in her eyes I saw infinity [private]

[equilibrium]

Lisabeth was afraid. Kip would've been concerned if she wasn't. It made too much sense. Kip themself would die of old age one day, but Lisabeth wouldn't. If she died, it would come in the form of violence.

But it was probably best to keep that information to themself. Lisabeth was already dreading her immortality enough; Kip didn't want to make it worse.

They allowed a soft smile to appear on their lips though. "You're going to see the best your world has to offer," she pointed out gently. "I can't say that you will have an easy life or that the world will always be kind to you, but... humanity is going to grow. They will improve, and when you least expect it, the future will come through for you. Not all of it will be so doom and gloom." Those times would certainly exist. Both World Wars would be harrowing, and depending on where Lisabeth ended up and when -- Kip knew she'd go to a couple different places, but it wasn't like she had her friend's whole timeline memorized -- she might find herself in some dangerous situations. But Kip had already said that her life wouldn't be a tragedy, and they meant it.

Lisabeth still seemed pessimistic, but hopefully that would wane. The woman Kip knew in the future wasn't this fatalistic, so they had hope.

Something was still on her mind though. The Watchkeeper had seen her friend dig her nails into various surfaces like that throughout their time together, and they knew what it meant. It seemed like Lisabeth wanted to ignore it, considering she tried to brush off Kip, citing some made-up excuse that they probably had more important things to be doing, but the brunette shook her head. "I'm right where I need to be," she replied simply. "And if I had to guess, you're still mulling something over." Kip's eyes flicked downwards to Lisabeth's fingertips on her mug and shrugged slightly. "You can ask anything you want. Can't guarantee I'll be able to answer, but you can always ask."

Kip knew she was walking a fine line here. The Watchkeepers weren't supposed to reveal anything about the future to their Earth's inhabitants, and they had already toed that line more than most of her colleagues would be comfortable with. But this was Lisabeth for time's sake. This woman was special, both here on Earth-243 and in Kip's heart. They wouldn't dream of breaking the rules, but maybe they could bend them a little more to reassure a friend.

[eternal]

”You’re going to see the best your world has to offer.”

Lisabeth found herself unable to find a response to that statement. Perhaps it was the loss of her sister, the only family member who had seemed to care for her, that clouded her judgment and made everything appear gray and dreary. But hearing Kip’s reply about how she would at least be seeing some good that was supposed to be present in what she would experience provided just a little sliver of hope.

Kip did confirm her fears, not denying that there would be still some hard times ahead. But she was making the point that the good was just as important and meaningful. Even so, Lisabeth found the darkness to just be so much more suffocating, her grief overwhelming enough to snuff out what little light crept into her life. And then there was the ever-lingering notion that it was all almost neverending, forcing Lisabeth to wonder what value her life truly had.

As a result, and from what Kip could clearly see, Lisabeth did not know who to trust with her heart. But so far, they had chosen not to just clap their hands and be done with the conversation. Instead, she was allowing Lisabeth to ask about anything. She narrowed her eyes for a moment, gazing at Kip while she waited for the trap. Her fingers moved from her tankard to toy with the coins she had placed on the table.

“Am I ever happy again?” Lisabeth murmured. “Am I loved again?” Technically, it was two questions. But to her, they were the most important and burning questions that she felt she needed answers to right now. Perhaps they would be the lifeline she could latch onto in this endless storm, providing her with just enough weight to stay centered.