[right now, of the things in the immediate vicinity that are unsettling, emerald will take the sickly girl who's trying to help her out over the rapidly-shrinking number of judging eyes any day of the week. it takes a second for her to come fully back to reality, but the tone shift in this woman's voice is helping a surprising amount. it cuts through the noise, and it's easy to listen to maybe because of how insistent it is. maybe it's relatable. maybe emerald's used that tone of voice before herself.]

I have to be happy? [she repeats it like the solution to a riddle and lets a smile creep its way to the corners of her mouth. she can force herself into happiness about as well as she can handle everything else on her own, so it doesn't quite hit her heart yet—but it's a start. maybe because there's an easier emotion to tap into.]

You're talking about doing it out of spite, right? I can do spite. [her smile shows some teeth. she looks ahead of her and the eyes are vanishing even more quickly, leaving behind exactly what should have been underneath them this whole time. and she breathes out.] It sounds like you've got some experience with spite, too.