onegreeneye | IC CONTACT (RYSLIG)

[He can't think of what to say. He can barely even process this, it feels like his heart is trying to break from his chest and he can't get enough air.

She knew him? Nui knew him, she knows who he was before he forgot everything... it doesn't seem possible. There's no reason it couldn't be, of course, but that doesn't make it feel any less like Steven must be mistaken somehow.]

i'm sorry i'm

i think i'm going to have to leave
the channel i mean
i'm
thank you for telling me

Edited (minor phrasing alterations why not) 2015-06-19 04:31 (UTC)

[Steven's vines twist around themselves uncomfortably. Oh no. This is way more intense than he was expecting. He didn't think it would be a huge revelation like this...

He looks over at the window and frowns.]

can i come over?
we dont have to talk....

sure
that's fine
i'll leave the door unlocked.

[And then he'll just sort of. Sit on the bed for a couple minutes, then drag some blankets into the corner and sit there and smoke. HE'S FINE.]

[Steven doesn't waste much time. He closes his laptop and tells someone he's leaving, and then packs a few things into a bag before heading over. He wishes he had his backpack, it could fit so much more stuff than the satchel he's using now does. Also it was a cheeseburger, and this new bag isn't a cheeseburger at all.

He scurries out of the apartment building, his tail waving nervously behind him as he puts a solid effort into trying to ignore the bustle of people around him. The lingering sunlight is refreshing on his skin, but it's too busy.

Since when is he afraid of crowds though? He freezes in the streets for a moment, clutching at his belly with one hand. Everything here is so weird.

After a moment, he hustles onward regardless. Ginko's motel isn't that far away, and ultimately he ends up getting there in around a half hour. The door is unlocked, as promised, though he does try to peek through the window first. Ginko may see a flash of green in a slim crack in the fabric, but not much else.

Steven lets himself in. He sees Ginko in the corner and frowns, but he doesn't comment on it. Instead he offers a shy little wave.]

Hi, Ginko.

[He comes in all the way, and quietly closes the door behind him. He goes over to what functions as Ginko's kitchen and starts rifling through the cupboards.]

[Ginko glances up as Steven enters, raising a hand slightly, hesitantly. He's calmed down a little by now, thanks to a combination of time and the familiar scent of mushi-repellent smoke. The whole thing still has him sort of thrown off, though.]

Hey.

[He drops his hand back onto his knee, watching in curious silence as Steven starts going through the cupboards. They aren't exactly well-stocked, but there are a few things in there.]

[After a few moments Steven manages to find a kettle or something, and moves to fill it with water. He sets it on the hotplate and lets it start warming up. Then, he finally sets down his bag and looks over at Ginko again.]

Are you doing okay?

[He shrugs, his tail giving a slight flick along with the movement.] Yeah. I'm alright. Just... a little startled, I guess.

[Steven goes over to the bed, since Ginko isn't really using it. He sits on the end and kicks his legs in the air.]

...Is this a good thing? I'm sure you could learn more about it from her if you want to.

Maybe. If I can figure out how to ask. [He leans back against the wall, breathing out slowly and watching a trail of smoke rise from his mouth.]

Guess I hadn't really expected this to come up.

Yeah...not here, anyway, I bet!

[He falls silent for a little while, thinking about things.]

I'm still sorry that happened to you.

Yeah. Definitely not here. [The thought that Nui might know more than him about why they both looked so odd had occurred to him, but not this.]

Thanks, but it's alright. I don't even remember; this is just how I've always been. [He pauses, then clarifies,] The hair and missing eye, that is.

I think the hair is cool.

[Steven is pretty used to really varied appearances though. He likes a lot of things.]

But I mean...the memories, more than the other stuff. I wouldn't want to forget anything.

...Thanks. [He's mostly just used to thinking of it as kind of weird. And inconvenient, given that it's been getting him mistaken for an old man since he was old enough to be qualified as an adult.

He nods after a moment. Can't disagree with that.] Yeah. I, uh... I can't say I really recommend it.

[Steven's vines start curling around one another awkwardly. He feels so bad. He wishes there was something he could do to make things better. Another quiet moment passes.]

...Do you wanna talk about it?

Maybe.

[He's not sure he really knows how. He's explained the situation to others before, of course, but that was different. It was easier then, when he knew so little about his life before he forgot everything that it might as well not have happened. This changes things.]

...I guess I just hadn't really expected that I would ever know. [He snorts quietly, running his claws through the trail of fur down the back of his neck.] Let alone meet someone who knew me then.

[Steven bites his lip for a moment, thinking. He's glad that Ginko is talking to him at all, though.]

Did you want to know? Even if you didn't really think it would happen?

Sometimes. Sometimes I wasn't so sure.

[Steven watches him carefully, his eyes faintly sparkling with concern and compassion. This kid is full of that stuff.]

Why not?

Well... since I had no idea what had happened, I worried sometimes that it was something terrible. There was nobody to tell me otherwise, so I just thought I might be better off not knowing.

...Of course, that was just on occasion, when I was very young.

...It didn't sound terrible.

[A pause.]

Or I mean, it did, but just that...something bad happened, but it wasn't anybody's fault. You're always saying how mushi don't do this stuff because they're mean...

[It strikes him, in that moment, that maybe Ginko had had family before then...family that he couldn't even remember. Or friends...He doesn't even want to ask about that, because it seems like a cruel thing to suggest. Especially now, when it isn't like he could look for them even if he wanted to.

But he can't help but to put himself in Ginko's place, and how awful it would be if he completely forgot about his dad, and about the gems. About his mom, even. About Connie. They were all so much a part of who he was that the idea is almost inconceivable.

He tears up with vicarious grief, and quickly tries to rub them out of his eyes.]

Yeah. No, it... it wouldn't be the mushi's fault, in any case. [He shakes his head slightly.

Then he happens to look up, and his eyes widen slightly. He finally gets together the effort to drag himself to his feet and goes to sit by Steven on the bed.] Steven, you're... are you alright?

[He doesn't immediately answer, so much as just latch straight onto Ginko's body as soon as that option is made possible. His vines gently twist around the two of them shortly after, though not close enough to cut Ginko with their thorns. He sniffles.]

Sh-She said it didn't matter because...because the important thing was that you grew up strong. And...and I think that's true. Because you have people here for you right now, okay?

[In a way, he's talking himself through it as much as he's talking to Ginko.]

[Ginko jumps a little, once again completely unsure of how to respond. Then, as Steven talks, he starts to relax a little, his brow furrowing slightly as he listens. Finally, he raises a hand hesitantly, placing it on Steven's back.]

...Yeah. Okay.

[Steven buries his face in Ginko's chest, and its after a short while of this that the kettle he put on starts going. All of Steven's vines raise up at once in defensive alarm, his grip on Ginko tightening.]

O-Oh, uh. Sorry, sorry.

[One of the vines swoops over and lifts up the kettle off the burner, moving it over to the cool side of the plate.]

[Ginko tenses at that, more out of instinctual alarm than anything, then relaxes a moment later.]

It's alright. You really are getting better at moving stuff around with those, aren't you?

WELCOME TO YOUR PRIVATE CHANNEL, GINKO. FOR SECURE COMMUNICATION, USE 065.32.134.46 * GINKO has joined 065.32.134.46 <GINKO> okay, i think that worked? <GINKO> i think so. looks like it did. <GINKO>** anyway, there we go. let me know if you need something.

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