Luckily for her, she knew how to handle this, she already knew this was coming too.
The girl moved her right hand to make a shushing motion, to which the room immediately silenced.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Minho was the first to break the silence, only seeing as a chance to be heard, "The shuck you mean by that?" His voice laced with — anger? Mixed with disbelief, maybe.
She sighed, "I'm sorry."
Then her eyes drifted to Nick, who seemed to be lost in thought, his eyes also still in disbelief.
To everyone's surprise, Gally was the one who said something, "No need to be sorry Dee, we just wanna know why." He stated calmly.
She blinked. "I— my time is overdue. I don't think I can do it anymore. It has nothing to do with you guys, I hope you all know that. You're all amazing and great to work with. I just can't take all of it anymore."
Everyone in the room looked at her apologetically, no need to say more, they understood.
"Sorry." Her reflex auto-response kicked in again.
"You can say a lot of things to us, Dion, but sorry isn't one of them. We appreciate your time in command, and if you think you can't do it anymore, that's alright. But we're here to welcome you with open arms if you decide to take over again." Frypan spoke up, giving the girl a reassuring smile.
It was quiet again for a few moments, until Zart raised his hand, Dion motioned for him to go on.
"Err— can I ask something?"
She paused, "—Was there a time you couldn't?" Genuinely confused.
He too, paused, before shaking it off and went on ahead with his question, "If you're no longer in Command, who is?"
Everyone looked at Dion expectantly.
Alright. She was pretty nervous about this part—really nervous. She was scared he wouldn't take it, too respectful to ever take her place. But he was her first choice, he was someone she trusted most. She could ask anything of him. Hopefully this too.
"I was hoping Nick would."
His head never snapped up so quickly.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"Y-you want m— me?"
If he had somehow managed to wrap his head around the news before, his eyes widen as everything he understood unwrapped itself, leaving him panicked and confused, again. He didn't like that.
He was searching for any sign of unseriousness in Dion's eyes, anything. But all he saw was apologetic genuinity. Her eyes never lie. Not to him at least.
"You don't have to say yes. Or anything, for that matter. It's your choice. I can go for another day or two, it's fine." She reassured him. She didn't want to pressure him or spook him any way.
The room was quiet. Too quiet. Dion worried. It only furthered when the Runner Keeper left without saying a word.
She made a mental note to talk to him later.
The cut through the silence surprised everyone, "I'll do it."
Dion blinked. More beats of silence passed. Looking for uncertainty in Nick's eyes, she couldn't find any.
"You sure? I'm not kidding Nick, you can take your time to thi—"
"I already did. And I'll do it." He stood up to come face to face with the former leader, then pausing, looking at the rest of the Council, "I mean, if you guys are okay with it, that is."
Everyone quiet for a bit. It wasn't that they weren't sure of Nick's (future) leadership, no, they were sure the brunette would make an amazing leader. It was just a lot to take in. It was, after all, still very early.
"You know what," Dion started, "Why don't we finish this up later, sun's comin' up and none of us even had breakfast yet. Just keep goin' on your day as usual and we'll have another Gathering some time later, sounds good?" She suggested. Not many verbally answered, maybe a shrug here and there and small mutters of 'Okay's.
After everyone had filed out, it was only Nick and Dion left in council hall. So many words felt unspoken but also, there were no words left to say.
So, Dion did what she thought was the next best thing, she abruptly put her right arm around her best friend's shoulder, making him look up to face her and giving the smallest bit of smile on his face.
"Why don't you get a quick breakfast and head off to the Maze, take the day to clear your head—not too clear though, we need you back before you get stuck in there." They both chuckled, "But seriously, take off some stress. No need to map anything today, just—"
Nick nodded before she could finish, understanding where she was going, and letting Dion's arm fall from the embrace she had him in. The boy was nearing the door when Dion stopped him.
"And if you're sure about taking my place, I'll still be here if you need anything. Nothing's ever going to change that."
He only responded with a small smile, his hand moving over his Runner pack before sprinting outside, leaving her alone again.
