Iris' question, soft and vulnerable like the underbelly of some creature, nevertheless sinks into him with claws and teeth. Wilhelm remembers all too well how lost he used to feel, how overwhelmed by the blank, open expanse of the future. How small against it all. Unable to cover Iris' hand with his own, he tries to offer reassurance another way. By tucking his elbows in, he can squeeze his friend's legs between his arms and waist in a sort of clamp.
At the same time, it's a small, hard seed of hope, that question. Iris wants it to be true. He wants to believe he deserves more than what life dealt him back home. Wilhelm doesn't know much about Iris' past before he wound up in Thorne, but what pieces he's gathered don't make a nice picture. He'd been forced to hide himself because people fear what they refuse to understand. He'd been in between places, he recalls, uprooted and fleeing into the unknown.
But here...
"Absolutely." He says it with a conviction that's grounded in his own experiences, as solid as the rock beneath his feet. "If that's what you want, then...you can make it yours. And I'm here to support you, in any way I can, while you figure it out."
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At the same time, it's a small, hard seed of hope, that question. Iris wants it to be true. He wants to believe he deserves more than what life dealt him back home. Wilhelm doesn't know much about Iris' past before he wound up in Thorne, but what pieces he's gathered don't make a nice picture. He'd been forced to hide himself because people fear what they refuse to understand. He'd been in between places, he recalls, uprooted and fleeing into the unknown.
But here...
"Absolutely." He says it with a conviction that's grounded in his own experiences, as solid as the rock beneath his feet. "If that's what you want, then...you can make it yours. And I'm here to support you, in any way I can, while you figure it out."