[Max...isn't wrong. Basil has noticed, but obviously it isn't something he's going to bring up. He hadn't automatically assumed anything was seriously wrong, he just...thought it was due to her having to adapt to her new form. Having to walk with hooves would be hard for anyone, wouldn't it? Of course her legs shook...her body is undead now, with no pumping blood. She'd been living mostly on human-jerky for weeks at a time, of course she's been tired...
But Max doesn't just leave it to speculation anymore. She explains, and Basil feels his breath catch painfully in his throat. For a moment, his heartbeat shudders to a terrified stop.]
...y...you...?
[I died. I was killed.
Basil reflexively looks into the corner again, and...it's there, as ever. He only spares the presence a passing glance before he's looking back at Max again, his vision still consumed by the soft light between them, and now...the way she curls up small, as if trying to escape the reality of her existence.
...so that's why. Max, returning to life, only to be...
Basil swallows weakly around the lump in his throat. She's always hurting. All the time, those times she would stumble and fall, or struggle to keep going, she was...]
M...max...
[I'm so sorry, he wants to say, but saying so feels like it would be a slap in the face. But he isn't sure...what else to tell her. There's nothing that could make it better...nothing that will make her pain go away.
So instead? At least for the moment, he says nothing. But that doesn't mean he will do nothing.
He'll stop, if she pulls away. If she shows any sign of being afraid of it, or hurting. But...if Max allows it?
Basil will reach for and take her hands. Ever so gently, holding them within his own, which are still glowing softly with heat. It's probably quite warm for Max, but in a sort of...taking a hot shower warm kind of way. It's not burning her.]
cw: cannibalism mention, hallucination
But Max doesn't just leave it to speculation anymore. She explains, and Basil feels his breath catch painfully in his throat. For a moment, his heartbeat shudders to a terrified stop.]
...y...you...?
[I died. I was killed.
Basil reflexively looks into the corner again, and...it's there, as ever. He only spares the presence a passing glance before he's looking back at Max again, his vision still consumed by the soft light between them, and now...the way she curls up small, as if trying to escape the reality of her existence.
...so that's why. Max, returning to life, only to be...
Basil swallows weakly around the lump in his throat. She's always hurting. All the time, those times she would stumble and fall, or struggle to keep going, she was...]
M...max...
[I'm so sorry, he wants to say, but saying so feels like it would be a slap in the face. But he isn't sure...what else to tell her. There's nothing that could make it better...nothing that will make her pain go away.
So instead? At least for the moment, he says nothing. But that doesn't mean he will do nothing.
He'll stop, if she pulls away. If she shows any sign of being afraid of it, or hurting. But...if Max allows it?
Basil will reach for and take her hands. Ever so gently, holding them within his own, which are still glowing softly with heat. It's probably quite warm for Max, but in a sort of...taking a hot shower warm kind of way. It's not burning her.]