"I don't know," he said. "I thought the things we talked about were important. Not all good conversations leave you feeling happy afterward, but I still appreciated it."
Evaline let James's words sink in, and slowly, her hardened expressed washed away. She didn't know how he did it, but he always seemed to know how to defuse her.
"You're right," she admitted after a sigh and a long pause, softening her eyes as she turned back to him. "We don't have to forget it, then. But we don't have to talk about it anymore, either."
Evaline appreciated the change of subject. Although that conversation could have went better, she was glad they had it. She certainly felt better.
She untied her braid and combed through her hair with her fingers, remembering that she also had a nicer ribbon she could give to James. It was funny how one second her mind was thinking about the vulnerable conversation of last night, and the next second, she was thinking about the trivialities to how things would look on her.
Her hair wasn't as dirty since they didn't bathe that long ago. She quickly digested the idea of doing something new.
"Maybe a waterfall braid," she said, still combing through her hair to loosen the braid. "But only half up."
Evaline watched James take a few steps forward and sit, waiting for her to sit in front of him so he could get to work. She couldn't help but let out the beginnings of a gentle smile. There was something endearing about him sometimes being needlessly patient, even if it was a small thing, like letting her approach him.
After a brief hesitation, she walked towards him then turned around to sit, pushing her hair over her shoulders.
"Thank you," she said quietly, but she wasn't thanking him for the braid.
Evaline looked ahead at the field in front of them as she felt his fingers running through her hair. She didn't have to say anything, but it felt wrong to let the comfortable silence sit between them.
"How was your book?" she asked after a few pauses.
“I’m enjoying it,” James said softly, focused on the start of the braid and looping the hairs correctly. “Pattinson’s perspective is refreshing, and there’s some old world history mentioned too, before the calamity. Which is hard to find nowadays.”
“It’s interesting to read what the world was like before,” he said. “I think one of the most significant changes in human culture came about after the mage wars, when magic was outlawed and most of the existing mages were killed, or otherwise forced into hiding. Or renouncing their magic, and joining the side of the enemy... which was surprisingly more common than I thought.”
He paused, almost missing a strand of hair and losing his place. But he caught it.
“But before all of that... magic was a big part of everyday life. People with earth magic often went into construction, for practical reasons. People with fire magic could become competent blacksmiths. But those things were optional. It sounds like there may have been some families that cared more about preserving types of magic in their bloodlines, but there was so much history lost during the calamity... burt texts, or just things lost to natural disasters. It’s hard to know for sure. We’re just far enough removed from it that almost everyone who lived through it has passed on...”
