you shine brighter than anyone

Sohalia

Did a charming personality count as a way to protect oneself?

Sohalia shifted sheepishly beneath Deimos's gaze, feeling like a child caught doing something they've been told time and again not to do. "Um, well..." Truth be told, she'd never really thought about protection. It just hadn't seemed like something that she'd need. Any horror stories she'd ever heard from her guardian seemed like just that - stories - and it had never occurred to her to place herself into them as the main character.

"Not... really?" she said finally, her voice lilting up at the end.

and that's the hope I have
the only thing I know that's keeping me alive