text; [you tried] sticker goes here

[ourtomorrow]

My name is Ken. I need a job and a roommate.

[ ...that's it, right? Those were the first steps recommended to him, and they make sense. If this world can only be saved by people touching, then first Ken has to find people he's comfortable enough around to touch. He needs to form relationships.

He has no idea how. But he has to.

The world depends on him. ]

Thank you.

[ ....incidentally, anyone walking by Ainea's temple might notice a kid sitting outside of it, absently yet intently people-watching. ]

Comments

text;

[shroudedsecrets]

[ Ah, yes, she remembers him. She'd neglected to contact him again to see how he was holding up after people had seemed to vanish and she'd had other distractions, but... there was something warm about the fact that he was trying to follow her advice in a way.

Even if. Well, this awkwardness should likely have been expected. ]

greetings, Ken.

have you had any success in your inquiries yet?

[ She is also just. Perhaps a little awkward herself. But the concern is genuine, even if she hadn't been in a position to offer him anything directly herself. ]

[ourtomorrow]

[ Not able to send via text: how pleased Ken looks to see that she'd remembered him, and is checking up on him. ]

Yes. I found a roommate. She's older than me but seems very kind.

[ She's not even charging him for the room! All she wants is to just have someone there! Ken isn't sure how good he'll be at providing company, but that's what he's here for, so he'll try! ]

Thank you again for your advice.

[shroudedsecrets]

I am glad you were able to find someone. It should make it at least a little easier on your adjusting.

[ Especially since the search for someone he knew from home still seemed unsuccessful. ]

I am sorry that I was unable to offer you more assistance at the time, but you do seem better focused on your needs. The temples may have some open requests for you to look at, usually involving deliveries or tidying, if you're looking for work still.

[ Which are probably more appropriate for children? She's not quite sure, but at least it shouldn't be too taxing on him. ]

[ourtomorrow]

Please don't apologize. You've been very helpful.

[ He's been the one who was a lump, and she helped snap him out of it. No one is going to feel bad about themselves except Ken if Ken has anything to say about it. ]

The temples do need the people they summon, then.

[shroudedsecrets]

[ There's something concerning about the way he interprets 'need' in regard to others, though she doesn't know enough to comment upon it. ]

I'm not so certain it can be attributed to the "need" of the temple rather that it's a simple enough place to start.

When we first arrived, much of this city had been quite dusty and unprepared. Now it is far closer to that of... upkeep, I would suppose.

[ourtomorrow]

The people who've been brought here understand their own needs best.

[ That's his summary, based on the new information he has just received. He will submit it for approval, so he knows he's on solid ground before proceeding. ]

[shroudedsecrets]

Yes. The citizens aren't used to people in humanoid forms anymore, even with the amount of time some of us have been here now. Our needs are still new to them, and they are mostly following the will of their gods to be mindful of our presence.

So we must be certain to account for ourselves. Do you understand?

[ourtomorrow]

I do. I'll look out for myself.

[ What he can't guarantee, and doesn't realize he can't guarantee, is that he'll immediately recognize a need is a need, but he'll do his best with the stuff he realizes. ]

[shroudedsecrets]

That is good. Though you'll likely want to find more to do other than work, to fill up the time. I'm afraid I'm not too knowledgeable in those sort of routes, however.

[ As ironic as it is for her to be telling anyone else to be looking to their own needs right now, it feels better to be helpful instead of thinking on all the ways that she is helpless in her own circumstances. She well knows how easily it is to be preoccupied with work and a sense of duty, however, so the least she can do is make this effort. ]

[ourtomorrow]

Then, do you mostly work?

[ There's something very - familiar - about someone who says she isn't "knowledgeable" about non-productive ways to "fill up time." ]

[shroudedsecrets]

[ What a call out, but she has to admit it was warranted there. ]

Mostly.

However, I do have companions who won't stand for it being all I do. As much as sometimes finding something else to do can be a task in itself.

[ourtomorrow]

It is difficult, isn't it.

I'm glad you've found companions.

[ People who can help someone discover all the things that are out there they'd never noticed. People who look out for her.

Ken's not going to say "friends" because that isn't the word she used, but that's how he considers those people in his own life. ]

[shroudedsecrets]

[ She'd used the word 'companion' because the people it covered varied; from those she considered family, to friends varyingly aware of her circumstances, some complex and others not. Though she's usually cautious about the 'friend' word and how she uses it, due to how new the concept really is. ]

It is. I am grateful for them.

But that is why I offer you the reminder as well.

[ourtomorrow]

We might be a little similar, I think.

[ Is that too much to assume, based on how little he knows? It is, isn't it. Ken has to fix this. ]

Possibly.

[shroudedsecrets]

[ She hopes not for his sake, one would not wish such circumstances upon others, but hard to deny that she'd felt similar inclinations about him. ]

It is possible. Though I know it is always a surprise to discover when... people are more alike than one would expect them to be, even if their lives and circumstances are vastly different.

[ourtomorrow]

[ She's being - understanding? And she agrees? But doesn't that imply... ]

I don't think I mind it. If people can resemble each other despite their different backgrounds, then even though everyone can only be themselves, no one is alone.

[ what grade was he in, again ]

[shroudedsecrets]

[ They don't teach that in schools, probably. Or to people who've lived far longer than expected. ]

it does seem so, when you put it that way. but it also seems a rarer way of thinking at times. we work hard to come to that understanding, even if in the end it is... not so difficult.

[ Had there not been people in their lives to create the need and understanding of that lesson to begin with, would they not have seen it so clearly? ]

[ourtomorrow]

It's the things you work hardest for that are most worth having.

[ Nothing easy is ever satisfying, in the end. It appeals only because it involves less effort. But without the ability to see things through, even when they hurt....

And then, like she says, there's a break in the clouds in one's mind, and everything is the same yet utterly different. And it's...better. Not gone. Not easy. But better. ]

[shroudedsecrets]

you are quite wise. it is something to hold onto. to not fall back on habits that may have led us astray.

[ All things considered, he is quite lucky for his age and circumstance that he was able to find his way to such a path and line of thought much sooner, so long as he doesn't lose himself to the opposite extreme. ]

[ourtomorrow]

Right.

[ "Wise"? He's no such thing. A wise person wouldn't have rejected himself and others like that. Wouldn't have failed to see how much he had.

But it's not like he never came to see that, is it...? ]

...Thank you.

[shroudedsecrets]

[ One sometimes only becomes "wise" because of the eventual learning from prior experience, not because they avoided it entirely. He "wised up" because he had people close to him able to make him see reality instead of spiraling further out of control, and uses that to pave his future.

It's a complicated word, 'wise', as she so often wilts similarly when others try to apply it to herself, as it can feel an unearned description when one attributes so much personally to the others around them instead, leaving the disasters as their own merits. ]

... Of course. You need not thank me for an observation. Although if it comes up that you're... looking for assistance in other ways, or face another uncertainty, you are more than welcome to ask.

[ourtomorrow]

I will.

[ He almost uses an exclamation point but that looks too bold, so he fixes the text before sending it. He's doing all right here, isn't he? He's met some very kind people, and...

....


Well, he can work up to holding hands with them. ]