Ludovica shuddered, suddenly.
Ludovica breathed out, blinking, then quickly stood. She felt a chill from the quick-coming night, and the urge to curl up, alone, in an old blanket overcame her.
It was the want to be alone that made her realize Bennie stopped. Suddenly, her anger welled up inside of her. More than anything, she hated feeling helpless--it was the same feeling she had around her father, and it was what she avoided more than anything else. No, on top of that, it was what she hated more than anything else, and feeling it then had sent her for a spin.
She was a second away from losing control, but she caught herself before anyone could see what she was really like.
In a flash, she was her fake, loving, peace-wanting self.
"W-wait," Ludovica called out to her father and aunt, "can't we settle this in a different way? Does it always have to end in aggression? I don't want to see my family fight."
I hope you both burn.
"In... in Life's name?" Life asked, unbelieving.
She thought back to her supposed allies. Bennie listed three people--Kayin, their child, herself, and who else? Part of her swore it was Malin--this entity's name, supposedly--but she was sure that was just her mind playing tricks on her. She just wanted it to be Malin, so she was remembering it as Malin, right?
Right?
She huffed. What would happen if she was wrong, and she trusted this person, and it backfired terribly?
But what if he really was on her side, and this was perhaps the best thing that could've happened?
Blinking, Life decided to let go of her skepticism. It was all or nothing, and she was desperate enough to believe him. What reason was there for him to lie anyway?
"I'll be blunt too. I'm Life, I'm exhausted, and there may well be a wolf after me--I can't really tell."