[ Lightning's not really one to hold her breath in anticipation, but she's fairly close to it as the knife is lifted out and the teen inspects it. Fortunately, she's known him long enough to know that it's not an outright bad reaction, but at the same time also withholds any sign of relief... at least until he reaches out to her.
Finally she breaks into a kind of quiet, wry smile again at the display of some sort of positive reaction, but though she opens her mouth to respond, she then withholds that too instead. He's a smart kid, and she figures anyway that there's little need to explain what's on her mind-- or even try to formulate 'what to say' herself, really. She huffs a breath, then gives his shoulder one last, quick squeeze; her voice dips noticeably softer. ]
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Finally she breaks into a kind of quiet, wry smile again at the display of some sort of positive reaction, but though she opens her mouth to respond, she then withholds that too instead. He's a smart kid, and she figures anyway that there's little need to explain what's on her mind-- or even try to formulate 'what to say' herself, really. She huffs a breath, then gives his shoulder one last, quick squeeze; her voice dips noticeably softer. ]
Happy birthday, Hope.