Floor 2, Room 4

[mirristry]

Phillip Biqe Reston

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Comments

[troublereduction]

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

[mirristry]

[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.

[troublereduction]

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. ]

[mirristry]

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?]

[troublereduction]

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.

[mirristry]

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.]

[troublereduction]

[ 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. ]

[mirristry]

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...

[troublereduction]

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.

[mirristry]

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.

[troublereduction]

[ 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.

[mirristry]

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

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

[troublereduction]

[ ...

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

[mirristry]

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

[troublereduction]

[ Look, ]

You ain't sleepin'.

[mirristry]

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.]

[troublereduction]

Passin' out don't count.

[ He's just saying. ]

[mirristry]

......

[It achieves the same result!!]

[troublereduction]

Maybe I should start lookin' into whether magic can help with sleep...

[mirristry]

Th-that really won't be necessary...

[How did this get turned around on him like this... he is being bullied...]

[troublereduction]

[ Then maybe stop being bullyable, Phil? ]

It'll stop bein' necessary when you get some damn sleep on the regular.

[mirristry]

[The reaction Day gets to this is... probably very much NOT what he was expecting, because those sure are tears in Phil's eyes right about now.

And yes, he's sniffling a little too.]

[troublereduction]

[ He definitely wasn't expecting this. Immediately he panics, because making people cry is at the bottom of his list. ]

W-wait, what're you...

[mirristry]

I-I'm sorry... it must be because of my age...

[He does try to wipe his eyes on his sleeve in an only semi-effective attempt to stop the tears, though.]

[troublereduction]

I ain't sure what your age's gotta do with this?

[ Please hold, he's summoning a handkerchief and handing it over to Phil. ]