv’s eyes, glassy with fear, finally locked on. Vespa’s gaze was flint and honey—hard enough to hold, sweet enough to trust.
“Say it with me,” Vespa whispered. “ I move because I choose to. ” vespa & awlivv – oral encouragement
“You’ve climbed harder things than this,” Vespa continued, thumb brushing Awlivv’s jaw. “You’ve survived winters that tried to break you. You walked away from people who swore you’d never leave. That path down there? It’s just stone and switchbacks. But you—” she paused, letting the word settle. “You are not ‘just’ anything.” Awlivv’s eyes, glassy with fear, finally locked on
Awlivv’s lip trembled. “What if I fall?” glassy with fear
“Good,” Vespa said, and the smile in her voice was a small, warm sun. “Now, let’s go find that water.”