[ Luckily, Eddie is very much paying attention, and he takes note when Riverās presence in the physical world begins to drift. Thatās when he decides to play the adult and does his best to handle things. They meet an older bespectacled man, the mortuary surgeon, who leads them to where the cadavers have been laid out, and just through the doorāitās a sight to behold. Dozens of bodies, and theyāre meant to sort them out from best to worst condition. The sight of them is enough to make his stomach turn.
As he takes it all in, pale-faced and wide-eyed, staring a little more intensely than he probably should for the sake of his stomach, he feels a tug on his sleeve that pulls him out of it. He turns to peer at his companion, and when he sees the fear and anxiety written all over her face, embedded into her body languageā¦he sees himself. He knows that feelingāheās feeling it now, but somehow over the course of a year, heās learned to not let it control him. It doesnāt mean he canāt empathize. ]
Heyāhey, remember what you said? Be brave, go slow? Weāve got this, right? Letās just pace ourselves and, uhā¦no shame in taking breaks. I think Iām gonna need plenty of them.
[ The entire thing is pretty heavy, and he seems to be looking for more comfort than just words to offer her. Sometimes, people just need something a little more concrete to help them through, like some sort of talisman. ]
So, listenā
[ Eddie wears rings on every finger. The cheap nickel ones he owned back home are long gone; they didnāt even make it to Abraxas, but heās purchased chunky stone ones from vendors in Nocwich to replace them. At the end, theyāre all normal stones with no magical abilities, but they all have stories behind them, things that drew Eddie to them to begin with, whether he believes them or not. He pulls one of those rings from a finger and slips it into Riverās hand. ]
You see this right here? Apparently the stone was like, imbued with the very essence of bravery or something? Or at least, the guy who sold it to me said so. Do I know if it works? Absolutely not, but just in case it does? I want you to carry it today while we do this, alright?
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As he takes it all in, pale-faced and wide-eyed, staring a little more intensely than he probably should for the sake of his stomach, he feels a tug on his sleeve that pulls him out of it. He turns to peer at his companion, and when he sees the fear and anxiety written all over her face, embedded into her body languageā¦he sees himself. He knows that feelingāheās feeling it now, but somehow over the course of a year, heās learned to not let it control him. It doesnāt mean he canāt empathize. ]
Heyāhey, remember what you said? Be brave, go slow? Weāve got this, right? Letās just pace ourselves and, uhā¦no shame in taking breaks. I think Iām gonna need plenty of them.
[ The entire thing is pretty heavy, and he seems to be looking for more comfort than just words to offer her. Sometimes, people just need something a little more concrete to help them through, like some sort of talisman. ]
So, listenā
[ Eddie wears rings on every finger. The cheap nickel ones he owned back home are long gone; they didnāt even make it to Abraxas, but heās purchased chunky stone ones from vendors in Nocwich to replace them. At the end, theyāre all normal stones with no magical abilities, but they all have stories behind them, things that drew Eddie to them to begin with, whether he believes them or not. He pulls one of those rings from a finger and slips it into Riverās hand. ]
You see this right here? Apparently the stone was like, imbued with the very essence of bravery or something? Or at least, the guy who sold it to me said so. Do I know if it works? Absolutely not, but just in case it does? I want you to carry it today while we do this, alright?