#//jesus christ theres just something about effy that does this to characters

[raeltherevenant]

@stargirleffy

The sniff was an alarm. Rael felt the sensation rise up the nape of his neck as he turned to the starry girl. And when the tears fell... so did his stomach.

Regret.

"H-hey now, it's fiiine! I made peace with it long ago. This is just who I am, yeah? We all got a role in our lives. Mine's just... reoccuring."

He pushed forward another glass smile. One he's cerain has always been his companion. It was a reflex; muscle memory beyond the grave. No matter how tired his eyes were, the smile was always lax and cheery.

It's not something he felt often. Dissasociation often walked hand in hand with an emotional deficiency. There wasn't much room for him to feel as such. He knew the ephemeral nature of his undeath, and the lack of any attachments that he learnt to develop. In the end, regret was meaningless. He would forget eventually, and it would disappear with the memory.

But it wasn't that way for others.

Even if his memory were to crumble into the ever-hungry abyss, hers would not. Effy would remember for him. Remember his pain, and make it hers. It wasn't a legacy Rael wanted. It was one of the many reasons why he rarely opened up like this. To be remembered as a tragic man who lacks an end or identity... It was too melancholy. He'd much rather be remembered as the Ranger who cracked wise and brought a chuckle here and there.

He placed his hands down on the smaller set, hoping to end their trembling. He squatted down and gazed at her at eye level.

"I'm okay. I'm happy now, see? That's all that matters. I've had loads of super cool adventures this time. I've made so many irreplaceable friends, and seen so many cool places! I--"

This time.

Something ran down his cheek, halting his words. It took Rael by suprise, but the smile thankfully retained its shape.

They were all going to disappear. His own words loomed over him, an otherwise hopeful statment now a reminder of the emptiness that awaits. He had always accepted that fate, but seeing someone feel for him made it a much more apparent.

Effy had such an intoxicating innocence. It made it hard not to feel with her. A simple mindset that saw things without the haze that people create over the hurt. And Rael had a lot. He chuckles, standing up straight in an attempt to break the eye contact we worked to make. He casually ruffles the nebulous hair, fingers receeding from an ebbing ocean of stars.

"It's fine. It's just the way it is, y'know...?" He repeated, his words no longer for her.