[it takes a while for him to say anything that's immediately helpful to anna, or at least she thinks so, but she also has eye, so she can see that this is important to him. it feels like even if he didn't really want to talk about any of this stuff, he's kind of laying it all out for her anyway. maybe he just needed a push. maybe that's the point of it.]

[the first thing he does say that gets to her comes late, around the idea of things never staying peaceful in the dream for very long. there's no reason trench could possibly be the same way, and she can't... she can't imagine having been too drunk to move in recollé when lives depended on it. it twists her stomach, and maybe it's because she's been awake for too damn long, but it almost sours her appetite to think about it too hard.]

I know so many people, [and she starts slowly, like she's building up to something bigger,] Who would found a new city just to kick my ass from here to there if they caught me being too drunk to do the shit that needs to be done. I guess I gotta find some people like that around here. Then just... keep doing it every day. I've been there before and I can get there again, right?

[with luck, that's how it works. maybe it would help motivate her if she knew someone who'd... no, that was grim, even for her. she could find the motivation on her own.]

Sure hope you're feeling better after all that talking. I think I'm probably gonna get there, too. Just, uh, one thing. [and this one has less weight behind it, because she doesn't know how to handle stuff like this without deflecting.] My cigs stay. I don't have a problem there. I literally don't even have lungs.