[It's a gesture they've learned to recognize through osmosis. An open palm, a hand extended in greeting. Or...in promise? It is difficult to say. Perhaps, like a nod, it can mean many things based on the surrounding context. And the context now is]
[Friend.]
[Would you like a friend?]
[The boy does not know them. Does not know about the sickness gumming their lungs. Does not know that agreeing to be a friend to a dying creature will mean that it will only hurt, that wave of helpless frustration when confronted with irrevocable loss for something you would have fought so hard to keep, if allowed the chance. Or, even if he does know what it is to bear those weights...is he truly willing to carry them?]
[It is a terrible thing to ask for a child.]
[Make decisions carefully. Once they have made them, they cannot allow themself regret. They only dwell upon one regret, upon one loss, upon one memory.]
[If they refuse, they will surely pay that price as well.]
[It is better to pay a price in happiness than it is solely in death.]
[The Drifter takes his small paw with their thick-gloved hands. The fingertips look slightly pointed, almost talonlike, but their grip is gentle. And their dark eyes slit into dark little half-moons.]
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[Friend.]
[Would you like a friend?]
[The boy does not know them. Does not know about the sickness gumming their lungs. Does not know that agreeing to be a friend to a dying creature will mean that it will only hurt, that wave of helpless frustration when confronted with irrevocable loss for something you would have fought so hard to keep, if allowed the chance. Or, even if he does know what it is to bear those weights...is he truly willing to carry them?]
[It is a terrible thing to ask for a child.]
[Make decisions carefully. Once they have made them, they cannot allow themself regret. They only dwell upon one regret, upon one loss, upon one memory.]
[If they refuse, they will surely pay that price as well.]
[It is better to pay a price in happiness than it is solely in death.]
[The Drifter takes his small paw with their thick-gloved hands. The fingertips look slightly pointed, almost talonlike, but their grip is gentle. And their dark eyes slit into dark little half-moons.]
ok