@vdova ; video

[waytodie]

[Her hair is in two messy twin braids. Her eyes are glassy. The sharp-eyed might notice she's probably, definitely drunk. The less-so might just assume she's overly tired. Her tongue presses into her cheek as she considers how to start this one, but in the end she just rips the bandaid off quickly: ]

So, tell me, how is it that you handle grief?

[She probably won't be elaborating on why she's asking, unless she has a certain level of familiarity with you, but you can try. People closest to her probably already know what this is really about: Her sister is gone. From Moorecroft. From Etraya. From the top side of the dirt. Gone and back to dead, and Yelena is spiraling.]

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[hauntedsnowfall]

[ This was difficult territory. Still, one does not typically sacrifice themselves if nothing is going wrong and most things that go wrong have a cause or trigger. ]

... I have had friends sacrifice themselves for me. While it was their choice to do so... [ He blames himself for not being able to save them, but that won't be helpful here. ] Something forced them to make that choice. I have set myself against the ones who caused that. While I am unfamiliar with your situation, most people do not choose to sacrifice themselves unless they are made to.

[waytodie]

She saved the world. [She keeps staring at her fingers, refusing to look up because she can feel the tears lining the edges of her eyes again. Her tongue is thick with emotion, her accent thicker along with it.[ My sister was a hero.

[hauntedsnowfall]

[ Dimitri frowns and feels for the young woman. It seems like she is still too close to the overwhelming grief. He remembers the all too frequent breakdowns that happened behind closed doors. ]

...This may be unwelcome from a stranger like myself, but I want you to know that it's perfectly acceptable to be upset about such unfortunate circumstances. There is no need for you to force yourself to smile as your soul bleeds.

[waytodie]

[She frowns a little, not sure she was ready for something quite so poetic as that last line, but... it does strike a certain chord within her. Even gets her to look up at the camera again.]

...Thanks. [She sniffs softly and wipes her eyes quickly. Permission, as it were, for such a thing is something she would never give herself, and even though he is a stranger, it's a nice sentiment, in a way.

It also brings a very different memory to her mind, and she finds herself quoting her mother: ] Our pain only makes us stronger in the end.

[As simultaneously true and untrue that statement is, it's one that has gotten her through so many terrible things. A lesson from Melina that she carried in her heart for all these years.]

[hauntedsnowfall]

[ He is not certain it does... At least Dimitri doesn't want to think the murder of his parents made him stronger. It made him something, but.. but if it is a mantra that helps her get through this, then perhaps it's worth not thinking too deeply into it. ]

If we are anything, we are adaptable.

[ He glances away from the camera and thinks a moment before looking back. ]

You made a previous post to this network about combat training... If you find yourself in need of a partner to work your emotions out on: I tend to be up at odd hours.