"You don't know why they sent me away." He held her gaze. "Then tell me." Ayoka ran her thumb along the rim of the cup. "There was conflict inside the band, arguments about land, supplies, leadership.
I spoke against the wrong men. I questioned their choices." Her voice grew tighter. "They blamed me for what happened later, said I brought trouble, said I failed the band." Elias listened without blinking.
He didn't look satisfied or shocked, just attentive. "They pushed me away during the night," she continued. "I wasn't allowed to defend myself. I wasn't allowed to stay or return." Elias nodded slowly.
"They shouldn't have thrown you out, not like that." Ayoka exhaled shakily. "You don't know their anger." "I don't need to," he replied. "I know fear when I see it."
Something softened in her expression. She looked at him fully now, noticing the dark circles under his eyes, the strain in his jaw, the weight in his shoulders. "You help me," she whispered. "But it costs you." Elias leaned back against the wall, stretching out his legs with a stiff sigh.
"I've been tired before. This is nothing new." But Ayoka understood. Exhaustion wasn't new, but exhaustion for someone else was. He wasn't used to caring for another person.
He wasn't ready for the vulnerability that came with it. That night, the fragile pattern continued, but with a slight shift. Ayoka awoke again, breath sharp and shallow. Her hand reached out instinctively and stopped halfway. She hesitated, aware of how hard the nights had been on him.
Elias heard her anyway. He was already sitting up, rubbing his eyes, pushing himself to his feet. "You need me?" he asked. Ayoka looked torn between need and guilt. "I don't want to make you weaker."
Elias stepped inside the tack room and sank down beside her with a tired sigh. "You're not. This isn't your fault." She looked at him, searching for signs of anger, but found none. Only exhaustion held in place by discipline and strange, quiet empathy.
Still, something changed. Instead of gripping his arm tightly, she rested her hand lightly on his sleeve. And instead of leaning all her weight on him, she kept enough distance to show she was trying not to drain him further. Elias noticed the change. His tired eyes softened.