[Marcus nods. He'd been expecting Tenn would want to grab some things from his own room anyway, and that will give him time to make some tea for them all or... something, just to make himself feel even a fraction less useless.
If he suspects that "collect my thoughts" might also have another meaning, well, he's not going to say anything out loud, because heaven knows he feels like crying right about now too.]
[ He nods, expression stoic. Almost lifeless. He gives Phil and Marcus a little wave before he retreats into his room.
He's gone for longer than they might expect; it's because Tenn has a surprise visitor. The good news is that he does, indeed, knock on their door -- he's alive and still here! -- and whenever they open it, he does appear to be in a slightly better mood. His eyes are kind of red, though, but he has with him a pillow and a blanket. He also looks pretty comfy in his TRIGGER jacket! ]
[Marcus is the one who answers the knock; stepping back, he gestures for Tenn to come inside. The room is a bit of a mess - piled high with books stacked everywhere, though to his credit he did move at least some of them out into his own room - but there are three freshly-brewed cups of tea ready and waiting on the table. He didn't exactly have the presence of mind to attempt anything more, but it's something, at least.]
Phil's taking a bath right now, so it's just me for the moment.
[He's not surprised to see those red eyes; truthfully, he suspects Phil is in the bath for a similar reason, but again he'll just stay quiet for the time being.]
You can put your stuff down over there. [He gestures to an already-existing nest of blankets and pillows on the floor.] It's comfortable enough if you kind of pile everything up.
[ He nods and sets his pillow and blanket on the comfy looking nest. (Is this nest in honor of Nageki? Who knows.) He sits on it, cross-legged, before he turns to look up at Marcus. ]
Marcus-san... I'm grateful to both of you for the offer. Thanks. I'll do my best not to impose too much.
[ He's already showered and everything, so! He's just here for the company, and to talk, if they want to do that. ]
[He just sort of shrugs, his expression shrouded in silent guilt. He doesn't feel like anyone should feel grateful to him for anything right now, honestly, and the word is an unwitting knife that leads him to bite his lower lip for a brief moment.]
Don't worry about it. It's the least I could do after...
[He trails off, not wanting to finish that sentence, though the implication hangs heavy in the air. "After I didn't do anything else."]
[He's already halfway to the table to grab cups of tea for both of them when Tenn speaks; he too pauses, debating this, then realizes it would make him no slight hypocrite if he were to say no.]
... can't hurt to try, I guess. I should really learn to take my own advice sometimes.
... but do you really want to talk about that either?
[He brings the cup of tea over, offering it wordlessly. Talking about things could often help, yes, but when he can still see that grisly scene behind his eyelids every time he shuts his eyes, he's not sure that putting it into words will do much good, if any.]
He'll just go ahead and take that cup of tea with a nod before he sips it. He had coffee earlier, so he'll probably be staying up for a while with all this caffeine, but it's fine. He appreciates the warmth, and he lowers his cup before looking down at his hands. ]
How about this, then. I'd like to hear any stories you can share about your home world, Marcus-san. They don't have to be funny or anything like that. I'm just curious about what life was like before all of this, for you and Phillip-san.
[Boy, he's got a lot of those. Many of them aren't really the sort to be shared - at least, not without Phil's permission - and daily life with the Salvation Front is a lot of fairly mundane goings-on for the most part, but...
... ah.]
... well, there was the time I had to go undercover and infiltrate a casino to put a stop to a human trafficking ring and rescue some of our friends, including Phil. Although I can't really call it "undercover" when half of the people there already knew who I was.
[ Just going to quietly wander back in here at some point as this story goes on... He's in an oversized black button-down shirt and pants that have to pass for pajamas here, with his damp hair tied back into his usual messy side braid.
...Wow. I wasn't expecting something like a casino to be present where you're from.
[ He thought Marcus and Phil were from an era closer to Edelgard's or something? But he does look at Phil as he comes out and makes note of the redness in his eyes, but he doesn't mention it. It feels wrong to, so...
Back to the story. ]
So these people running the ring were acquainted with you and Phillip-san?
Well, supposedly it was run by the other guy who used to head up the Salvation Front with Phil, and a whole bunch of our men who had already defected decided they'd rather go follow him. Only problem is, he was out of the picture in the permanent sense, so we knew something fishy was going on.
I told Phil to stay out of it and leave the investigating to the rest of us, which was all well and good until he tripped over a rock on the way back to the Heimdallr and managed to get himself and everyone who was with him captured.
[Just... let that one sink in for a moment there.]
[ Tenn probably won't even have to try too hard to imagine it, because with the most impeccable timing possible, Phil skillfully trips over a pillow on the floor on his way to the bed with an undignified yelp — though fortunately he does manage to reach out for a bedpost to catch himself before he actually goes sprawling.
He sits down carefully on the edge of the bed, face red with embarrassment, and stays quiet in an attempt to deflect attention. ]
[ Oh my god. That really is impeccable timing, and Tenn is trying his best to hold back his laughter...
...but it's hard, with the story being paired with what just happened. He laughs quietly; it's definitely not as jovial as it could be, but it's a genuine chuckle nevertheless. ]
I almost feel like you did that on purpose... But how did tripping on a rock get everyone captured?
[To his credit, Marcus will absolutely not say a word about what just happened, although his own shoulders may be shaking slightly with silent laughter as he gets up to bring Phil's cup of tea over to him. Talk about a live demonstration...]
It rattled him so much that he wasn't able to fight back using his mirrage artes because he kept stumbling over the words.
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If he suspects that "collect my thoughts" might also have another meaning, well, he's not going to say anything out loud, because heaven knows he feels like crying right about now too.]
Just knock on the door when you're ready.
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He's gone for longer than they might expect; it's because Tenn has a surprise visitor. The good news is that he does, indeed, knock on their door -- he's alive and still here! -- and whenever they open it, he does appear to be in a slightly better mood. His eyes are kind of red, though, but he has with him a pillow and a blanket. He also looks pretty comfy in his TRIGGER jacket! ]
Ah. I'm sorry that took so long.
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Phil's taking a bath right now, so it's just me for the moment.
[He's not surprised to see those red eyes; truthfully, he suspects Phil is in the bath for a similar reason, but again he'll just stay quiet for the time being.]
You can put your stuff down over there. [He gestures to an already-existing nest of blankets and pillows on the floor.] It's comfortable enough if you kind of pile everything up.
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Marcus-san... I'm grateful to both of you for the offer. Thanks. I'll do my best not to impose too much.
[ He's already showered and everything, so! He's just here for the company, and to talk, if they want to do that. ]
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Don't worry about it. It's the least I could do after...
[He trails off, not wanting to finish that sentence, though the implication hangs heavy in the air. "After I didn't do anything else."]
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[ A pause, as he considers what to say next. ]
After the trial, you helped me get my mind off of things. So...do you think that'll help you, too? If we just talked about something else.
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... can't hurt to try, I guess. I should really learn to take my own advice sometimes.
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[ He trails off. He honestly doesn't know what might help, anymore. Today was just...too much. ]
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[He brings the cup of tea over, offering it wordlessly. Talking about things could often help, yes, but when he can still see that grisly scene behind his eyelids every time he shuts his eyes, he's not sure that putting it into words will do much good, if any.]
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He'll just go ahead and take that cup of tea with a nod before he sips it. He had coffee earlier, so he'll probably be staying up for a while with all this caffeine, but it's fine. He appreciates the warmth, and he lowers his cup before looking down at his hands. ]
How about this, then. I'd like to hear any stories you can share about your home world, Marcus-san. They don't have to be funny or anything like that. I'm just curious about what life was like before all of this, for you and Phillip-san.
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[Boy, he's got a lot of those. Many of them aren't really the sort to be shared - at least, not without Phil's permission - and daily life with the Salvation Front is a lot of fairly mundane goings-on for the most part, but...
... ah.]
... well, there was the time I had to go undercover and infiltrate a casino to put a stop to a human trafficking ring and rescue some of our friends, including Phil. Although I can't really call it "undercover" when half of the people there already knew who I was.
[He can tell this story, it's fine!]
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His eyes are also a little red. ]
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[ He thought Marcus and Phil were from an era closer to Edelgard's or something? But he does look at Phil as he comes out and makes note of the redness in his eyes, but he doesn't mention it. It feels wrong to, so...
Back to the story. ]
So these people running the ring were acquainted with you and Phillip-san?
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I told Phil to stay out of it and leave the investigating to the rest of us, which was all well and good until he tripped over a rock on the way back to the Heimdallr and managed to get himself and everyone who was with him captured.
[Just... let that one sink in for a moment there.]
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He sits down carefully on the edge of the bed, face red with embarrassment, and stays quiet in an attempt to deflect attention. ]
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[ Oh my god. That really is impeccable timing, and Tenn is trying his best to hold back his laughter...
...but it's hard, with the story being paired with what just happened. He laughs quietly; it's definitely not as jovial as it could be, but it's a genuine chuckle nevertheless. ]
I almost feel like you did that on purpose... But how did tripping on a rock get everyone captured?
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It rattled him so much that he wasn't able to fight back using his mirrage artes because he kept stumbling over the words.
[He is not even making this up.]
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T-to be fair, I'd also gotten stuck in the mud after falling...
[ So at least being rattled was justified, though this... doesn't actually make him look better... ]