The relay goes still in Buster’s hand. The tower hum drops to a low, steady murmur, and the concrete platform feels suddenly too big for the two of them.
Mara looks from the dimmed filament to the blood on Buster’s palm. Her tactical edge falls away, leaving something openly worried in its place.
Mara
You should sit down. That is a lot of blood.
She steps closer, slow and careful, like she is afraid a wrong move will scare him off. The silence between them is not empty now, just fragile.
Buster Jones
Buster shifts the filament aside and gives her the injured hand to look at.
Mara
I did not see this. I thought I was watching the danger. I was watching too late.
Mara
Let me help. Please.
Above them, the river wind brushes the tower’s steel skin. Mara stays near, waiting, not ordering, just there.
✓ Quest Accepted
Let Mara help with the wound
✓ Quest Accepted
Decide whether to trust Mara with the future
“Is the relationship weve spent weeks building truly real?”
YES (Likely, rolled 14)
Mara gently takes Buster's hand, her fingers tracing the skin around the wound with a lightness that suggests she is trying to undo the damage she once helped orchestrate.
Mara
I spent so long looking for a way to break you, Buster. But seeing you here, choosing to protect me even after everything... it is the only thing that has ever felt true.
Buster Jones
Her pulse is steady against my palm, and for the first time, the weight of her past doesn't feel like a weapon aimed at my back.
“I let Mara treat my hand”
Buster eases his hand into Mara's care and lets her work. Her touch stays careful, almost reverent, as she cleans the wound in the dim glow of the dead relay.
Mara
I do not want to fix this like a handler. I want to do it right, if you will let me.
“I let Mara keep tending my hand”
Mara finishes the wrap with steady hands, then eases back just enough to give Buster space. The dead relay hums low behind them, and for once neither of them reaches for a tactic first.
Mara
Thank you for letting me do this the right way.
She keeps her eyes on his bandaged hand, not his face, as if that is the safer kind of honesty. The dim tower light holds the silence without threatening it.
“I ask Mara if she still means it”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +1)
Buster Jones
Do you still mean it, Mara? About us, about a future.
Mara
Yes. I mean it now, while I can say it plainly.
Mara
He is asking for the real answer, not the useful one.
Mara
I want to build something honest with you, not manage you.
Her hand stays over the fresh wrap a moment longer, as if making sure the care is still real. The discarded filament rests between them on the concrete, dull now.
Mara
And I still mean the hard part too, staying, telling the truth, letting you choose.
She eases a small step closer, then stops herself, watching his face instead of reaching for it. The tower light remains low and steady, no longer shouting at them.
Quest Complete
Decide whether to trust Mara with the future
Quest Complete
Let Mara help with the wound