"No," she says sharply, and glares at one of the members of the cleanup crew who looks over in surprise at her sudden vehemence. It saves her from glaring at Winter, who doesn't deserve her anger.
That the tech doesn't deserve it either isn't important. He's no one to her, and will have forgotten the glimpse of temper come morning.
She shuts her eyes for a moment, trusting her companion to catch her if she stumbles over anything dangerous, and draws a deep breath.
"No," she says again, less forceful, but no less firm. "That is not your guilt to carry. You aren't the one who decided to make little girls into weapons. And you aren't the one who sold us back to them for a bit of glory. The things you taught us were hard, but someone was always going to teach them."
She glances over at him, then adds quietly, "Some of the Widows are still alive because it was you who did their teaching."
no subject
That the tech doesn't deserve it either isn't important. He's no one to her, and will have forgotten the glimpse of temper come morning.
She shuts her eyes for a moment, trusting her companion to catch her if she stumbles over anything dangerous, and draws a deep breath.
"No," she says again, less forceful, but no less firm. "That is not your guilt to carry. You aren't the one who decided to make little girls into weapons. And you aren't the one who sold us back to them for a bit of glory. The things you taught us were hard, but someone was always going to teach them."
She glances over at him, then adds quietly, "Some of the Widows are still alive because it was you who did their teaching."