The hand secured over his washes him in soft surprise, pulling him from the drudge of his unpleasant thoughts to look Cú in the eyes, listen carefully to the conviction soaking his voice through and through. It's enough to make him believe past his current doubts, if only for this moment. He takes a few to recover from the impact of his firm comfort, the kind he'd really been needing. Something about the way his table partner looks right now, be it a trick of the light, a trick of his heart, or the clout of his bearing manages to strike Soren like the scrape of a match.
"Let's see..." he begins, to work himself out of the mental stutter. The contact tingles somewhere between comfortable and uncomfortable, a bit distracting, but he keeps his hand there for as long as Cú decides to reach for him, like an animal deciding not to bite the hand that feeds him. He starts off businesslike and composed. "Ideally, they would be strong. Mentally and emotionally stable. Serious about the conflicts we find ourselves trapped in. Above all, someone I can rely on."
The memory of Ike fills him, mind, heart, and soul. He cannot have that here. Nobody could be him, no matter how closely they fit the vast, empty shape he left behind in Soren. He casts his gaze to the screen that partitions them off from the rest of the pub, slightly affected by the turn of his feelings.
"I want him to be honest and straightforward. Genuine and loyal to his friends and allies. Kind, perhaps... and not just when it's convenient for him." He shakes his head as though dismissing it all, knowing full well where his description is treading, expression wrought with lines and furrows as he undergoes a severe pang of heartache. He returns his full but weary attention back to Cú. "I can't be that picky, though. I just want someone I can be confident will support me, and I will support them in whatever way they need of me in return. That's all I can really ask for."
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"Let's see..." he begins, to work himself out of the mental stutter. The contact tingles somewhere between comfortable and uncomfortable, a bit distracting, but he keeps his hand there for as long as Cú decides to reach for him, like an animal deciding not to bite the hand that feeds him. He starts off businesslike and composed. "Ideally, they would be strong. Mentally and emotionally stable. Serious about the conflicts we find ourselves trapped in. Above all, someone I can rely on."
The memory of Ike fills him, mind, heart, and soul. He cannot have that here. Nobody could be him, no matter how closely they fit the vast, empty shape he left behind in Soren. He casts his gaze to the screen that partitions them off from the rest of the pub, slightly affected by the turn of his feelings.
"I want him to be honest and straightforward. Genuine and loyal to his friends and allies. Kind, perhaps... and not just when it's convenient for him." He shakes his head as though dismissing it all, knowing full well where his description is treading, expression wrought with lines and furrows as he undergoes a severe pang of heartache. He returns his full but weary attention back to Cú. "I can't be that picky, though. I just want someone I can be confident will support me, and I will support them in whatever way they need of me in return. That's all I can really ask for."