⚹You wish to leave a message for Grit

[save_theworld]

...'Lo.

I'm somewhere else. So you should leave a message.


[⚹There's about a minute of static and light breathing before Grit's message bank cuts in.

⚹Nailed it.]

Comments

[save_theworld]

[...Oh.

Grit blinks, straightening up and shaking their head vehemently. This isn't something they're going to leave Isol to deal with, no way! It's um, it's-

It's more complicated than that. Grit can't leave it alone.

They can't. It's a ball of snow rolling down a hill, and every time Grit blinks, it gets bigger. They're pretty sure it's already too big to stop.]

...I'm okay. I'm um, [No. They already have one thing they have to lie to him about. That's enough.] I'm a little tired. Yesterday was...


[...]

Seigi promised to help if I needed it.


[.....]

Serif, too. We've..we've got lots of people to help.

[But no one who can actually know what happened. Grit hums quietly, placing their cup on the floor so they can lean into Isol a little more comfortably. They're right here. They'll always be here. It's okay if he wants to cry.]

*Phonic said she'd be happy to listen if we wanted to talk...

Isol, I think... I think we should tell her. Just in case.

[Just in case Grit can't be here in the way they want to be. Just in case they have to let go.]

[dreamalittledreem]

[These things are only marginally reassuring to hear. There's still something confusing and uncomfortable about Serif, something he can't put his finger on. And Seigi may be very kind to him, but Isol wonders how much she can help without knowing everything.

But *Phonic... That makes him look up.

Initially, it's panic that sweeps over him, quick and cold. The idea of telling anyone what they've been though- what he did- it's terrifying. But Grit needs help. This much is obvious. And Isol... well, maybe he could use some too.]

I think you're right.

[He screws up his nose and leans in close as well, to whisper his next words to Grit.]

Are you scared, too?

[save_theworld]

[Scared? Pfff, Isol, the very idea of it-]

...Yeah.

[They whisper it back to him, so softly it's almost nothing. Are they scared? Yeah. Yeah, they're scared. There's so much that could happen, so much to be scared of. They've been saving so much lately, just in case, but even that's scary because what if they save at the wrong time, what if they can't go back enough, what if-]

I'm scared all the time. How come so many bad things can happen in happy endings?

[dreamalittledreem]

[He's not happy that Grit feels scared, but Isol can't help but be relieved that they feel the same. It's a little less scary, being scared together.]

I don't know. Maybe we still have a little bit further to go before we get there.

[But something he's sure of, something that comes across as determined and stubborn even as he continues to whisper-]

It'll be worth it. We'll stay together.

[Us. The two of us. And all of us.]