Having let all of that out, Lily is - momentarily - a bit fearful. It's all a bit... sharp, and to the point. They're worries she's had but pushed aside, which she now realizes is a discredit to all involved - surely, she could have brought it up when they're not about to charge into battle. Still, she listens, holding everything in. She wants to give Winter her due, and see what she says...

She absorbs it all, and Winter keeps on talking through everything. A number of Lily's fears over blurting all that out dwindle off, left only with the core fear of Winter taking care of herself. As the hug comes, she lets herself relax. Her hands slip around the young woman's neck, and she pulls her even closer.

"...thank you, Winter," she breathes finally, and it feels like she hadn't done as such for several minutes, even if she knows better. She sucks up her tears, reaching to grab Winter's hand and hold it to her face. "I'm sorry, I know I'm not exactly perfect either, so I'm not always in a position to criticize... I let all this worry bottle up over time, and... mm... Just. So long as you can hold to that last part, so long as you don't leave us behind, and remember we're always there for everything..."

The emphasis lies there, because even as she doesn't want to bring it up, the incident with the apparitions in Shephard's Haven are still fresh in her memory, too. How Winter didn't want to say anything then, didn't want to burden Lily with her fears...

"So long as we go forward together... I may not be able to switch back into all of this as quickly as you, or maybe not as much as anyone else, but... I know I can take on anything, then. That we can, and we will."

She doesn't want to part from Winter, but does step back a hair. She smiles, at last. "So... let's do what we came here for."