[ She doesn't let the touch linger too long, at least, having noted his startled reaction. But she'd wanted to make sure he heard - listened to what she had to say, and that thoughtful pause tells her that perhaps she managed to get through to him even a little bit.

Enough that, at what he says, she can't help but chuckle, a bit grateful that he's not upset with her. ]

I'm just doing my best.

[ For a long time in her life, hope and positive thinking were all she had and all she could do. She's been called stubborn and naive and cowardly for it, but... The fact that she's here, despite having all she's lived through, is her proof that it hasn't yet led her astray. ]

As for M— Well, Mythra got him fired up, I think. But I'm grateful that people like him and Pyra and Mythra think so well of me. I'll do my best not to let them down.