It took her a few moments, pushing away the embarrassment and disappointment because she just couldn't do it! Jericho was much nicer than anyone she'd spoken to already, shouldn't that have made it easier to open up? But it was so hard; one second she knew what she wanted to say, but when she heard the sound of her own voice...

Syllona sighed, forced herself to sit up a little straighter, and frowned down at his apology. She gave a slow shake of her head.

No. It's okay. I'm just like this.

A beat. This sort of thing happened more and more frequently since... a while now. Worrying about it only made the anxiety worse, she'd found. But she knew. She knew she had to keep pushing.

You're being really nice to me Jericho. So

She looked up. "So I can try. If you... really want."