Stone

you said you were	[[stone]]

you said you were	[[untouched scree-skin covering rock-heart uncharitable]]

you said you were	incapable of	[[infatuation]]

you said you were	incapable of	[[affection]]

you said you were	incapable of	[[love]]

and	friends	we became,	[[practising spells]]	together

and	[[friends]]	we became,	studying [[bestiaries]]	together

when	a cousin killed herself			it was you I	crying called   with face taut, fists tight, voice traitorous I saw your	[[tears]]	at the funeral

when	I	decided to	[[strap my chest]]	it was you I	first told     you didn't tell		anyone, unless I asked for trust was	important to	you after	fair-weather friends had broken yours   	derided for not	showing sufficient	care to	their relationships

you said you were	sorry for	[[disappointing me]]   [[but]]

but	friends	[[was possible, sure,]]

[[but only sometimes]]			strap my chest	it was you I	first told     you couldn't tell	me of your mum's relapse for trust was	difficult for	you after	pals pilloried you during her first illness   then	derided for	showing			care to	yours

when	[[I]]	passed my evoking exams	it was you I	first told   this was after you'd too early enquired and also after you, forgetting this, apologised for failing to enquire and so enquired of my results again, still too soon

when	boyfriends	[[whined]]			it was you I	still prioritised

when	[[boyfriends]]	demanded		it was you I	still prioritised     everyone expecting a darling to dilute you and me

when	soul-sprite asked who loved me	it was you I	named	immediately   my	[[soul-sprite]]	I studied so hard to summon

when	soul-sprite asked who loved me	it was you I	named     [[if I was wrong]]	I'd be stripped of magic

when	[[soul-sprite asked who loved me]]	I was rewarded

studying [[our bestiary]]   desiderate sun-drake (rare): sienna-skinned with sunset rosettes and keen senses. seek it at dusk and solve its riddle to be accorded a single wish

studying [[your bestiary]]   asinine oscitant (common): short-sighted insensitive asses scared of inconsistency, they exercise careless cruelty to effect suffocating selfsameness or else petrify unseemly harmless dissimilarities

studying [[my bestiary]]   dispassionate associate (exclusive): insulated by (inescapable?) cancerous calcification (from infected insult-lacerations) erroneously seen as suitable skin/necessary shield; establishing friendship is less difficult than foreseen; consequent trustworthiness/warmth less fictional than forewarned

	[[friends]]	we were,		studying bestiaries	together   and [[when]]

if	friends with	[[stone->cold]]			was okay

if a	friend with	[[stone's coldness]]	was okay

a	friend	who	[[jokes]]	easily

a	friend	who	[[shrugs]]	easily

a	friend	who	[[shrugs->shruglove]]	at				love

a	friend	who	[[doesn't]]	understand	your	love

a	friend	who	[[can't->your]]		understand	your	love

a	friend	who	[[can't->you]]		understand	you

a	friend	who	[[can't]]		understand	you	can't understand them

a	friend	whose	thick skin		[[shelters you]]	from a bully's	taunts

a	friend	whose	thick skin		[[thickens]]		from your		taunts

a	friend	who's	forgotten easily	[[when sweetheart's found->sweetheart]]

		don't			forget their		[[stone-heart calloused]]

		don't			feel bad for a		[[thoughtless ironclad]]

they		don't			[[feel]]

but					[[feel free, sure,]]

to	friends	become,		studying [[bestiaries]]	together   and [[when]]

you said you were	sorry for	[[being you]]

[[why->sorry for]] are [[you->masculine]]		sorry for	being you?

should I be		sorry for	[[not liking masculine men?]]

should I be		sorry for	asking who said to be		[[sorry for]]	being you?

[[who said that?]]

[[I'll make them]]		sorry

I'll make them say	sorry for	disappointing you [[for->because]]

for	friends	[[was possible, sure,]]

when	[[a cousin killed herself]]			it was you I	crying called     			tears	from a stone?

when	soul-sprite asked who loved me	it was you I	named	immediately   the	[[soul-sprite->soul2]]	who'd enable my future power

when	soul-sprite asked who loved me	it was you I	named	[[immediately]]   a	soul-sprite	insisting I prove my worth

when	soul-sprite asked who loved me	it was you I	named     [[if I was wrong->wrong2]]	you were real stone

when	soul-sprite asked who loved me	it was you I	named	[[correctly]]

but	I waited, for	[[your own trial was underway]]

I wanted to tell you that					I was rewarded   [[but->ohno]]

and	I waited, for	[[news of your success]]

and	[[I waited]], for	days until	you	returned

limping, tired, with drake scale	you	[[returned]]

limping, tired, with drake scale	you	[[passed your hunter's exam]]

limping, tired					you	[[visited]]

you	[[tracked a sun-drake]]			you	told	me

you	[[solved its puzzle]]			you	told	me

you	[[stole a scale for proof]]		you	told	me

you	[[asked it to cure you]]			you	told	me

you	[[were unpetrified]]			you	told	me

you	[[won't disappoint me now]]		you	told	me

you	grasped my shoulders and [[kissed]]		me

you	[[flinched]] before I could react

you	cried		[[it hadn't worked]]

you	cried		[[you were still]]	stone

you	[[cried]]

you	[[should know]], though   if not heart-stone, what did the drake heal?

you	[[didn't need a drake]]   the concretion in your mind?

you	were		[[never]]			stone   the stone you gained not at birth

you	were		[[always]] capable	of love   but from the people surrounding you?

just	not one particular type	of love   [[I->just]]

I said you were	[[flesh]]

I said you were	[[caring]]

I said you were	warm, loyal, brave, and [[everything else]]

I said you		[[could never disappoint me]]

and asked to [[always be friends]]

and asked to always be friends	[[creating spells]]

and asked to always be friends	writing [[bestiaries->bestiary]]	together

a	friend	who	[[shrugs->shrugstand]]	at			your	love

when	[[my grandfolks kicked me out]]		it was yours I	stayed at

close companions (concomitant):	writing bestiaries	together the once-stone or never-stone and the once-girl or irregular-girl accumulate confidence and sorcery in lieu of acceptance

				[[stone->youstone]]   			by Penny Stirling