[ She watches as his eyes shift away, and she can't help but feel as if she's let him down, somehow. It immediately prompts this: ] And hearing you now, I appreciate that... --That you told me, beforehand. What you felt you could, anyways. [ For what little it was, under a promise to keep secret. But that doesn't answer his other question, Why is 'I'll tell you later' not okay?

It is okay, generally speaking. Yet, his question does make her think. Why had this been the exception? ] For this, all the precautions with the vagueness you gave actually had me worried. Not that there wouldn't be a later-- if I had truly believed that, I would have done a lot more to insist that I help, somehow.

But, somehow, I think not knowing is worse than knowing what you were fully up against. [ Her fingers curl over her crystal. ] I'm not sure if that makes sense to you, but... that's how I felt, being in the dark.