[ riza...doesn't like this. she doesn't like the way she can see hughes almost deflate, doesn't like the way she phrased what she did or how it probably came across. there's a reason she doesn't like to be the one to explain this sort of thing, because she's sure there was some kind of point she's missing, or reason she didn't explain.

hughes watches her in those moments after, processing what it is she has to say, and riza wishes, desperately, that this will be...okay. there's so much more to this conversation that she's not equipped to handle - grieving, death, general hughes standing in front of her, but riza hawkeye isn't one to step down from a situation, and especially not one like this, no matter how well or not she may be able to handle it.

when he lets out a breath, riza finds herself holding her own in - just for a moment, just until he finishes speaking, before she exhales herself. ]

You're...welcome. [ she's not confident he has anything to thank her about, but riza isn't going to tell him as much. ]

And....sir? [ because she has to say it. because she needs him to believe it, because she needs roy to believe it. ] When we go to all of these different worlds, there might be something we're not considering. We've already experienced technology beyond what any of us can accomplish back home, and magic, too. [ the word doesn't sit very well in her mouth, but there's no other way to explain kathashun. to explain this. ] If I've learned anything while we've been under the thumb of these witches, it's that nothing is impossible.