wizardmanor | Floor 2, Room 4

[By now, Phil is awake and up and about, though the expression on his face and the haunted look in his eyes when he opens the door are clear signs that his mental state isn't doing quite as well as his physical one.

Still, he tries for a tired, apologetic smile, and to his credit, he almost manages that much.]

... oh... hello, Day. [There's a pause as he tries to figure out what to say next.] Were... were you the one who brought me to my room?

[Because while he can't remember anything after the tsunami of memories washed over him, he's quite certain that he passed out, and the fact that he awoke in his own bed instead of on the floor can only mean one thing.]

[ Day...doesn't exactly look well-rested himself, but he's also trying his best to be put together for this. ]

Yeah. Figured may as well since we're on the same floor. [ And pretty much everyone was tired after all that. ] How're you holdin' up?

[Even though he'd suspected as much, the sigh he lets out is quite audible. He'd told Mika that he didn't want to be a burden to anyone here, and yet he had to be physically carried to bed and not due to his illness. He's truly off to a great start here.]

... I'm sorry. I didn't intend for that to happen. [...] Not that I even know exactly what "that" was...

[Well, that isn't quite true. He knows what it was - the memories have haunted him in his dreams for more than ten years - but he doesn't know what caused it, other than the possibility of it being some sort of side effect of the powers of whatever the creature that had been possessing Akira was.]

I think the ghostie decided to leave us a partin' gift and just remind everyone of bad memories. [ Or fears, or whatever else lies in the back of their heads, Day figures. ]

...You looked pretty bad off though, not gonna lie.

Mmm.

[What an awkward conversation.]

... you got them too, then? It wasn't just me?

[If it was everyone, then he can at least feel a little bit better about not being the only one who was weak enough to be susceptible.]

I think everyone saw somethin'. Just reacted differently.

Did... did anyone else...?

[He doesn't finish that sentence, in part because he doesn't really need to and also in part because it's embarrassing to have to admit to fainting dead away after having been shown an involuntary mental slideshow of one's own memories.]

[ Day is just flapping his hand. He doesn't particularly want to answer. ]

We were all exhausted. Don't worry 'bout it.

Still, I'm sorry for causing you trouble like that after I'd told you I wasn't going to. Although I suppose Akira was the one who caused the biggest problems in the end...

[Another sigh, although this one isn't quite as heavy as the first.]

I'm just glad that my magic ended up being effective on that front. Well, mine and Yodarha's. I can't take all of the credit for that.

Eh, can't be helped. You and Yodarha did damn good. Pretty sure it'd be an even bigger mess otherwise.

[At that, Phil brightens up just a little.]

I just didn't want to see anyone else get hurt, but... thank you. It could have been far worse than it was.

Here's to hopin' people don't bring back more unwanted passengers later.

[ Day swears to gods if there's another possession-

... ]

Uh, don't take this the wrong way, but do you wanna talk? [ Because Day could tell that whatever it is Phil saw, it sure got a reaction out of him unlike most people. ]

Talk...?

[Of course. Of course Day would want to know why his memories were apparently so traumatizing as to overwhelm him to that degree.]

... I'm not sure there's anything worth talking about. Or that you would want to hear about, at least.

[Because how does one tell someone else that they were inadvertently responsible for the destruction of most of the world?]

I won't press you if you don't wanna, it just seems like... [ His voice trails off, as he tries to figure out how to put this. ]

You're carryin' a lot. [ That sense of heavy burden, Day supposes, if something is so traumatic that it overwhelmed Phil like that. ] And...I'm kinda worried whether it's crushin' you, I guess.

Ha... hahaha.

[There's something so tired and worn about that laugh that isn't really a laugh at all. There's no surprise in it, though, nor anger; just a numb sort of acceptance.]

I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that other people would notice. But... it isn't something I can ask anyone else to carry for me. Here or anywhere else.

[No matter how much the burden might weigh.]

[ Somehow this is even more depressing. It doesn't feel like acceptance that leads to resolve so much as resignation. ]

Not ever?

[ Because it just sounds...lonely. ]

No. It's my responsibility... no one else's.

[And he can't shift any of it onto anyone else. He's already done enough of that back at home.]

I know I thanked you for caring the other day, and... I truly am grateful. I don't want it to seem like I'm not. But...

Like I said, I won't press if you don't wanna talk. [ A small smile. It's not a happy one, but one meant to say that there's no hard feelings. ] I just wanna make sure you'll be okay.

I will.

[He sounds sure enough when he says this, at least, because it's a front he's perfected by now after so many years.]

And... thank you again. I'm sorry I've been doing nothing but causing you trouble.

[ Will he be, though? That's what Day wonders when he remembers how Phil looked when he answered the door earlier. But it's not as if Day can really call him out on it right this moment, either. ]

...If you say so. And you don't gotta apologise. Just make sure you're eatin' and restin' up properly.

I-I've been working on that...

[He Has Not. Not the sleeping part, at least.]

[ ...

Squinting at Phil, watching for any signs of poor rest or sleep deprivation, ]

[Are the perpetual dark circles beneath his eyes not enough of a clue...]

[ Look, ]

You ain't sleepin'.

I-I am!

[...]

... well, sometimes I lose track of time when I'm reading, but I do end up sleeping in the end!

[When he quite literally passes out.]

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