Is that really you?

He gave Io a small smile as she patted his paw gently. From what he could gather, her thoughts seemed flitty, like she struggled to keep her mind on one thing at a time. It made her a little erratic. It was like… it was like she thought she was living in a dreamscape and treated it as such. As though she didn’t trust this reality. It hurt his heart to see her that way. “Thank you, Io.” he said simply.

He shuddered at her correction, though he understood what she meant. She believed she was dead, and made a joke of it. He thought of the truly dead people he had met, and knew she didn’t have the right of it. Naiche knew no hunger, nor did Resin. He reached out a paw again, touching to her own, looking at the gold marking there, and swallowing a lump past his throat. Had Resin seen her like this, then?

“It’s been a long trip down to Auster. I think I’m in need of a bath, do you know where I can those here?” he asked her. Not entirely the truth. He was hoping he could wrestle Io into one as well. Ot at least splash a little bit of water on her faded coat. He did not like to see her like this. How could he help her? How could he, when he was certain she did not want to be helped. She couldn’t accept the death of her love, he understood that. He truly did.

"Speech"