’I think I'm kind of afraid to find out just what else is different, now!’
A large bubble of toxic panic pops in Lloyd’s throat, and he holds back a flinch as he works to keep the smile on his face, a mostly normal-only-a-little-nervous laugh finding its way out of his mouth as he thinks of the scope of that one statement alone. He can tell Zelos is joking, so he keeps on the cheerful expression, forcing the quickly-rising rate of anxiety back into his mind, desperate to ignore it. Memories continue to rise up past the cold dread that lingers in the corners of his mind, but he puts up wall after wall, determined not to break like he did this morning.
You have no clue, Zelos.
Deflect, deflect, deflect. This is a dangerous topic to be on, so Lloyd changes the subject only a little bit, keeping it connected enough where the shift won’t be obvious, pulling his gaze away from Zelos’ own, one that threatens to entrap Lloyd in it’s cold familiarity. “Well,” he says, pushing back some fringe with his right hand - he needs a haircut, had been meaning to get one before Origin showed up - “it seems like it’s mostly cultural stuff. Which. Yeah, that tracks, actually. Even if our worlds look similar, they’re very different otherwise, I think.”
Segue time! Lloyd taps at his forehead, thinking, and as his next topic comes into mind, his grin turns from a somewhat forced one to one that’s actually legitimate. “Hey, Zelos, at least you don’t gotta deal with weird ass Katz here! That’s a bonus your world has over mine, even if your constellation names are equally weird.”
LISTEN, HES VALID
A large bubble of toxic panic pops in Lloyd’s throat, and he holds back a flinch as he works to keep the smile on his face, a mostly normal-only-a-little-nervous laugh finding its way out of his mouth as he thinks of the scope of that one statement alone. He can tell Zelos is joking, so he keeps on the cheerful expression, forcing the quickly-rising rate of anxiety back into his mind, desperate to ignore it. Memories continue to rise up past the cold dread that lingers in the corners of his mind, but he puts up wall after wall, determined not to break like he did this morning.
You have no clue, Zelos.
Deflect, deflect, deflect. This is a dangerous topic to be on, so Lloyd changes the subject only a little bit, keeping it connected enough where the shift won’t be obvious, pulling his gaze away from Zelos’ own, one that threatens to entrap Lloyd in it’s cold familiarity. “Well,” he says, pushing back some fringe with his right hand - he needs a haircut, had been meaning to get one before Origin showed up - “it seems like it’s mostly cultural stuff. Which. Yeah, that tracks, actually. Even if our worlds look similar, they’re very different otherwise, I think.”
Segue time! Lloyd taps at his forehead, thinking, and as his next topic comes into mind, his grin turns from a somewhat forced one to one that’s actually legitimate. “Hey, Zelos, at least you don’t gotta deal with weird ass Katz here! That’s a bonus your world has over mine, even if your constellation names are equally weird.”