Afterparty II: Two Hearts, One Valve

[purefuries]

[ There's some joke about pizza to be made after all of that, but the bakery is broken, so we'll make do. The gathering seems to be happening outside this time, just around the entrance to the lodgings building, someone having left small notes and quick knocks and promptly disappearing, all saying something about getting fresh air.

Presented on a collection of tables is tea, fish stir-fry courtesy of Edelgard, chazuke from Tenn, and some sweet tarts from Junko. There also seems to be seeds in a bowl...? (Nageki is trying) Some chairs have been dragged out if you'd rather not stand around.

It's nice and breezy out tonight, though. Look up at the moon, and try not to feel too alone. ]

Comments

[incompletely]

...I guess you're right.

[ Even so, c-ta saying it was all Tenn's fault that people were going to die doesn't sit well with him. He looks like he's starting to feel sick just thinking about it. ]

I trusted him -- c-ta, I mean. I know Riku did, too.

[ And now he hates c-ta, which is...fine...but he's too ashamed to talk about that time he almost threw the lightning orb at him. ]

None of this feels real.

[libirdian]

It's not your fault. None of it is. I'll write it down if I have to.

[ Tenn's suffering from the choices someone else has made, but that doesn't make him responsible for them. Nageki refuses to believe otherwise, and will argue over it for as long as it takes. ]

And...it doesn't have to feel real until you're ready.

[incompletely]

...Yeah...thanks.

[ He can't believe it right now, but he appreciates the sentiment nevertheless. ]

Hey...Nageki. Do you think we're friends?

[ ?? Tenn... ]

[libirdian]

Well, I don't want to think of you as an enemy.

[ Nageki looks away towards some spot on the floor, thinking. He does not wanting to leave it at that, but what else can he say? ]

You can be just as insufferable as that nosy girl back home. Definitely candidates for wolf familiars.

[ Friends? Here? Logically, that's a wasted effort in a place so dedicated to killing them off each week. There's always the fear of broken trust, of losing more than he already has. But he never could run solely on logic, to ignore the part of himself that wanted to interact with everyone, to see everything he couldn't as a child. So what should he even say to that? Part of him wants to keep his gaze on the floor, but he deliberately forces himself to look towards Tenn to give a proper answer. One he probably should think through more, but still, he wants to try anyway. Tenn has had a rough day to say the least. He owes him that much. ]

But...I guess I do think of her as much of a friend as you. So take that as you will.

[ Now he's absolutely looking away for another reason. This is why he needs months of preparation for tangently talking about his emotions, ugh. ]

[incompletely]

[ He doesn't really take the insufferable comment to heart; it actually manages to elicit a quiet chuckle out of him. A sad one, but he wouldn't have expected anything else from Nageki. He's content to take that as an answer -- and then Nageki looks at him, and Tenn's pleasantly surprised by what comes next.

It's fine if Nageki isn't good at talking about his emotions. Tenn isn't either, really. But...he supposes vulnerability is okay, sometimes, and the rawness he's still feeling over Riku's death and everything that happened in that trial, from c-ta to SQ, is making him feel like he ought to start being more transparent with other people. It's not something that'll come easily, nor is it something he's 100% sure about doing, but he's going to try. At least with those he trusts. ]

That'll do, then.

[ He actually does manage a small smile for Nageki, too. ]

[libirdian]

Good.

[ Time to breathe out a bit. He's not even sure he could say more on the subject without triggering the urge to meld himself with the nearest dark corner. Or just disappear from sight altogether. But now's not the time for that, even Nageki knows that much. Time to sit here, push aside his doubts, and refuse to isolate himself from the others, if only to spite Hamelin.

Without human expressions, Nageki cannot return his smile as is, so instead he relaxes his body's muscles, keeping his feathers smooth. Part of him regrets being unable to do much more than that. But that's beyond his control no matter where he is.

Still, there's something else he can focus on instead. ]

You should eat something. And keep water on you.