mykidisthebest

[sus]

I'm in the greenhouse. But I'm just about finished watering the plants, so I was going to head to the kitchen in a few minutes.

Nah, stay there. Kitchen's too crowded.

[ HANGS UP (does that make this less sus)

When he arrives a few minutes later he doesn't look like someone hunting down a plot criminal, though. ]

Yo.

[he's got some vegetables half the size of his head that he's sticking in a basket and does his best not to look guilty for no reason when Minuet shows up]

Yo. To what do I owe the pleasure of your company?

[ He plops cross-legged among the plants. He is one of them now. ]

I wanted to see how you're doing, for starters. I'm sure you know about Perci by now . . .

[gives a tiny, surprised flinch; this was not a topic he expected. slips a hand-held button out of his pocket and presses it]

Shouldn't I be asking you that? You're closer to him than I am.

Well, it's not such a jarring change for me, is it? He was never part of my flock. But for Lily, he was co-shepherd all this time . . .

Co...? --Oh, right. But you still share a kitchen with us. It sounds like he doesn't intend to stay in his room anymore, so...there's less opportunity for you to see him as easily.

At all....?

[shrugs and looks down at his basket of vegetables]

I don't know. Maybe he wants a few days to adjust.

Maybe. As long as you're not really broken up about it, that puts my mind at ease a little.

[there's a too-long pause that stretches on, to the point where it would be obvious if he lied about it.

he sighs and shifts to mimic Minuet's cross-legged posture, pulling his pile o' veggies into his lap just to have something to wrap his arms around]

I want him to be happy. So I want him to do whatever he feels is best for him, no matter what. But it doesn't mean I'm not worried.

[ A surprised little pause ]

... About him being on his own?

Yeah. He's run into a lot of trouble in the past, and I don't want him to feel like he can't come to us for help just because his collar is a different color, you know? But he didn't even tell us when it happened. It feels like he's putting a distance between us.

[ A sympathetic wince ]

Maybe it's something he needs to do to prove his independence to himself.

I hope that's all it is. When Teleute ran her ritual, Perci's anger self was worried that none of us would like him anymore if his collar changed. I tried to tell him that obviously wasn't true since I started as a Weed, and I don't think anyone's said anything to give him that impression, but I don't know if it got through to him.

If he just wants some independence it's not bad. As long as he knows we're still here for him.

I think he knows that much, at least when all his emotions are where they belong. In what world would you abandon him just because of his collar?

There isn't a world where any of us would do that. I just want to make sure he knows that.

But, you're right. I'm sure he knows and I'm worrying over nothing.

I know it's probably off given the circumstances, but I'm actually worried about Charon more than Perci.

--Charon? Did he say something to you? Is he okay?

[he shifts from 'worried' to 'high alert']

[ Well. Choosing his words carefully so he's not doxxing romance drama but still nailing the spirit of the issue ]

... He's taking it all pretty hard. He was blaming himself entirely for it happening, and I dunno how successful I was at convincing him that's nonsense.

Of course it's not his fault. We can't predict when something like this will happen. ...Do you think it would help if I talked to him about it too?

Yeah, I do.

He has to come to the conclusion himself, in the end. But he can at least hear it from multiple people.

Thanks for letting me know. I don't know if he'll believe me when I say it, either. He's pretty stubborn. But he also listens to reason.

Even the most logical of us can slip when feelings are involved. Hopefully he won't count that as a mark against him either.

I'll make sure he doesn't. As much as I can, anyway. If that fails then we just need to find a way to cheer him up.

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