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[ nene makes a noise that is likely of agreement before wiggling.

it is not a wiggle to be let down, but to try to convey something. ]

[ Hien mostly understands the gesture to be put down, but he pauses to double check. He's never met an animal like Nene before, so she could have a different set of expectations.

He stops putting his face on her though. ]

"You wanna go somewhere?"

[ nene nods!

well. it might be nodding. ]

[ Hien securely holds Nene in his arms and... it's time to play hot and cold. He starts walking towards the rooms of the manor. ]

"Nod your head if you think I'm getting closer, okay?"

[ Nene could give him wrong directions and Hien wouldn't care tbh ]

[ nene shakes... ]

[ Hm.

Hien gets out a lap blanket from his cloak and tries to wrap Nene in it. Nene burrito... he does this because he is now going outside and thinks Nene is chilly.

He may be stupid.

Anyway, he is still heading outside. ]

[ well.

nene is not going to say no to being warm, at least. but does not nod yet. ]

[ Hien keeps walking further outside... he heads over to the river. ]

[ wahoo

there is a figure in the distance walking alongside of it... ]

[ ...

Hien seems to hesitate. Right. This would make sense. Nene would eventually want to be led back to Thorns. He can't see the figure as clearly, but this is the first thing that comes to mind. It's logical. It's reasonable.

This is the consequences of his actions.

But he looks down at Nene. ]

"You wanna go to the river...?"

[ nene wiggles excitedly. ]

[ Okay.

Hien quietly takes a deep breath and walks on over to the river. Is Thorns there... (who else would it be) Hien also prepares himself to give Nene up. It was nice while it lasted. ]

[ he is.

he glances over at them, looking at hien, then at nene, and back. ]

Someone went on an adventure.

[ Maybe it would be a smarter move to let Nene down from where Hien stands, but since he bundled her up with a lap blanket, he simply walks up to Thorns and hands her over this way. ]

"She likes going on them a lot, it looks like."

[ Adventurous Nene! ]

I guess this is like a second home, at this point.

[ thorns will take the offered baby... but it is wild to think they've been here for how many weeks. ]

[ Goodbye, Nene... Hien thinks that makes sense. He wonders how old Nene is for Thorns to say that this is like a second home. Hien thinks about child cognitive development... nene your imprinting... ]

"... I hope her third home will be much better than this, if she finds one."

[ nene is..... so baby... ]

Hopefully. But people have been good, so that's probably all that matters.

[ when you are young and don't understand complicated relationships, but all the people pet and cuddle you. ]

[ What a life. Hien sometimes wishes he could have a piece of that sort of lifestyle. Knowing too much has drawbacks... ]

"... Mm."

[ People have been good here, mostly. He's crashed out too many times that he wonders if he should be included. ]

"Sorry. ... I hope he's been doing better nowadays."

[ His voice is quiet. ]

"I don't plan on initiating contact with him ever again, so I hope that eases any worries you might have for the future."

[ there's a pause as he realizes where the conversation shifted to. ]

... Look, I don't know what happened between the two of you. He never told me anything. I just know something did because I'm not stupid.

[ they were both very close and touchy and suddenly no longer were. thorns has eyes. ]

My only concern is that no one makes his health worse.

[ Of course he wouldn't say anything. Hien isn't surprised. ]

"... I wanted to give him time at the charity auction--to extend his lifespan which would make him healthier longer as a side effect. Unsurprisingly, he refused it."

[ Let it be known that Hien tried, but he thinks Thorns will understand why Elysium didn't take up on the offer. He'd know him best, after all. The elusive guy. But that's not what happened in regards to all. This. ]

"If you want to know, I'll share my side. If you don't, that's fine too. I'm not gonna force someone to listen if they don't wanna hear it."

Only if you want to.

[ it seems a little mean to make Hien talk about a clearly complicated situation, but. who knows. maybe actually discussing it might help. ]

"Alright. He suddenly created distance between us and acted coldly. So I started to gradually back off from then on, since I thought that was what he wanted--distance and to stop whatever we were before. If that's what he wanted, I would have been fine with that. Just wish he would have told me directly, but I can't count on that happening."

[ Hien is a little quiet as he tries to figure out how to word what he wants to say next. ]

"The scissors that the Purgatory denizens gave out... a few people came up to me that night, telling me to use it for various purposes or suggesting a use for them. As a person, I would just take that in stride and think about their suggestions. But for the part of me that doesn't make me human, I couldn't tolerate nor stand the thought of erasing my experiences nor connections, because no matter how 'good' or 'bad' they were, they were still a part of me."

"So when Elysium handed me the pair of scissors and told me to sever all connections with him, I held myself back the best I could even though I was furious. The audacity even though he knew how it would make me feel."

[ That was the best he could do and he still punched him? Yeah. He was Big Mad. ]

"... I returned the scissors to him and wrote my goodbyes on a note. It'll take time for me to get over my feelings, but I'm working on it. Even after all that, I don't dislike him. There will only be two people I hate, and he doesn't even come close to either of them."

Edited 2025-12-31 19:46 (UTC)

[ he has some Thoughts about all of this, but in the end thorns really is just an outside party who is only vaguely connected to this because of his relationship to one of the people involved. there's really nothing to do here but try to move on, which is something both hien and elysium are definitely aware of and trying to do.

...

but it really does show just tangled and complicated making connections with others can be. it doesn't always end well, even when it seems like it might at first. ]

He probably thought pulling back without saying anything would be easier than saying something directly. [ ... ] Which is also a coward's move, but what's done is done.

[ you can only live with your choices. ]

I think you'll manage, even if it might be hard.

"I think I will too. Thanks for listening."

[ He genuinely means it.

(audience laugh track about future threads) ]

... Mm. It's really the least I can do.

[ especially since he's aware that if he wasn't here, things might have went differently. ]

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selfconcept - 2026-01-01 19:29 (UTC) - Expand