[ El's face can be surprisingly sombre and impassive for a girl as young as she is - something she shares with Laura. It's never an emotionless wall, though. Her eyes, at the very least, are always expressive, and more often than not, the rest of her small face follows, growing more expressive as she gets older, as she is free.
It's therefore more than likely that Erik will be able to follow along on Eleven's little journey here, as she looks at him and tries to parse his words.
Surprise flits over her features first. Because I don't want to lose you either. She knows that there are people who care. Hopper does, and so does Joyce Byers. So do her friends. She doesn't quite understand why Erik cares, why it matters to him. She wanders if it's because she's Laura's friend, and decides for now, that this must be the answer. It hurt Mike to lose her - it would hurt Laura to lose her. Therefore, Erik does not want to lose her.
Right? Right.
But then she tracks back to the other words. We protect one another. A small frown on her face. The gears are practically visibly turning behind her big eyes. Her nose scrunches up a bit, and then her lips part in a soft 'oh'. That's also what friends do. Erik is her friend. She hadn't quite figured that out yet, with no statement on it. She looks at him, long and with a growing understand. ]
We are friends.
[ It's like a light bulb has gone off. Hearing it said to her is what makes it real. They're friends. Her and Laura. But her and Erik, too.
And that means his words matter different, too. Because he's not just some adult. She thinks on it for a moment longer, and then she nods. Erik will see it, the way she churns his words over and over and then lets them settle, the way what he tells her has just shaped the way she thinks, the way she regards the world around her.
So easily influenced, at the end of all things. ]
We protect one another.
[ She echoes it back to him. And in doing so, she speaks it into being, too. They are friends. A friend is someone you do anything for. Friends don't lie. A promises is a thing you don't break. We are not stupid. They will always see us as monsters. We protect one another. Her small but growing list of life lessons that she hoards like gifts and treasures.
She slips her hand into his with a solemn little nod. And she looks at him like he hung the moon - because he told her that he is her friend. ]
no subject
It's therefore more than likely that Erik will be able to follow along on Eleven's little journey here, as she looks at him and tries to parse his words.
Surprise flits over her features first. Because I don't want to lose you either. She knows that there are people who care. Hopper does, and so does Joyce Byers. So do her friends. She doesn't quite understand why Erik cares, why it matters to him. She wanders if it's because she's Laura's friend, and decides for now, that this must be the answer. It hurt Mike to lose her - it would hurt Laura to lose her. Therefore, Erik does not want to lose her.
Right? Right.
But then she tracks back to the other words. We protect one another. A small frown on her face. The gears are practically visibly turning behind her big eyes. Her nose scrunches up a bit, and then her lips part in a soft 'oh'. That's also what friends do. Erik is her friend. She hadn't quite figured that out yet, with no statement on it. She looks at him, long and with a growing understand. ]
We are friends.
[ It's like a light bulb has gone off. Hearing it said to her is what makes it real. They're friends. Her and Laura. But her and Erik, too.
And that means his words matter different, too. Because he's not just some adult. She thinks on it for a moment longer, and then she nods. Erik will see it, the way she churns his words over and over and then lets them settle, the way what he tells her has just shaped the way she thinks, the way she regards the world around her.
So easily influenced, at the end of all things. ]
We protect one another.
[ She echoes it back to him. And in doing so, she speaks it into being, too. They are friends. A friend is someone you do anything for. Friends don't lie. A promises is a thing you don't break. We are not stupid. They will always see us as monsters. We protect one another. Her small but growing list of life lessons that she hoards like gifts and treasures.
She slips her hand into his with a solemn little nod. And she looks at him like he hung the moon - because he told her that he is her friend. ]
We have an accord.