[GRO] Sephos Arbola - Teen

[DraconicFeline]

Bouquet of Diamonds

"I do think so." Sephos replied honestly. And he did. He took in a breath and let it out, listening again. Had Rastin ever spoken this much to him before? It was... nice... but a little overwhelming. Nice overwhelming, in that he wanted to catch every word as they flowed by him like minnows in a stream. All of them were reasonable and important and worth understanding and keeping, but he was running out of net.

If Rastin said he was strong, then maybe he was; strong enough to take care of Maku while he was dormant. Strong enough to take care of his garden (and the bigger garden that was Maku's territory in the forest). Strong enough to raise Maku's sapling with his hands. Strong enough to survive in a world that had predators and poisons, diseases and dangers, crashing spaceships and giant robots and cruel trolls and people that planted bombs. If Rastin said it, it had to be true... Even though when Sephos looked at his lusus, covered in resin blobs and gently swaying in the breeze, and when he looked out at the forest around him, and when he climbed to the top of a tree and looked out on the sea of leaves and the horizon far beyond, he felt small and powerless. If Rastin said he was strong, Rastin meant it.

That smile though. Seeing it made Sephos feel... different. Strongly. He'd been feeling that way before. The feeling itself was not exactly new - he'd felt it every evening at tea, and whenever Rastin was near. It had been faint, but there, like embers in a hearth - present, but too quiet to define.

But that smile brought it out, and it threatened to overwhelm him with feeling. Good feeling, he decided. A feeling he could describe to Rastin and have help figuring it out, since Rastin definitely knew everything most things. “Theres this feeling." he said, abruptly, apparently off topic, "'Is a good feeling," he amended, "But I don’t know what it is. Its like... I'm next to... someone... and I feel real okay because they're." His brow crinkled in frustration, "An' bad things happen, but its okay because they are there." No... that wasn't nearly enough. "And the world gets a bit better, because they are there." Yes. That captured it well. As best as his words could manage, anyway.

"What's it called?"  

[Bouquet of Diamonds]

Rastin's smile warmed and the hue in his cheeks spread across his nose. He'd never let himself think that he was a good person, not out of self-doubt or hatred, but so that he didn't end up with a head full of hot air like so many other highbloods. The fact that Sephos thought of him as such warmed his heart and, honestly, filled him with so many good feelings that it was hard for him to process them all at once. He'd settle for somewhere between grateful and elated for now.

"Ah, erm..." He muttered, squinting as he considered the question. "Well, what you've described to me sounds very much like friendship, which is the feeling you get when you find another person you get along with so well that you... Want to see them more often and care about how they feel."

He took a short breath and let it out, before letting out a odd, subtle chuckle.

"It's funny that you would mention it now, because it's exactly how I feel about you." He said. "You are my friend, someone who I care about, and genuinely enjoy spending my time with. ... And the world is certainly much better when you're here."

DraconicFeline

 

[DraconicFeline]

Friendship... huh. He'd known that Rastin would know. He closed his eyes and matched the feeling to the name.

So. This was friendship. He had wondered. With that one word, what he had been feeling made sense: For Panili, for Valaon, for Punkie... they now fell neatly into place, newly understood.

But it was stronger for Rastin. “... Okay.” Sephos said, his words warm with feeling “... Then you are my friend. And..." he paused, with all the somberness revelation was owed. And it was - never once had Sephos considered how Rastin might feel about him - or how any troll felt about him, ever. Or even his own lusus. It made sense. It was also amazing.

"... And I... am your friend." The feelings intensified, and he smiled down at his cup. "Thank you." he whispered, feeling things settle inside him for the first time since the robots, "I... I'm glad."

Bouquet of Diamonds

hivestuck

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