[Silence is his response for a few days, probably not surprisingly. He stews on it a while, flips through the pages, stuffs it in a drawer with the carving for a least a day so he doesn't have to think about it. The temptation to not write back at all, to leave her be, let her figure it all out and see what happens next, is very powerful. He dances around it, indulges in that sensation for the duration of those days, before at last reaching the conclusion that he doesn't like how that feels, actually.
At some point later when she's home, she'll get a bark at her door calling for her attention. Opening it she'll find Umbra, sitting on her front steps and wagging his tail. The fabric straps wrapped around his leg and back have a tether attached, and neatly bound inside is the book she'd sent him. It might seem at first that he's returning (or rejecting) the gift, but should she look inside, the first page has a rough and dark sketch of two carbuncles, his and hers, sitting opposed, on either side of a stone shape. The stone is painted, the paint itself giving off a subtle blue-green glow, obviously crystalline.
Below it is Noct's handwriting, smooth but inelegant strokes.]
Someday I'll be another name on your list. I'm trying to learn how to be okay with that. If that hurts you too much, it's okay to cut me out. I wouldn't blame you. If not, I'm here whenever.
I'll think about what you said. I hope you figure out what you really need.
[Should she choose to send something back, there is space below on the page, or between the pages for her own paper if she prefers. Regardless of whether she writes or not, when she wishes to return the book, she'll find Umbra at her door again, ready to deliver.]
no subject
At some point later when she's home, she'll get a bark at her door calling for her attention. Opening it she'll find Umbra, sitting on her front steps and wagging his tail. The fabric straps wrapped around his leg and back have a tether attached, and neatly bound inside is the book she'd sent him. It might seem at first that he's returning (or rejecting) the gift, but should she look inside, the first page has a rough and dark sketch of two carbuncles, his and hers, sitting opposed, on either side of a stone shape. The stone is painted, the paint itself giving off a subtle blue-green glow, obviously crystalline.
Below it is Noct's handwriting, smooth but inelegant strokes.]
Someday I'll be another name on your list. I'm trying to learn how to be okay with that. If that hurts you too much, it's okay to cut me out. I wouldn't blame you. If not, I'm here whenever.
I'll think about what you said. I hope you figure out what you really need.
[Should she choose to send something back, there is space below on the page, or between the pages for her own paper if she prefers. Regardless of whether she writes or not, when she wishes to return the book, she'll find Umbra at her door again, ready to deliver.]