"Are you familiar with the..." Raliya began, closing her eyes briefly before opening them again, her eyes now multicolored. Kirsi gasped at the swirling rainbow vortices that were Raliya's: "...Miracle Eyes?”

  Kirsi's eyes flickered, surprise flashing in them briefly. She had heard of the Miracle Eye phenomenon before but had never actually met anyone who had it.

  Kirsi leaned forward, studying Raliya's swirling eyes in awe. "...Yes," she murmured finally. "I know of the Miracle Eyes. They allow one to see the entire electromagnetic light spectrum.”

  Raliya noticed that Kirsi was studying her eyes intensely. She didn't mind though, something about her curiosity felt almost gentle.

  "Yes," Raliya confirmed quietly, watching Kirsi's focus move over her eyes. "It allows me to see...all kinds of things the average person can't see. Everything.”

  Kirsi's brow knit slightly, clearly fascinated now. She leaned forward again; her golden eyes tracing each swirl in Raliya's irises as if trying to take in every tiny detail.

  "Everything beyond the visible light spectrum...?" She repeated softly, leaning forward more.

  Raliya nodded slightly. She could see the awe and curiosity in Kirsi's eyes; a silent permission for her to look without judgment.

  "I can see radio waves, microwaves, x-rays," she said quietly. "Ultraviolet waves. Infrared waves. All types of radiation too.”

  Kirsi inhaled sharply, her eyes widening even more now. "That..." she started, the words sticking in her throat again. She had read about Miracle Eyes before this, but having first-hand experience was different.

  "That's incredible," she finally managed, almost breathless. Her gaze still fixated on Raliya's swirling eyes.

  Raliya's ears flicked slightly at the genuine admiration in Kirsi’s voice, something she clearly wasn't used to hearing. But then, her expression shifted into something almost...tired.

  "It is," Raliya admitted quietly, "but not when you see how much suffering there is with it." Her tail drooped behind her now; the weight of responsibility settled heavily on her shoulders for a moment before adding: "...My people are dying because humans of your shade want our Miracle Eyes. So my soldiers will finish off the rest of them.”

  Kirsi's expression fell as realization sunk in. She had read about the Fennec people's eyes being hunted by the Elbrastrians before, but hearing it from someone so close was different.

  "I..." She began slowly, searching for the right words; her golden eyes filled now with sympathy for Raliya and the Fennec people. "THAT'S why you want us all dead...I am so sorry." Even that didn't seem good enough, and she closed her eyes for a brief moment, clearly struggling to keep composure.

  Raliya's shoulders twitched slightly, surprised at the genuine sorrow in Kirsi's voice. She was used to being told 'I'm sorry' as a formality. To hear someone who actually meant it was a new experience for the Fennec president. She let out a soft sigh; the anger draining out of her for just a moment.

  She exhaled again before opening her eyes again, meeting Kirsi's golden ones with a more tired, weary look in hers: "Don't. Pity. Me.”

  Kirsi's expression softened even more at the weariness in Raliya's tone. She could hear the exhaustion and pain behind those words; of a burden too heavy for someone to carry alone.

  She leaned forward slightly; golden eyes never leaving Raliya's. "I'm not," she said, her voice gentle but firm. "I don't pity you, Raliya. I understand.”

  Raliya blinked, once, twice, as if Kirsi’s words had physically struck her. For a moment, she looked almost vulnerable; like the weight of everything she'd carried alone was finally being acknowledged by someone else.

  Her tail went completely still behind her now; voice quieter than before when she spoke again: "...You don't know what I've lost." It wasn’t a challenge this time…just an exhausted fact.

  Kirsi didn't flinch at that either. She just held Raliya's gaze steadily and said simply: "But I can see it."

  That made Raliya's eye twitch, a crack in composure. She'd had people give empty sympathy before; people who had no idea what she'd been through. But the way Kirsi said those words...

  It was as if Kirsi could see right through the armor Raliya had built up to keep people out. Like she could see every crack and tear in it...and didn't look away.

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  Her tail gave a quick, almost nervous twitch now; almost like she was unsure how to react to such understanding. "You..." She started, voice still quiet "...how?”

  Kirsi didn't look away or back down either. She just held Raliya's gaze steadily as she spoke; her own expression still filled with sympathy. "I know what loss feels like," she said simply.

  A beat passed where Raliya just studied Kirsi; eyes scanning her face for some hint that her words were just a lie. But there was nothing there but sincere understanding in those golden eyes. She sighed heavily, her expression shifting into one of tired resignation.

  "...You're serious," she murmured. "You really do understand.”

  Kirsi nodded once, a solemn promise; her expression still filled with understanding. "I do," she said softly. "The weight of loss, the anger, the loneliness...feeling like you're alone in your pain..." She inhaled slowly; holding the breath for a beat before letting it out slowly. "I know what it feels like."

  Another beat passed in silence while Raliya searched Kirsi's eyes for anything resembling deception.

  There was nothing but sincerity there.

  Raliya closed her eyes briefly; the weight of everything she'd bottled up crashing over her. A part of the Fennec leader wanted to scream at Kirsi; yell in her face that she could never understand what she had been through.

  But the part of Raliya...the part that had been starving for understanding for years...that part wanted nothing more than to lean into that understanding and finally let go of the anger and hurt. To let the walls come down.

  Finally, Raliya opened her eyes again. "Prove it.”

  Kirsi didn't miss the conflicting emotions in Raliya's eyes. Anger, pain, hope...but also that quiet desperation for understanding. For someone to finally see the person behind the mask.

  She let the silence sit for a moment; giving Raliya that time to process her conflicting thoughts as she carefully thought through her answer. Finally, Kirsi's gaze softened.

  "I can," she whispered; voice so gentle, it was almost a breath. She leaned forward ever so slightly, as if trying to bridge the physical distance between them. "But...it won't be easy.”

  Raliya inhaled sharply at that; some part of her wanting to take a step back and put that distance back between them. But...there was a part of her that was also drawn to Kirsi.

  Slowly, Raliya leaned forward as well, her tail flicking behind her for a second, almost like an unconscious mirror. "...I'm listening.”

  Kirsi exhaled slowly; clearly not missing the conflicting signals coming from Raliya. She kept her eyes locked on Raliya's for another moment, as if silently asking if she could approach.

  When Raliya did nothing to stop her; Kirsi slowly stood up from her chair, never breaking eye contact. Then, carefully, she closed the distance between them.

  She stopped when she was standing a few inches away from Raliya; eyes never leaving Raliya's. "Close your eyes," she murmured softly. "Please.”

  Raliya's body went tense as Kirsi approached, every muscle in her body suddenly on edge. But...there was something about Kirsi's expression that made her listen; made her want to trust her.

  There was a moment where Raliya almost didn't; when her instincts and caution screamed at her to keep that distance...but her eyes flickered with a flicker of hope, and after a moment's hesitation...she closed her eyes.

  Kirsi's heart skipped a beat, not from nervousness, but relief. She'd expected Raliya to argue; to resist that small act of vulnerability. Instead...the Fennec woman had listened.

  She held Raliya's gaze for a moment more, making sure she had followed her instructions. Then, slowly, Kirsi lifted her hand; golden eyes never leaving Raliya's as she gently reached out to the President.

  Her fingertips just barely touched Raliya's wrist, the gentle touch was an unspoken question: "May I?"

  That slight touch sent a shiver through Raliya; the Fennec tensing and immediately going still as Kirsi's fingertips gently touched her wrist. Her eyes were still closed; every muscle in her body tense now.

  There was a brief moment of hesitation there; Raliya's instincts screaming at her to pull back. But the part of Raliya that had been starving for understanding and human contact won out and, slowly, she nodded. "...Yes.”

  Kirsi's breath caught, just slightly. She hadn't expected Raliya to agree so easily.

  But she didn't hesitate either; her fingers curled gently around Raliya’s wrist, warm and steady as if anchoring them both in this fragile moment of trust. Then, with deliberate slowness, Kirsi lifted the President's hand between them, her golden eyes never leaving Raliya’s face even now that hers were closed.

  "Feel this," Kirsi whispered as she pressed their linked hands lightly against her own chest where a heartbeat thrummed steadily beneath skin...right over heart itself: "This is what understanding feels like."

  Raliya’s breath hitched as Kirsi guided her hand against the steady rhythm of her heartbeat. The warmth, the life beneath skin, it was something Raliya hadn’t felt in so long that she almost recoiled from it.

  Her ears twitched violently; tail lashing once before going still again like a stunned animal caught between fight and flight instincts. For a moment, she didn't move at all...until slowly, hesitantly…her fingers curled slightly into Kirsi's chest fabric instead of pulling away.

  "...It's too fast," Raliya murmured after another beat passed, voice oddly soft now compared to the earlier hostility: "Your heart is racing."

  Kirsi let out a quiet laugh then; not mocking, but genuinely amused by the observation because yes…of course she noticed such detail, even while trying to comfort someone else: "That’s what happens when you touch someone without permission."

  That response made the corner of Raliya's mouth quirk up; the first sign of vulnerability she'd shown besides closing her eyes earlier.

  She didn't pull her hand away either, hand still resting against Kirsi's heart and holding to the fabric of the gold-trimmed coat like a lifeline. She was still tense, her own heart hammering in her chest like a caged animal's…but there was something almost…comfortable in holding onto that steady rhythm of Kirsi's heartbeat.

  Then, a bit quieter this time, "I see.”

  This vulnerable moment between the two powerful leaders was cut short by the sound of bullets pattering against the bulletproof windows of Raliya's office…