[Very Fast is very good. Reira for her part is curled up rather tightly in the corner of the stairs to the bedrooms-she didn't feel much like getting all the way to the couch, apparently.
It looks a bit like she's been crying-but once she hears the other she nods.]
Mnh... ...Thank you.
[Granted they haven't gotten to the part where they actually Talk about what she was wanting to talk about but.]
[Well... If she appreciates him just being here, that's a start, he supposes. He sits down on a step, enough of a distance away from Reira to give her some breathing room, but not so far as to seem figuratively distant.]
[Then...she nods.] ...Tsukikage and I, we both found weird codes on the network when it got attacked... ...Tsukikage figured them out, and they both went to secret files...
...and... ...I think they came from Elias' dad, [she says quietly, the lights in her hair and wings dull.] ...and...he talked about being sorry-but then he didn't care about being sorry anymore. He just said, 'it doesn't matter-you're still useful, so that's all that matters', [the girl paraphrases, choking.] And...
[With a slight hiccup, she stops-if at least to regain her words and thoughts enough to string them together again.]
...when I met my 'mom', at home...the lady who said she was going to be my 'mom'...it was supposed to be so that I could do things for her. ...she said, 'you're going to be our ultimate trump card'. ...being able to do things, and be useful, was important...
...I still thought it was important, here... ...and I used to ask Elias a lot, 'how do I be useful'...and...
[And the lines are beginning to cross on their point, as she looks to Marco now.] D...do you think he thought... ...Did I make him feel like he was as bad as his dad, and as bad as my mom..?
[Marco nods back as Reira begins, but his movements slow when she starts getting into the content of the files - and then he just about halts completely when she goes on to talk about herself. About her feelings. About her fear that perhaps, she only brought Elias unnecessary suffering.
He was lucky enough to grow up with a loving father, but he can still understand, at least in part, what Reira is so worried about.
Unsure of how much it will help, he attempts a smile.]
Well... Even if you did make him feel that way... which - which I'm not saying you must have, not at all, but on the off-chance that you did... He, ah, still had a choice in how to deal with it, you know? And... And if maybe he did it in ways that made him unhappy, well, he can learn from it and do something different next time. Right?
It-- It's not your fault either way. I think that's my point.
But it's still something that could hurt, [she sniffs, wiping her eyes.] And... ...and even though the files only said little things, it feels like he got hurt even more than we thought, by his dad, too, and...
[Deep breaths. She just has to take deep breaths, and...] ...Elias was always...r..really, really nice, whenever I asked to help...he'd say, 'it's okay, don't worry', and play games with me...
...but he... ...there wasn't someone telling him it'd be okay for real, was there..? [Just someone lying about it and making sure they could get what they wanted.]
[He really isn't too sure what to say to that. Marco himself has received Elias' comfort in the past, and lord knows how much he's thought about how unfair Elias' life has been, but...
How can he comfort Reira? He doesn't know.
There's only one truth that comes to mind for now.]
I... I've thought to myself before... that I'd like to be that person for Elias. The one to tell him it's gonna be okay.
[Indeed, Reira isn't sure how anything could especially help there either. ...She supposes it was a distraction, however brief, from what's been sitting on her mind more. The contents of one of the files, the image that flashed in her mind when Tsukikage gave her the answer.]
....is it wrong to see someone like a brother, if they had a sister already?
.... [She sort of was afraid he'd say that. There's something about asking someone about the things that are...bugging them or upsetting them or Could Be, And It's Not Certain....something about that, just makes her nervous.
And she doesn't think it's a kelpie thing either.]
Sometimes you need to ask the painful questions. [That much he can say with certainty, at least.] They... might even help make things less painful in the long run.
[There may not be a lot of things his experiences as an adult have taught him, but that's... up there.
....You think so? [The question is asked with such delay, and with such quiet, as she stares at the other, chewing her lip. It doesn't feel like it would be less painful at all-but then that's probably because all she can think of is how much it hurts now.
So...]
...Do you think, it's ok...if I wait to say something, still..?
[Frankly, Marco doesn't feel like he's done much, but he's not about to tell that to Reira. Instead, he stands up and - with a moment's hesitation - leans over to ruffle her hair.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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Do you mean
when everything was going on?
I'm sorry.
I noticed some of it but I couldn't focus for long enough to figure any of it out.
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and passwords
and...there were secrets....
about him...
[There is...a significant pause.]
c
can we talk
not with our heads?
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As much as he'd like to take the chance to sit down and maybe Not Do Anything for another 48 hours, he can't just ignore this.]
Where should we meet?
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action
[It ends up being closer to two or three, but still? Marco is there very fast.]
Reira? I'm here.
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It looks a bit like she's been crying-but once she hears the other she nods.]
Mnh... ...Thank you.
[Granted they haven't gotten to the part where they actually Talk about what she was wanting to talk about but.]
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... I'm all ears.
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...and... ...I think they came from Elias' dad, [she says quietly, the lights in her hair and wings dull.] ...and...he talked about being sorry-but then he didn't care about being sorry anymore. He just said, 'it doesn't matter-you're still useful, so that's all that matters', [the girl paraphrases, choking.] And...
[With a slight hiccup, she stops-if at least to regain her words and thoughts enough to string them together again.]
...when I met my 'mom', at home...the lady who said she was going to be my 'mom'...it was supposed to be so that I could do things for her. ...she said, 'you're going to be our ultimate trump card'. ...being able to do things, and be useful, was important...
...I still thought it was important, here... ...and I used to ask Elias a lot, 'how do I be useful'...and...
[And the lines are beginning to cross on their point, as she looks to Marco now.] D...do you think he thought... ...Did I make him feel like he was as bad as his dad, and as bad as my mom..?
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He was lucky enough to grow up with a loving father, but he can still understand, at least in part, what Reira is so worried about.
Unsure of how much it will help, he attempts a smile.]
Well... Even if you did make him feel that way... which - which I'm not saying you must have, not at all, but on the off-chance that you did... He, ah, still had a choice in how to deal with it, you know? And... And if maybe he did it in ways that made him unhappy, well, he can learn from it and do something different next time. Right?
It-- It's not your fault either way. I think that's my point.
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[Deep breaths. She just has to take deep breaths, and...] ...Elias was always...r..really, really nice, whenever I asked to help...he'd say, 'it's okay, don't worry', and play games with me...
...but he... ...there wasn't someone telling him it'd be okay for real, was there..? [Just someone lying about it and making sure they could get what they wanted.]
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How can he comfort Reira? He doesn't know.
There's only one truth that comes to mind for now.]
I... I've thought to myself before... that I'd like to be that person for Elias. The one to tell him it's gonna be okay.
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[Indeed, Reira isn't sure how anything could especially help there either. ...She supposes it was a distraction, however brief, from what's been sitting on her mind more. The contents of one of the files, the image that flashed in her mind when Tsukikage gave her the answer.]
....is it wrong to see someone like a brother, if they had a sister already?
[Because he had one, apparently.
And now she's gone.]
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He gives her a faint smile.]
I don't think it's wrong at all, no. But... If you're that worried, I think you should ask him instead of me.
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And she doesn't think it's a kelpie thing either.]
...even if it makes him sad to think about?
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[There may not be a lot of things his experiences as an adult have taught him, but that's... up there.
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So...]
...Do you think, it's ok...if I wait to say something, still..?
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...Well it's alright, is what it is. So Reira nods, already feeling a spot of relief.] ...thanks, Marco.
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... Thank you for trusting me with this.