IC Inbox | Ryslig

[summonthesuit]

WELCOME TO YOUR PRIVATE CHANNEL, HASNOFEAR. FOR SECURE COMMUNICATION, USE 13.15.15.14 *** HASNOFEAR has joined 13.15.15.14 <HASNOFEAR> Hello! This is Steven Grant! If you need something, just leave me a message and I'll get back to you asap!

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[summonthesuit]

[Two years... Steven can't even imagine. He's only been here for about six months, himself. But maybe he'd had his one chance already and he lost it. Maybe he'd done something wrong, or maybe it was just bad luck.

He stares down at the table, his voice getting progressively softer and shakier as he speaks.]

Marc was here before. That's his name- Marc. Got here two months after I did. Lucky, right? Except... It only lasted for about two weeks. Maybe three. I wasn't... I wasn't home when he left. Because of... That old mining town. I was sent there and he... He wasn't.

welcome to diavolo's wild theorizing and worldviews based on a sample size of 1

[fateschosen]

Oh. I am... deeply sorry to hear that.

[It's hard to find words to describe the wave of sympathy he feels. "Sorry" doesn't feel like nearly enough. It's empty and meaningless, but it will have to do for now.]

Nothing can truly replace what you have lost. But ... you must press forward. You were not meant to be alone ... and so you are not. Someone is already here to fill the void left behind in his absence. It is a wonderful thing.

[He's meddling, he knows, in business he has no right being in. If the roles were reversed, if it were a stranger explaining him to Doppio, the conversation would have ended in blood within the minute. But, more than the urge not to interfere, he is driven by something else. The desire to connect, perhaps.]

Amazing! Beautiful!

[summonthesuit]

[A wonderful thing... It's so strange to hear someone describe it like that, and yet, it fills him with gratitude and hope. He's reminded of Marc's little speech outside the Gates of Osiris. "You are the only real superpower I ever had". If Marc has that power, maybe Steven has it too.

His fingers are still fiddling with the coffee cup, but he's steadied himself enough to meet Diavolo's gaze again.]

Thanks. I needed to hear that, I think. Makes me wish it is true, just so I can... I dunno, try and get an actual connection, I s'pose.

[fateschosen]

I have the highest of hopes for you both.

[Smiles are always so out of place on his face. The look he gives Steven in turn is meant to be something softly reassuring, but the mood doesn't quite carry to his eyes. There's an intensity there that does not waver.

He'll meet the other someday, track them down and pull them into a conversation. But, for now, they are silent. Incapable of speech entirely, perhaps, if they are anything like Cervo. And so, for now, the only people in this entire cafe who are relevant are Diavolo and Steven. And, admittedly ... Diavolo has been neglecting to pay attention to one of them.

That realization is somewhat unnerving. He's almost ashamed when it strikes him that he was so badly distracted by the glimmer of potential within Steven that he failed to focus on the man himself.]

Was there anything else you wished to speak about? I ... lost sight of my initial reasons for approaching you.

[summonthesuit]

[Intensity or no, Steven does consider the sentiment reassuring. Someone who gets it having high hopes for the situation... It's just nice. It makes him feel heard and understood. It gives him hope in turn. That's why a faint smile dawns on his own face.

But the question causes him to blink, as if he's being startled out of reverie.]

Oh! Uhh... I dunno, I'm just happy to chat with another Naphil, really. I think I've been here long enough to get a handle of the... The lifestyle so to speak, but there's still little differences between two folks of the same monster type, yeah? I mean, just look at all the wings you've got. That's real impressive.