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[ ... Okay, no. She shouldn't bother Hugo with her troubles like that. She clears her throat and tries to pull herself together. ]

N-No... I'm being too much of my downer self right now. I'm sorry, I-I think I let myself go for a moment there.

[ It’s hard for him to truly wrap his head around, but it’s still easy to empathize with even if he doesn’t fully grasp the depth. He’d felt that way too, once. When things were good with Jack and Lycaon, it really had felt like a dream. Even on the hard days where they were hungry, it was still so much better and happier than he’d ever felt in the manor.

Yet, though his smile is understanding and gentle, he doesn’t explain. Her fear had come to pass for him, after all. The dream hadn’t lasted. But to him, that’s all the more reason to do what he can to make sure her dreams persevere. ]

It’s alright. If you want to talk about it, I’ll listen. That’s something I can always promise you.

[ But it’s also clear he won’t push! If she’d rather move on, he’s just as satisfied with that. It’s why he returns to being more light-hearted. ]

And when it comes to your love life, I’ll of course be your number one wingman! I’m very good at it, if I do say so myself~.

[ She may show him more of her downer, depressed side someday... B-But right now? She didn't call him for that! And she feels awful enough to have dumped so much on him already. Thankfully, what he says next is enough to cause her to very nearly crumble onto the ground. ]

M-My love life...

[ Is he trying to cause her to faint? Now sure that may be an apt descriptor for the situation at hand, but to hear it voiced in such a way? That's something else altogether! ]

Dearie me, that's not a sentence I ever thought I would hear... [It doesn't feel real. It probably will not last. T-That's so weird! Still, he is so kind, so.] But... Thank you.

[ That worked perfectly in terms of getting off dour topics, so it’s easy for his smile to grow. Especially at that “dearie me”, because it’s the sort of phrase he’d expect to hear from someone much older.

…Well. Someone that looks older, rather.

So, he tosses her a mischievous little wink. ]

Of course! It’s a fun little journey to go on, so naturally I want to help~. [ And after a moment’s pause, he adds just to help take the focus off her a little so she doesn’t faint: ] At the very least, I promise that you’ll have better luck with it than I do!

[ Which is almost entirely self-inflicted, yes, and that’s why he doesn’t seem bothered at all in joking about it. ]

[ She is not old!! She will absolutely defend her age no matter what. There's a transformer who's four million years old here, she's basically a baby in comparison! R-Right?!

She's just very sheltered, even though it's difficult for her to think of herself as "sheltered" consider how sad and lonely her entire existence has been. ]

H-Heh? [She tilts her head.] Surely your luck with love cannot be that terrible.

[ Honestly she'd been assuming he's swimming in dates. Not exactly a (wo)manizer, but clearly he's got a lot of charm and flirts with people super easily! There's no way in her mind his love life can be emptier than hers. ]

[ He laughs, since though this isn’t a topic he usually delves into, being self-deprecating about it is actually much easier. It’s not like he’s unaware that he’s a mess… ]

Ah, it’s the love part that’s a problem, you see.

[ He places a hand on his chest with a sorrowful frown, but it’s an exaggerated expression just as much as his story is dramatized through his tone. Playing it off this way definitely makes it seem like a story from his youth that he views with that same self-deprecating humor rather than something he’s still deeply wounded by. ]

I was in love, once. It’s even like something out of a novel! Escaping a life of tragedy and striking it out on my own, and then finding a partner in petty crime that became something more… Until one day, tragedy strikes, and he betrays me! And, heartbroken, I can never love again...

[ The overdone, mournful tone quickly becomes another easy laugh, though. He looks back to her with a shrug, and this answer is more earnest. This isn’t a story he would tell many people, but for Ereshkigal embarking on her own firsts… Well, he doesn’t feel so guarded about it. Maybe there’s some wisdom she could take from it, either to avoid his pitfalls or to note that even after heartbreak, life goes on. ]

Which is to say that after the whirlwind of first love, I’m perhaps overly picky. I’ve had flings here and there, and they’ve been fun, but it’s not love, you know?

[ and “flings” is putting it politely, but Ereshkigal is still at level one of relationships, so he’s not going to scandalize her… ]

[ Ah... This is painful to hear, not because she's already felt the specific pain he speaks of but because she fears it so much. She's not sure she would survive it! And he doesn't deserve that...

He eyes tilt down and her smile fades. ]

It's a common defense mechanism amongst humans, to avoid experiencing the pain again. [A pause.] W-Well, I suppose gods are not immune either...

[ It would be rich of her to try and pretend she's not the same! Though this human vessel exacerbates her anxiety and stress a lot, to be sure. ]

It's good to be picky, there's no way I wouldn't approve of that. [She smiles again, though more sadly.] But... Try not to be overly picky, you know? You only got one chance at life. And letting the fear of experiencing pain again rule over you is the best way not to live it to the fullest.

[ Seeing how her expression falls, he’s glad that he leaned into this story being a joke. If she knew the reality of it, it’d be sadder, of course, but he’s also worried that it would scare her away from trying to experience love for herself. It would be a completely reasonable reaction, but the thing that’s harder to explain that even with how badly things had turned out… He doesn’t regret it. He only regrets how it had ended.

So, her sentiment is incredibly sweet. His mischievous smile softens to one that’s openly appreciative, and he nods. ]

I’ll try. Well, probably that I have been trying, technically… But the chance also hasn’t drifted my way just yet.

[ Which might not be true, but that’s not something Hugo is fully cognizant of. He’s had his crushes, even here in Karteria, but it’s almost pathological in how he takes the first chance he can to smother that kind of flame. ]

Thank you for worrying about me, though. I can at least promise that even if that area is a little lacking, I make up for it in the others when it comes to living life to its fullest. I have wonderful friends like you, after all.

[ Mhm... She wonders if maybe he's still longing for his past love? That wouldn't surprise her. Heartaches are amongst the most painful and insidious of pains that can inflict humans. For how beautiful love is, this is an emotion that is tied to so many of the deaths that have occurred throughout human history. ]

Tis true, friendship is invaluable.

[ ... ... ... ... She's going to do something she's not used to doing. Something she believes - demonstrates a higher level of social awareness. She's going to try and give him a way out!

She never would have before, or at the very least, she would have been super awkward doing so. But she thinks she can do it here. Maybe all her time spent studying socialization is paying off! ]

I'm... I'm very grateful for all the friends I have, you being one of the most precious I could have hoped for.

[ It’s also a testament to her studying (probably) that her thoughts are spot on… Ereshkigal is at least one of the few people he might seriously explain the situation to, but he’s none the wiser about her thoughts. He takes the expression at face value rather than a consideration, but it just means that his smile is warm and endeared. ]

I’m happy to hear that. Truly. I hope it’s obvious that the sentiment is very much mutual~.

[ His voice tilts towards being light and airy, but his gesture is much more doting and sentimental as he reaches out to gently tuck a piece of hair that’s out of place back into its proper spot. He really has become fond of her quickly, but he’d meant it when he said she’s easy to love. ]

Just tell me how it goes when you’ve had it, alright? No need to kiss and tell, naturally, but I’d like at least a general review!

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