Need to talk privately with Cilan? Send him a message via the crystal or carrier pigeon? Want to meet with him without posting a log for it? Here's the place to do it!
[ Woah, he's so into it...! Well, he's definitely got the man on a mission vibe, given that Red only really has to stand and wait and watch until a petal of fine tastes--as Cilan might like to phrase it--is put into his hands.
And it's--amazing, really, Red watching it play and being a little speechless for what it is. For one, why are they posing for, two, they're all dressed like fancy waiters... and is this the first time he's seen Cilan's brothers, too? ]
What's going on in this? Do you remember?
[ Let's just ask about that first one though, definitely intrigued. ]
This is how the three of us tend to greet people that come to see us--we want our gym to be a bold and unique flavor that sets us apart from any other gym, offering our challengers an amazing experience that they'll never be able to forget!
[And here, as the memory starts over and begins playing back again... Cilan seems to recognize where exactly this particular memory was pulled from, as he now reciting the lines said at that time along with the memory.]
"If a battle is what you desire, then your wish shall be granted!" [That was his line, as he then begins to speak along to Chili's--] "So you were a challenger! In that case, we'll be sure to greet you passionately! Like scorching fire!"
[And then, to Cress--] "No, no, I think we should attend to him coolly, like ice water."
[And then back to himself.] "In other words, this is the Striaton Gym!"
"And we--"
"As triplets--"
[And now, something that the three of them are shown saying at the same time.]
"Are the Gym Leaders! It's Showtime~!"
[And here, he even strikes the same pose as he did in the memory, sparkles galore in addition to the spotlight effect he seems to be sporting now.]
[...And then the sparkles and such disappear as he returns to a slightly more normal tone again.]
If I recall correctly, I believe this particular memory is from the day I met Ash and Iris, when the former came to challenge our gym. That was what we had greeted him with when he insisted on battling us rather than being waited upon in the dining area first...
[Has he mentioned to Red yet that his gym is also a restaurant?]
Red almost wants to clap after all that, though there's really no room to do that (both in his hands and when Cilan resumes speaking), but his shoulders shake with a small chuckle that he can't help let out, the whole re-enactment odd but too, too Cilan for Red to think anything bad about it. ]
Heh, Your gym's part of your house? That's a first.
Yes, as a matter of fact it is! The first floor of the building is our restaurant and the gym, and then Chili, Cress, and I reside on the second floor above them.
[It's a very fancy place to live in, wouldn't you agree?]
That's right! [...Oh, wait--] Did I not tell you about it before? My brothers and I have our own restaurant that we work at in the front of the building, and then the gym is located towards the back. As a result, we often get many customers that come for the food sticking around to watch any gym battles that occur that day.
[Hence the waiter outfits they were wearing in that memory. (Or even Cilan's own wardrobe of constantly wearing suits a lot even outside of the restaurant.)]
[ It's half-muttered, and it actually sounds more than just cool, but that is definitely not what Red was imagining just a second ago.
--but this hadn't been about admiring Cilan's strange gym design but instead about the trio in his hands, Red remembering with a shake of his head that leads him to look down for a second. Right, right. ]
You know, I think this should do, [ and he holds up the memory, a brighter smile following up, ] but if you wanted to show me more, I bet the artist wouldn't say no to more samples of the people she'll be painting!
[ Does Cilan want to talk more about his brothers.
Oh, sure! I don't mind showing you more of them...
[He catches another petal--this one shows glimpses the actual gym battle itself that he mentioned having with Ash. Apparently, it seems that Ash wanted to fight all three of them rather than just picking one of them to earn his gym badge, thus making it a best two out of three battle. Chili first with Pansear (who loses), and Cress with Panpour next (who wins). However, the memory stops before it actually gets to Cilan's part in that battle as he closes his hand around the petal now as he talks.]
As you can see, my brother Chili--he's the one who uses Pansear--has quite a fiery personality, while Cress, who uses Panpour, is the calmer one out of the three of us. [That said...] Still, even though the three of us have such different personalities, we do our best to work hard and encourage one another so that our individual flavors compliment one another, and thus can be blended together to create a recipe for success!
The three of you are so close! I've never seen a family like you guys before! [ The Oak family was cool, but this was on a different level. ] Are they as passionate about being expert at everything like you too? It has to get intense in the kitchen if you guys go head to head in cooking!
[ Three Cilan-like connoisseurs with different personalities competing against each other?? Sell tickets to that. ]
[Ah, well...] I'm the only one out of the three of us who chose to pursue a career as a Pokemon Connoisseur, but the two of them certainly have their own things that they're passionate about as well.
...However, I will say that it does get pretty competitive when we're working together in the kitchen sometimes. Chili in particular likes to insist that we should turn the heat up to make things more exciting, even against better judgement occasionally...
[But thank goodness Chili eased up on that over the years, otherwise there would have been so many more kitchen fires to attend to...]
Yes, thankfully. [Ahaha] But, I can't say that I completely disagree with him, in that it does make things more interesting. And like I said before, that fieriness is part of Chili's inherent flavor, so I think it's only natural that he would want to do things that way. And then there's Cress, who I would say is more meticulous and likes to take his time with it... but that's also a good thing too, especially when it comes to his presentation of a particular dish or two.
So, even when we do compete with one another, it's always fun getting to taste and compare each other's work afterwards.
[It's almost a shame they aren't here with us: he'd be curious to see if the taste of their food would change at all thanks to how emotions can affect one's cooking sometimes.]
[ It's what Red thinks--that it's a shame they're not here, his gaze going down to their faces on the surface of the petal and their presence in Cilan's words. It must be a little sad too to think about. Would a picture really be a happy reminder? ... ]
A picture's never gonna compare to memories like that... but I hope you think about all the good times like that with them when you see it!
[ Are we turning like a trainer on a mission--yes we are. ]
Let's go and leave these at the framers right now! We can pick a frame at the same time, then it'll be ready even quicker!
[ Of course, the boy isn't about to run off and leave Cilan behind, looking and waiting for him to come. We're gonna do this, this is going to be the best picture with the best memories, Cilan can pick whatever he likes for a frame and Red will get a day to come back in for a quote. ]
[As Red speaks, there's one more memory petal that falls down, and Cilan holds his hands open to allow it to join the others--this one is very short and quick, just a glimpse of what appears to be some kind of handshake going on between Cilan and his brothers, but upon seeing this, Cilan seems to recognize the memory and smiles, glowing brightly. (And maybe trying not to get misty-eyed here.)]
Yes, absolutely. I think this is going to turn out to be a lovely keepsake with a wonderfully sweet taste to it.
[Alright, so let's start heading back to the shop to give these to the painter there and get a frame picked out...!]
[ Thank arceus that the framer and the painter are related, and with Red having ordered before, the business doesn't take too long beyond Cilan choosing a frame from the samples around them -- which may take some time if Cilan wants to be absolutely sure, but the petals get sealed up in an envelope and to be discussed with the painter later. Good times.
Which leaves the rest of their gift shopping and ingredients for the cake, but the weight of the picture already in Red's hand seems to grow the more he remembers about it, trying to push it aside with the selection of shops and wares being sold to distract, and hey, what kind of cake is Cilan making?
But all those little thoughts stay despite how small he makes them, and there's an idea that wouldn't go. More than a idea, and probably something he should do. Enough, Red thinks, to say as the pair are walking: ]
Hey, Cilan... if I didn't go to the party, could you make sure Silver and White get their presents?
[ --ah. Actually, maybe that wasn't the best way to approach it, but... ]
[ He pinches in his bottom lip, regretting a little more bringing it up like this. ]
Well... [ a breath, and a hand goes on to the hat over his hair, which was forgotten in the gesture, so back down that hand uselessly goes. ]
There's someone there. [ ... ] There's going to be someone there, and we...it's better we don't see each other. ...I don't know what'll happen if we did.
[ They're definitely not walking now, and Red isn't about to look Cilan in the eye. ]
Really? [Now Cilan is definitely concerned, frowning at that.] I'm sorry to hear that there's someone you're not on good terms with at the moment, but...
[...But, then he seems to change his mind on what he was originally going to say, and instead goes with--]
Who is this person, if you don't mind my asking?
[Maybe Cilan could try talking to them if he sees them...?]
[ He hesitates, and for good reason. Red knows he'll know who it is, but it's not that simple. Saying a name wouldn't explain anything.
One more sigh, his gaze going down between them before it finds Cilan, if only through the words that come. ]
I'll tell you, but not here. Not outside. [ And he's shoving that frame away into the one of the bags he has as the air begins to lose its chill around him, gaining a slight weight, removing the straps out of his palm to let sit on his wrist, just in case his emotions was going to cost him another shopping problem. ]
Ah... alright. [Cilan seems to understand that this must be a serious thing to talk about, so he'll allow Red to lead wherever he wants that he would be more comfortable going to talk.
However, he will add this--]
You don't have to tell me about it if you don't want to, okay? If it makes you uncomfortable talking about it, then I'll understand.
[Sure, he'll be worried wondering who is at this party that would make Red not want to be there, but he also doesn't want Red to feel like he's being pressured into talking here.]
[ Even if the last time he thought he knew what was the right thing to do when it came to truths had led to an outcome he still wasn't certain if was wrong or right, it seemed much better to say than to let it be kept a secret. Better sooner than finding out later when the end result would just be the same.
At least he could control this, and had the opportunity to say with it what he wanted to say.
Cilan's place would be good enough, or even Red's; either of them had shopping from the trip and the apartment spaces had the privacy Red wanted. It gave them a place to put down anything they held, one of the first things Red was sure to do, and Cilan could stand or be seated as he would like, while Red kept to his feet.
He gives them both a small time to settle, but he doesn't wait for long. If there's a way to prepare for this talk, he doesn't know what it is--just as long as neither of them have anything in their hands, Red begins it with a question that seems the best place to start: ]
Do you know who attacked Silver and me when Sosyne came?
[ It's asked with him facing the other, but still refusing to keep his gaze on him at all. ]
[They most likely ended up at Red's place--even though Trip isn't staying at Cilan's place anymore, Red's place is still more likely to allow as much privacy as the other wants.
...And at the mention of what happened with Sosyne, Cilan is indeed thankful that he chose to sit down for this particular conversation.]
No. They... they were leaving by the time I found the two of you.
[And that is something that he is not going to be happy thinking about, wondering if maybe he had headed in Silver and Red's direction five minutes sooner, maybe he could have done something to help them...
...He's also not going to be happy hearing what Red is going to say next, but that's to be expected, really. He'll just have to try to stay as calm as humanely possible here...]
[ Red doesn't care either for the risk of ruined furniture in the form of emotional marks. Maybe later if he were to be more thoughtful for whoever might have the room one day in the future, but that was an awareness Red didn't own.
But there was a bubble of air he did have, lodged in his throat. This is the part where he was meant to continue on talking--quicker than the doubt crawling over his skin, the slow increase of his breath that isn't anything alarming yet, but still concerns him in this world where feeling meant everything. His fingers curl in his pockets and then relax, just to have something for them to do, while his mind refused to weave together words and his voice, too, apparently didn't want to say.
And yet the words come, once forced out of him. ]
We met up some point during the fight. Silver and me. [ It's taking a step back, but whatever works. ] We were doing what we could to stop some of the fighting, and that's when we saw them. They were already out of control by then, going after people still stuck in the city. The best we could do was make them come after us--they jumped up on the rooftops, away from everybody else.
[ Somewhere during it, he's found a section of the inner walls to focus on, the outline of a small side table in a dark colour to his left and a blotch of a plain white wall messing with his eyes, the skirting board just within sight down below. ]
Silver tried to use Gyarados's strength on them-- a hydro pump. It was strong, but-- ...It didn't matter. It didn't work. [ His hands hung from his sides now, his voice near monotonous. ] He went after them after that, and...
...They fell.
[ 'And that was that'.
He might as well have said that too. It sounded weak as it was, disrespectful on the other trainer and his pokémon-- but even with how he hates the words, say something else that made it sound like that wasn't all ('they did everything they could, Silver did his best-') all Red can do is swallow down hard against a drying throat.
It wasn't even the end. ]
I snapped. [ The words come out softly, and they continue to fight between that and something stronger and neutral. ] I went after them with Charizard, and we fought. I thought they killed the both of them. [ ... ] I wanted them to pay.
[ He wanted them to suffer.
He remembers. And that's something he doesn't want to do, but there was no avoiding it forever. Red starts to continue on despite the day growing ever closer in him, a rosy colour now on his cheeks and a tickling along his bottom lids, but his voice catches on his own breath and he stops, and that faraway gaze breaks with reality coming too near, shaking his head, and talking in the air despite the heaviness surrounding him. ]
[As Cilan listens to all of this, Red may or may not notice that there's a cold, damp sort of temperature in the air, like the prelude to a potential rainfall, or perhaps even threatening the arrival of a storm. Cilan can't say that he doesn't understand how Red had felt--just hearing what they did makes him angry enough to think that they should pay for what they had done too...
But, hearing the break in Red's voice causes the anger to ebb, just a little. Red... there's something to admire about the fact that he's trying so hard to talk about this with us, despite how painful the memory of those events are. Something about that seems to be what allows Cilan to stay calm as he nods at Red's request.
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And it's--amazing, really, Red watching it play and being a little speechless for what it is. For one, why are they posing for, two, they're all dressed like fancy waiters... and is this the first time he's seen Cilan's brothers, too? ]
What's going on in this? Do you remember?
[ Let's just ask about that first one though, definitely intrigued. ]
1/2
[And here, as the memory starts over and begins playing back again... Cilan seems to recognize where exactly this particular memory was pulled from, as he now reciting the lines said at that time along with the memory.]
"If a battle is what you desire, then your wish shall be granted!" [That was his line, as he then begins to speak along to Chili's--] "So you were a challenger! In that case, we'll be sure to greet you passionately! Like scorching fire!"
[And then, to Cress--] "No, no, I think we should attend to him coolly, like ice water."
[And then back to himself.] "In other words, this is the Striaton Gym!"
"And we--"
"As triplets--"
[And now, something that the three of them are shown saying at the same time.]
"Are the Gym Leaders! It's Showtime~!"
[And here, he even strikes the same pose as he did in the memory, sparkles galore in addition to the spotlight effect he seems to be sporting now.]
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If I recall correctly, I believe this particular memory is from the day I met Ash and Iris, when the former came to challenge our gym. That was what we had greeted him with when he insisted on battling us rather than being waited upon in the dining area first...
[Has he mentioned to Red yet that his gym is also a restaurant?]
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Red almost wants to clap after all that, though there's really no room to do that (both in his hands and when Cilan resumes speaking), but his shoulders shake with a small chuckle that he can't help let out, the whole re-enactment odd but too, too Cilan for Red to think anything bad about it. ]
Heh, Your gym's part of your house? That's a first.
[ Whatever, that's weird too, but why not. ]
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[It's a very fancy place to live in, wouldn't you agree?]
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[Hence the waiter outfits they were wearing in that memory. (Or even Cilan's own wardrobe of constantly wearing suits a lot even outside of the restaurant.)]
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[ It's half-muttered, and it actually sounds more than just cool, but that is definitely not what Red was imagining just a second ago.
--but this hadn't been about admiring Cilan's strange gym design but instead about the trio in his hands, Red remembering with a shake of his head that leads him to look down for a second. Right, right. ]
You know, I think this should do, [ and he holds up the memory, a brighter smile following up, ] but if you wanted to show me more, I bet the artist wouldn't say no to more samples of the people she'll be painting!
[ Does Cilan want to talk more about his brothers.
Because Red is all about this idea. ]
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[He catches another petal--this one shows glimpses the actual gym battle itself that he mentioned having with Ash. Apparently, it seems that Ash wanted to fight all three of them rather than just picking one of them to earn his gym badge, thus making it a best two out of three battle. Chili first with Pansear (who loses), and Cress with Panpour next (who wins). However, the memory stops before it actually gets to Cilan's part in that battle as he closes his hand around the petal now as he talks.]
As you can see, my brother Chili--he's the one who uses Pansear--has quite a fiery personality, while Cress, who uses Panpour, is the calmer one out of the three of us. [That said...] Still, even though the three of us have such different personalities, we do our best to work hard and encourage one another so that our individual flavors compliment one another, and thus can be blended together to create a recipe for success!
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The three of you are so close! I've never seen a family like you guys before! [ The Oak family was cool, but this was on a different level. ] Are they as passionate about being expert at everything like you too? It has to get intense in the kitchen if you guys go head to head in cooking!
[ Three Cilan-like connoisseurs with different personalities competing against each other?? Sell tickets to that. ]
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...However, I will say that it does get pretty competitive when we're working together in the kitchen sometimes. Chili in particular likes to insist that we should turn the heat up to make things more exciting, even against better judgement occasionally...
[But thank goodness Chili eased up on that over the years, otherwise there would have been so many more kitchen fires to attend to...]
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So, even when we do compete with one another, it's always fun getting to taste and compare each other's work afterwards.
[It's almost a shame they aren't here with us: he'd be curious to see if the taste of their food would change at all thanks to how emotions can affect one's cooking sometimes.]
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A picture's never gonna compare to memories like that... but I hope you think about all the good times like that with them when you see it!
[ Are we turning like a trainer on a mission--yes we are. ]
Let's go and leave these at the framers right now! We can pick a frame at the same time, then it'll be ready even quicker!
[ Of course, the boy isn't about to run off and leave Cilan behind, looking and waiting for him to come. We're gonna do this, this is going to be the best picture with the best memories, Cilan can pick whatever he likes for a frame and Red will get a day to come back in for a quote. ]
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Yes, absolutely. I think this is going to turn out to be a lovely keepsake with a wonderfully sweet taste to it.
[Alright, so let's start heading back to the shop to give these to the painter there and get a frame picked out...!]
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Which leaves the rest of their gift shopping and ingredients for the cake, but the weight of the picture already in Red's hand seems to grow the more he remembers about it, trying to push it aside with the selection of shops and wares being sold to distract, and hey, what kind of cake is Cilan making?
But all those little thoughts stay despite how small he makes them, and there's an idea that wouldn't go. More than a idea, and probably something he should do. Enough, Red thinks, to say as the pair are walking: ]
Hey, Cilan... if I didn't go to the party, could you make sure Silver and White get their presents?
[ --ah. Actually, maybe that wasn't the best way to approach it, but... ]
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I could do that, but... why wouldn't you be attending the party?
[Did Red have something he needed to do, or...]
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Well... [ a breath, and a hand goes on to the hat over his hair, which was forgotten in the gesture, so back down that hand uselessly goes. ]
There's someone there. [ ... ] There's going to be someone there, and we...it's better we don't see each other. ...I don't know what'll happen if we did.
[ They're definitely not walking now, and Red isn't about to look Cilan in the eye. ]
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[...But, then he seems to change his mind on what he was originally going to say, and instead goes with--]
Who is this person, if you don't mind my asking?
[Maybe Cilan could try talking to them if he sees them...?]
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One more sigh, his gaze going down between them before it finds Cilan, if only through the words that come. ]
I'll tell you, but not here. Not outside. [ And he's shoving that frame away into the one of the bags he has as the air begins to lose its chill around him, gaining a slight weight, removing the straps out of his palm to let sit on his wrist, just in case his emotions was going to cost him another shopping problem. ]
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However, he will add this--]
You don't have to tell me about it if you don't want to, okay? If it makes you uncomfortable talking about it, then I'll understand.
[Sure, he'll be worried wondering who is at this party that would make Red not want to be there, but he also doesn't want Red to feel like he's being pressured into talking here.]
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[ Even if the last time he thought he knew what was the right thing to do when it came to truths had led to an outcome he still wasn't certain if was wrong or right, it seemed much better to say than to let it be kept a secret. Better sooner than finding out later when the end result would just be the same.
At least he could control this, and had the opportunity to say with it what he wanted to say.
Cilan's place would be good enough, or even Red's; either of them had shopping from the trip and the apartment spaces had the privacy Red wanted. It gave them a place to put down anything they held, one of the first things Red was sure to do, and Cilan could stand or be seated as he would like, while Red kept to his feet.
He gives them both a small time to settle, but he doesn't wait for long. If there's a way to prepare for this talk, he doesn't know what it is--just as long as neither of them have anything in their hands, Red begins it with a question that seems the best place to start: ]
Do you know who attacked Silver and me when Sosyne came?
[ It's asked with him facing the other, but still refusing to keep his gaze on him at all. ]
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...And at the mention of what happened with Sosyne, Cilan is indeed thankful that he chose to sit down for this particular conversation.]
No. They... they were leaving by the time I found the two of you.
[And that is something that he is not going to be happy thinking about, wondering if maybe he had headed in Silver and Red's direction five minutes sooner, maybe he could have done something to help them...
...He's also not going to be happy hearing what Red is going to say next, but that's to be expected, really. He'll just have to try to stay as calm as humanely possible here...]
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But there was a bubble of air he did have, lodged in his throat. This is the part where he was meant to continue on talking--quicker than the doubt crawling over his skin, the slow increase of his breath that isn't anything alarming yet, but still concerns him in this world where feeling meant everything. His fingers curl in his pockets and then relax, just to have something for them to do, while his mind refused to weave together words and his voice, too, apparently didn't want to say.
And yet the words come, once forced out of him. ]
We met up some point during the fight. Silver and me. [ It's taking a step back, but whatever works. ] We were doing what we could to stop some of the fighting, and that's when we saw them. They were already out of control by then, going after people still stuck in the city. The best we could do was make them come after us--they jumped up on the rooftops, away from everybody else.
[ Somewhere during it, he's found a section of the inner walls to focus on, the outline of a small side table in a dark colour to his left and a blotch of a plain white wall messing with his eyes, the skirting board just within sight down below. ]
Silver tried to use Gyarados's strength on them-- a hydro pump. It was strong, but-- ...It didn't matter. It didn't work. [ His hands hung from his sides now, his voice near monotonous. ] He went after them after that, and...
...They fell.
[ 'And that was that'.
He might as well have said that too. It sounded weak as it was, disrespectful on the other trainer and his pokémon-- but even with how he hates the words, say something else that made it sound like that wasn't all ('they did everything they could, Silver did his best-') all Red can do is swallow down hard against a drying throat.
It wasn't even the end. ]
I snapped. [ The words come out softly, and they continue to fight between that and something stronger and neutral. ] I went after them with Charizard, and we fought. I thought they killed the both of them. [ ... ] I wanted them to pay.
[ He wanted them to suffer.
He remembers. And that's something he doesn't want to do, but there was no avoiding it forever. Red starts to continue on despite the day growing ever closer in him, a rosy colour now on his cheeks and a tickling along his bottom lids, but his voice catches on his own breath and he stops, and that faraway gaze breaks with reality coming too near, shaking his head, and talking in the air despite the heaviness surrounding him. ]
--A second. Just give me a second...
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But, hearing the break in Red's voice causes the anger to ebb, just a little. Red... there's something to admire about the fact that he's trying so hard to talk about this with us, despite how painful the memory of those events are. Something about that seems to be what allows Cilan to stay calm as he nods at Red's request.
Take as much time as you need, Red.]
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