Chapter Seventy Eight: The Talk
Ember thought long and hard about the conversation with Raven and whether it was best to allow Ember to have complete control again, despite how upset she was, and yet there was truth within the words and that was enough to coax the conversation.
Ember approached Penny who was to the side or the cottage, who was holding out her hand, with a small green fireball dancing on her palm. She seemed to be in deep thought about something and yet this did not detour Ember.
" Can we talk? " Ember asked, almost timidly.
" Yeah.." Penny turned, shocked to see Ember actually wanting to have a conversation with her for the first time in what felt like an eternity.
" I wanted to..apologize for the hostility that I have shown you. I know that it was wrong. I know that my anger was partially justified but..we are friends..and I do value you in my life..I just want you to know that.." Ember's confession perplexed Penny who almost couldn't believe these words were ever coming from Ember.
" I thank you for that..but I just..I don't know..I miss you. We haven't even..we didn't know each other long but you have been a good friend and I messed that up. And I know that is my fault and I am sorry. But, I just learned that you are basically an entire world..the world we are trying to save here..and..I just..I'm confused" Penny had hoped for this conversation to happen and yet, now that she was faced with it, she found it impossible to find the right words"
" I know..and I haven't made this easy for either of us. Especially with so much at stake" Ember confessed as she placed her hand on top of Penny's.
" We may have issues here but I would like to try and make things right. Because we can't end up like Gabriel and Kara..we cannot go back and forth" Ember reasoned.
" Well, Gabriel and Kara had a love that turned toxic..which makes me think that sometimes, people just aren't good for one another no matter how hard they try" Penny wipes a tear away from her, her heart breaking, knowing full well that this entire friendship would not end well. Ember would always have a place here, because she was the world itself. And that, was not the same for Penny. She could leave if she needed too, even though she didn't want to. This crossed her mind at times of heated battles with Ember, to run away and escape all of this pain that she had caused them.
"Well do you think that we are not meant to be friends? Do you believe that we are destined to fail, over and over again? " Ember inquired, as she squeezed Penny's hand ever so gently.
Penny thought over this question, as she had done so many times before. She knew she would need to answer even if this was one of the hardest questions for her to answer despite the preparation.
" I believe that if we don't start growing up soon..we will suffer their fate. But if we can learn when to walk away, if we need too then we might be spared" Penny answers.
" But that doesn't mean that I want to walk away..just that I am gonna prepare myself everyday in case I have to.." She added.
Ember let go of Penny's hand and returned it to her lap.." Then I suppose I should do the same" Ember answered, feeling her own heart aching now.
" But..we need each other right now, for the time being. And we have to work together. To do whatever it takes to make things right...and I believe that we can.." Ember stood to her feet and began to walk away, having felt that it would be best to give Penny the space she would need.
" I will always need you" Penny muttered under her breathe as tears began falling down her cheek, and within a fit of sudden frustration, she launched the fireball into the target she had built to practice on, hitting it dead center.