[Kaede hummed quietly, a sound more felt than heard. Her tail slowed when she felt Eren's wing drape on her, swishing to a stop on her foot. Her brow furrowed a bit in thought, but Kaede didn't frown.]

She's...precious to me. [Just thinking about Chariot made Kaede's thoughts grow soft at the edges. That gentle smile, the bottomless patience. The persistence in showing her the kindness Kaede didn't think she deserved.]

She understands me, too. What I am, what I was. And she hasn't turned away. I...

[The words seemed strangely heavy for her to say. Kaede hadn't said them out loud very much; she didn't need to linger on sluggish and clumsy sounds when there was a Bond to convey what she thought and felt.

Here, though, those words were all the tools she had.

Kaede sighed through her nose, and tried again.]

I love her. I trust you. So it's...I don't know.

[In that library beneath, she'd felt a brief flash of indecision. She wanted to hold both of them, but couldn't reach. And the way she'd seen Eren's mood and scales dim felt like a knife point twisting in her chest.]