[Rindo reads the messages one by one as they come in, and at first all he feels is the same frustration he's been dealing with since his arrival, nagging at him. He's talking to Swallow, just like back home. That should be a good thing… but it feels wrong.
It's everything, really. Swallow being a monster, and all the implications that come with that fact. Her somehow knowing him. Her knowing the rest of the household—being close friends with them…
It's that last message that hits Rindo the hardest, tipping his emotions into uglier territory. He… hadn't known Swallow liked girls (which is fine, he doesn't mind that, he just… hadn't expected it, he guesses). But really, if the past day's been any indication, he hadn't known much of anything about her. Maybe he wasn't that special to Swallow. Then her dating Nanami, combined with what Nanami had told him yesterday—"We play together sometimes"… After a year in Ryslig, Swallow must have moved on from their friendship entirely.
There's parts of him that protest against that conclusion—he recalls Swallow's moment of sincerity, when she'd convinced him of who she was; and he's well aware that he's being petty, that Swallow had no choice in being sent here either, that she must have made the best of what she had. But their voice is weak, oh so close to being snuffed out… Not quite there yet, though. He sits on those feelings, adding them to the pile. Grimaces, as he realizes his go-to method for dealing with his problems cannot be used in this situation.
…Surely he can manage this one thing on his own. Steering the topic away from Nanami seems like a wise choice.]
oh i see ig you were friends back in shibuya too then? did the 2 of us meet there or smt?
[…He hadn't thought that lying to Swallow, even by omission, would be this upsetting. That said, he is still genuinely curious about the circumstances of his and Swallow's supposed meeting back home. He wants to understand just why she reacted the way she did at the sight of him.]
<rindragon>
It's everything, really. Swallow being a monster, and all the implications that come with that fact. Her somehow knowing him. Her knowing the rest of the household—being close friends with them…
It's that last message that hits Rindo the hardest, tipping his emotions into uglier territory. He… hadn't known Swallow liked girls (which is fine, he doesn't mind that, he just… hadn't expected it, he guesses). But really, if the past day's been any indication, he hadn't known much of anything about her. Maybe he wasn't that special to Swallow. Then her dating Nanami, combined with what Nanami had told him yesterday—"We play together sometimes"… After a year in Ryslig, Swallow must have moved on from their friendship entirely.
There's parts of him that protest against that conclusion—he recalls Swallow's moment of sincerity, when she'd convinced him of who she was; and he's well aware that he's being petty, that Swallow had no choice in being sent here either, that she must have made the best of what she had. But their voice is weak, oh so close to being snuffed out… Not quite there yet, though. He sits on those feelings, adding them to the pile. Grimaces, as he realizes his go-to method for dealing with his problems cannot be used in this situation.
…Surely he can manage this one thing on his own. Steering the topic away from Nanami seems like a wise choice.]
oh i see
ig you were friends back in shibuya too then?
did the 2 of us meet there or smt?
[…He hadn't thought that lying to Swallow, even by omission, would be this upsetting. That said, he is still genuinely curious about the circumstances of his and Swallow's supposed meeting back home. He wants to understand just why she reacted the way she did at the sight of him.]