10-04-2019, 02:48 PM
It was a frightening prognosis, moreso because there was nothing he could do about it. Nor maybe even the doctors. His brows lowered, but sharing the worry wouldn’t solve anything, or make either of them feel better about the prospect. Raffe roused himself to speak about the lotus instead, not denial so much as distraction. He hadn’t been talking to it, not in that way, but he felt the stirrings anyway -- like he always did with green things. They tuned to him like he were the sun even before the visible effects. He chuckled, unwilling to admit that the plant was half-dead because it was all he could afford to purchase. A few days care had been intended before the giving. “You weren’t supposed to see it like this,” he admitted eventually.
His glance up was almost sidelong, unsure of how to tread. Plants made a home. He knew something of Nox’s insecurities there, like he expected the offer of Kallisti’s haven to be ripped away at any moment, and Raffe wanted him to feel otherwise. The gesture was heartfelt, but he wanted to do it without scaring the man off. His mouth ran dry, hardly helping his already hoarse voice, as he added. “Because of the show, yeah.”
A throat-clear later his grin was back. His fingers drummed lightly against the side of the pot, siphoning out the nervous energy. Perhaps Nox would find it a stupid gift. Raffe didn’t mind being the butt end of a joke, usually, and Nox did claim time after time to be something of an asshole. Still, not much room to backtrack now. “If I say no, do I get a private show?” He laughed, fairly sure he knew the answer to that. Such banter was safer territory, and if there was a glimmer in his eyes then, he didn’t seem in a hurry to share what he’d seen or what he’d thought. The grin didn’t fade either, even as he sensed Nox draw inwards. He felt it draw him too, like moth to flame. “A good job you’ve got me, then.” He laughed, perhaps a touch embarrassed. “Plants stay where you put them. And they don’t argue with what’s best for them. It makes it easy. I’ll teach you.”
His glance up was almost sidelong, unsure of how to tread. Plants made a home. He knew something of Nox’s insecurities there, like he expected the offer of Kallisti’s haven to be ripped away at any moment, and Raffe wanted him to feel otherwise. The gesture was heartfelt, but he wanted to do it without scaring the man off. His mouth ran dry, hardly helping his already hoarse voice, as he added. “Because of the show, yeah.”
A throat-clear later his grin was back. His fingers drummed lightly against the side of the pot, siphoning out the nervous energy. Perhaps Nox would find it a stupid gift. Raffe didn’t mind being the butt end of a joke, usually, and Nox did claim time after time to be something of an asshole. Still, not much room to backtrack now. “If I say no, do I get a private show?” He laughed, fairly sure he knew the answer to that. Such banter was safer territory, and if there was a glimmer in his eyes then, he didn’t seem in a hurry to share what he’d seen or what he’d thought. The grin didn’t fade either, even as he sensed Nox draw inwards. He felt it draw him too, like moth to flame. “A good job you’ve got me, then.” He laughed, perhaps a touch embarrassed. “Plants stay where you put them. And they don’t argue with what’s best for them. It makes it easy. I’ll teach you.”