[P] working on my backwards walk

[Ismene]

you were my lifetime lover ghost Ismene couldn't help but chuckle at Marisol's quip. She had a habit of that - making her laugh - even when she was sick with nerves. Of course, the Sovereign was likely still blissfully unawares of Izzie's affections. They'd been separated for some time now on different paths and their old easy banter had grown curiously out of sync. Every glance felt too long, every subtle physical shift a sign of definite interest or definite disdain. Just existing in the same space as her was exhausting.  "The bunk isn't that good. If you can even believe it, I find it too small," Ismene chirped, her eyes still trained on the window pane. There was a frenetic energy between the pair of them that keyed Izzie in on the fact that somehow, some way, she was disappointing her Sovereign. The thought was enough to make her almost physically ill. She was suddenly overwhelmed with the fact that she couldn't do anything right, not even something as banal as... whatever this was. A crush? Ismene wasn't sure what it was, only that her stomach was about to jump ship and come tumbling out head-over-tail from her mouth. This is normal. Regular. This is Marisol. Just Marisol. They had trained together once. They'd shared secrets once.  Ismene flashed through her childhood on loop. Marisol was around every corner. This was normal. A final shiver passed through her body, as if a particularly insistent fly had landed on her withers, and Izzie seemed to settle back into herself. She turned and faced Marisol for the first time, tilting her head up so that she could look her in the eyes. "I was just turning in this report when the ink smudged. I had to replicate it or I'm sure I'd get a tongue-lashing or two. I have to do something right around here," she said woefully. "And then the weather took a turn for the worst. Once it clears I'll head back..." Unless, unless, unless. Ismene left the suggestion of a question. She'd head back unless Marisol invited her to stay, if she only asked.