[he relaxes against the invisible pressure holding him down, not because he's actually relaxed in any capacity, but because he knows his energy could be spent on better things. eventually.

with a sigh, he goes up to bat again. is he going to turn her? probably not. but he couldn't give up. trying to make her mad enough to collapse a cavern on them had been a last-ditch strategy, not the end game.]

I think the real you is still in there somewhere. [note: the "real" you, not the "old" you.] You're just ... lost. Scared. You're clinging to this because it's easy. Doing the right thing is hard. Trust me, I know. I know that more than anything. But, you can't ... you can't fool yourself into thinking that it doesn't matter.