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WELCOME TO YOUR PRIVATE CHANNEL, CHIAKI NANAMI.
 
FOR SECURE COMMUNICATION, USE XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX

*** galagamer has joined XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX

<galagamer> This is Chiaki Nanami.

<galagamer> I'll get back to you as soon as I can!

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Being stronger or not isn't a reason to be friends with someone. [ She nuzzles against him gently as he sobs into her shoulder. Now he's just grasping for excuses, she thinks. ]

You were my friend, even when I had only just turned into a merperson... I didn't even have all my powers yet... and I still don't have powers from the Fog like you do...

[He wants to keep trying, to find the one thing that'll stick and make Nanami push him away.

But the more she speaks--the more he speaks--the less he wants to fight anything anymore. So he doesn't respond to her, and instead cries pitifully like the useless monster he is, with clawed fingers curled against Nanami's back. There's nothing he can do...she won't give up on him, like he's given up on himself.

It's likely to be a minute before he can even compose himself. This time, the argument must have been much worse...]

[ She's too practiced against this. She's seen this pattern too often; she loves her friends too much to let them do it. She never ever wants to make that mistake again.

So she holds onto him, stroking his hair gently; letting him cry as much as he needs to. She's here, and she isn't going anywhere. ]

[It takes a while, and it's wholly unflattering how much Ryou basically crumples against her, despite being a much larger creature. He can't control himself, to the point that he sobs loudly, almost sounding as if he's trying to speak but being wholly unable to.

There's too much...far too much pain in his heart to articulate it at this point. But eventually, after what feels like forever

(or ten minutes, whichever feels less short)

Ryou finally pulls away, swiping at his face with a sleeve. He looks truly miserable and lost.]

Sorry, I...nnh, I just--I thought...things would be better, and then Felfri...happened...and I thought I was a better, st-stronger person. But I'm not, I keep messing up, and now...now it's really over, isn't it?

[His shoulders slump forward, and he stares down into his lap. This is pathetic. He's pathetic. He shouldn't be this low...not after the first time, right? Their bond...it's been shaken already. Maybe Atem really doesn't care about him anymore...and Ryou's the one to blame for it.]

... I don't know... [ The truth is that she still doesn't know exactly what did happen between her two friends; only that they're both upset - Ryou says he's cursed, Atem says that nothing matters...

But she takes his big clawed hand regardless and squeezes it. ] Felfri was terrible... let's never go back, okay? I hated what it did to all of us...

I would never go back. Ever. I...I'd rather...

[He shakes his head, but the implication is there. He'd rather die than suffer anymore time in E+L's domain.

He curls his too-big fingers around her hand as well, looking up at her with puffy, gray-ringed eyes that are still damp with tears. He's a mess.]

I wish I understood.

[His friends? Atem?

...Anything.]

Edited (ugh sorry forgot the cw) 2022-12-13 00:54 (UTC)

[ She nods, and hugs him tightly again. ]

We'll figure it out together, okay? Just... I'm not going anywhere.

[ And that's the truth; she'll keep coming back, even if he wants otherwise. ]

... Is there anything I can get for you? You can stay here, if you like, there's extra rooms... and a portal back to the apartments, too, if you need anything there...

No. I took my things. I just...want to be here for a little longer.

I'm...I'm tired.

[Crying is tiring. Being broken up with is tiring. Knowing that he's on this fucking peninsula simply to further the pain of others is tiring.

He needs a nap and he doesn't even realize the extent to which he needs one...]

Of course. Take as long as you need.

... Hold on.

[ She extricates herself carefully from the hug; shrinks down and flits into the next room.

Just a few seconds later, she's walking back out at full size with an extra couple of blankets, and lays them on the couch. ]

You can nap here or in one of the rooms. The whole place-- it's yours, okay?

[ And she pulls him back into a hug, holding him close. ]

[Ryou stays put, not even really shifting once Nanami's out of his grip. He's left to his thoughts as she fetches some blankets, though he does lift his head to look at her when she returns.]

...Okay.

[When Nanami hugs him, his arms wrap around her loosely, and his tail, which generally keeps to itself around anyone but Atem, curls around one of her ankles, as if for further support.

Then, the sheets she'd brough lift themselves up, and settle around the both of them. He doesn't want to break the silence. She might change her mind. She might leave...and he selfishly wants her to stay.

He could rest like this. He really could...]

[ She holds him, and doesn't let go. She won't leave - not even if he falls asleep, or stays awake for hours.

She's his friend, and she's not leaving his side. Not until he tires of her, or needs to go somewhere else. ]

[Ryou might have gone somewhere else before this point.

He wanted to. But now...he's not so sure about it. Not for a little while. He's selfish anyway, he knows he is, and that he's unforgivable for it. So, he stays curled up close to Nanami, until he does feel like going to sleep and forgetting all of the pain dancing around in his head, carving hateful, angry channels across his thoughts.

Quietly, as he starts to doze, he murmurs something that he might not have the mental bandwidth to remember later.]

Thank you...Chiaki.

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pls excuse this nothingburger i will dialogue in the next one

eats the burger yum yum

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cw suicidal thought

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