Llama 26 | Video

[helborn]

[Casper looks... tired. But excited! He smiles at the screen.]

... So if we vote for a lab the scientists shut up and any damage is contained. Right now I think they're using the quiet car which is sort of the opposite of what it's intended for.

And I'd like the quiet car back for... quiet. And doing some writing and such. So let's just... get it over with.

[He looks like he's about to turn off the screen, but stops.]

Also Q'uila, Della, Zagreus, and Thanatos - wanted to have a chat with you. Uh, not together? I mean you could, but I just - there's no private filtering here.

[Now he's done.]

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[sos_pilot]

[ Oooh. This is a SERIOUS talk. ]

... No. What happened, Casper?

[helborn]

She... um. I ended up in her hall of the dead, and he told me I wasn't responsible enough to hold onto my own soul. So she... put it in him.

[Bob squawks quietly. He dips his head down, avoiding their gazes.]

And then I had to literally climb back to the human world with half a leg missing.

[sos_pilot]

... Wait, what?

[ She looks back and forth between him and Bob. ]

... So you're... both the same sort of person, kinda?

[helborn]

Wh - no, no. I mean... imagine someone's brain is on a computer chip. Then you put the chip in a robot that already has a chip in it. You don't access the brain chip. It's just... storage. Sort of.

[sos_pilot]

Oooh, I get it.

[ At least, she thinks she does. ]

... Did something at the last world bring this up?

[helborn]

I mean, always. But uh. I found someone who could put it back without hurting someone.

[Ah, shit. He’s tearing up again.] It’s… it’s been like… four years? Since I felt like this…

[sos_pilot]

[ Tears means hugs. Within seconds, she has her arms around him, trying to stroke his hair. ]

Is it going to hurt you? That's all I care about right now. What you're feeling.

[helborn]

[He bows his head to give her easier access.]

No... no, this is how it's supposed to be. It's just weird getting used to it, y'know?

[sos_pilot]

... Hope can be a little scary sometimes, huh?

[helborn]

... Yeah. My... I don't know where to look for in terms of hope. Pretty much all of my friends are super traumatized from one thing or another.

[He puts his hand on Della's shoulder and squeezes it. He knows she's in that category, too.]

[sos_pilot]

[ A small smile of understanding. ]

... We all suffered in our own ways, that's true. But we also handled in our own ways... So there's no wrong way to feel about it. I can't tell you how to feel, no one can.

[helborn]

... Yeah. And... I don't know. I thought... you should know. There's just something about you... I don't know. You're just really kind.

[sos_pilot]

... I appreciate it, Casper. I'm really honored you told me.

[ She nuzzles his hair with her beak a bit, a motherly gesture from her world. ]

[helborn]

[It's strange, but he gets the intent. It's nice.]

... I dunno, you just... you've been so nice to me. And... heh. I don't know if it's just because my own mom is shitty, but it's nice to see a mom who isn't.

[sos_pilot]

... I'm not a perfect mom either, Casper. I've done a lot of awful things I need to make up for... but what you and I got in common? We keep moving forward. No matter what the world throws at is, we keep on taking steps. It's not easy, but it's who we are.

You're a good guy, Casper. Never forget that.

[helborn]

I mean I know it's a bar so low it's literally in an Underworld, but at least you try.

[He blushes a little bit. Ah... he's never gotten used to compliments. Not totally.]

[sos_pilot]

... I think we both could use a little work accepting compliments, huh?

[helborn]

You're not wrong. And for me... it's hard to get rid of seventeen or eighteen years of trauma in a few years, especially given some of the trauma there, too.

[sos_pilot]

And the train likes to give us a few scoop-fulls of it as well, sometimes.

[helborn]

Yeah... you can come to me if you need someone to talk to, you know? I'll listen. And I'd like to think I give pretty good hugs.

[sos_pilot]

[ She finds his hand, takes it, squeezes it. ]

You give amazing hugs. I know that for a fact.