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You should at least remember the things you went out of your way to get for me. This and the salt shaker… I haven't forgotten, you know?

[ So Thorns shouldn't… wtf… he trails off. AK really chose such interesting things to define their early friendship. ]

I remember.

[ he just doesn't think he needs to remember the particular band name. ]

Do you still have it? Back home.

Of course I do. Or, I did. I think it's the same one.

[ He takes it out of the box and hands it over. It's framed and in perfect condition—but there's more than one reason now why he's glad it's kept so well. ]

[ he looks it over. it really is a reminder of how something that can seem so small to you can mean a lot to someone else.

... ]

I wonder which task got it to open...

Is that the scientist in you speaking? If there are more next week, we can give it a thorough testing. Maybe what we find will help the people who are more reticent.

[ They don't know they don't have many more weeks left here… ]

... Mm. We can. If I thought of it, we could have tried last week...

[ well, it doesn't really matter, but he is curious to see what gets judged as okay or not. ]

I could've and should've thought about it too. It's on both of us to make up for our shortcomings.

[ But with that, he's just going to take the autograph back to tuck it into the box again. Tucking it under one arm, it's all to pick up Thorns' hand. He really isn't going to let go until Thorns decides he's tired of it. ]

Let me just drop this off and then we can check out everything else that's showed up together?

[ he nods his head in agreement.

life is funny when something clicks into place, but it's not a realization you are able to vocalize. so he just squeezes elysium's hand, tightening his hold of it. ]

Mm. At least it's not as weird as before.

[ The ears……

He just nods his head back. ]

… When I checked it out the other day, things almost looked cozy.

It makes sense, I guess, if they wanted us to nap.

[ it does make it easier to cuddle with someone if there are nice places to cuddle... ]

There's a giant space for it, but there's another place I think you'll like more.

[ He tightens his grip. ]

We can check out both.

[ Will this be the most time they've ever spent together in these five weeks… incredible. ]

[ they slept together (non-sexy) before... does the time count if they were unconscious during it? ]

Mm. Take me wherever you want.

[ after they do the drop off... but thorns will let elysium lead. ]

[ Elysium was actively trying not to acknowledge the elephants in their room, so… probably not…

Timeskips. Thorns is immediately taken to the star room. ]

Oh.

[ ... it is nice.

thorns gives it a quick glance around before looking back at elysium. ]

I'm a little surprised.

[ he doesn't seen an obvious weird part. ]

I was here with Dahut a little while ago. You've nothing to worry about! The roof didn't cave in on us—not in the entire time we were there.

[ Assuming they're settling somewhere to watch, Elysium presses in close.

Thorns might recognise their positions as similar as what they'd seen back in the simulations. ]

Are you trying to jinx us?

[ the roof is definitely going to cave in now...

the simulations that said a lot, but they also just brushed past, not being able to really touch on what was being obviously said. ]

It looks real.

As I was telling the Señorito, dealing with the worst case scenarios is just what I'm good at. You know this. So, even if it does decide to cave in now, it's not like I still don't got you.

[ Is this the problem? No. He's making it the problem, though. ]

And it does, doesn't it? Talking to others over the past few days has taught me that in other worlds, they really do use the stars to chart their paths. Our predecessors were onto something. It's too bad it didn't pan out.

[ that is definitely not the problem but sometimes you just accept elysium for what he is (someone who just says things).

charting paths, huh. he frowns slightly at the thought, before trying to push the slight unease away.

... ]

Can you explain to me what I forgot again?

[ He tenses just slightly. Ah. In his excitement, he'd nearly forgotten about that, too. ]

Just so I know I'm on the right track, what are you up to these days? Or, what do you remember being up to?

Fiammetta called me an alchemist. And I don't remember why my arm is like that.

[ a pause, as he looks at the space it was. ]

... Was. And I don't know Iberia, but I'm supposed to be from there?

We both are, yeah.

[ A pause, just to continue deliberating his words. ]

Considering how injured you were, it shouldn't be too surprising that the river took something from you of equivalent exchange. It's weird, isn't it? At first, you don't really notice anything missing. It's easy to dismiss it as something that couldn't have been important. But the more you think about it, the more gaps you start to notice and the emptier you start to feel.

People would ask me questions about things, and I'd realize I didn't know the answer, even though I should.

[ was this what it was like for elysium? ]

It's fine if it's too complicated to explain. I should remember it in a few days anyway.

[ but people kept telling him to just ask elysium. and thorns knows that elysium wouldn't be able to fully answer the question, considering how much they dodge sharing things with others, but–there's pieces he could. ]

No, I will. Losing my memories gave me a surprising amount of clarity about myself… both during it and afterward. Though, at this point I think you have yourself pretty much figured out.

[ Unlike him. Still, he leans in a little closer, resting his head against Thorns' with a quiet laugh. ]

Remember what I said about Iberia being an oppressive place? It wasn't always like that. It used to be a prosperous nation, renowned for its naval prowess and technological advancements. Its people were considered the most unfettered, bold, and free on Terra.

That is, until a tide struck and the Seaborn invaded. Do you remember what those are, at least?

... Yeah. That does also fill in something I couldn't remember.

[ he tried to explain the seaborn to someone, but he got stuck at a specific part of the explanation, unsure of why he couldn't remember something in regards to them. ]

What happened?

The nation collapsed without its ruling body, and now it's little more than a shell of what it once was. Laterano took advantage of the power vacuum, and since then, the church has ruled over Iberia with an iron fist, discriminating against Ægir without reason. The descriptions I gave you before, basically.

But that's just the bare minimum you need to understand what I'm about to say. [ … ] We both escaped Iberia for different reasons. I left simply to get away. You, though… I believed you were always meant to return someday. Of everyone I have ever met, you embodied the Iberian spirit more than anyone, and that's the crux of what I think the river took from you: your ambition.

What can one person do for an entire nation? I've always been stuck on that. But you were different. You just did whatever you could without letting the big picture affect you. There's no one you believe in more than yourself, and that's exactly why you never wanted to shoulder responsibility for others. If you failed them, what would that mean of your confidence then?

But more than anything, you believed in freedom—for you and our countrymen. And that's what you're trying to do now, reconquering the seas and paving the way to restore it for everyone else, too, bit by bit. You're incredible, Thorns.

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