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His eyes were locked once more on the food, his hunger driving all other thoughts from mind. Fei had hopped up into his lap, and was craning his head forward, sniffing in the direction of the carcasses curiously. Alex lifted a hand to stroke the vaisel's head, giving him a small scratch behind the ears as well, though he had eyes only for the meal laid out so near. His mouth was watering, his mind was driven towards this one basic need.

"This will be fine." He murmured, thinking about saying thank you, but realizing that he had already said that once already. He reached out to take the sheepish from Yin eagerly, and wasted no time in digging his fingers into it's flesh, tearing it apart, feeling the warmth of it's meat on the tips of his fingers before burying his once clean face into the meal. He didn't care about being polite or trying to stay clean. At this point all he wanted was food, something to fill him up, to satisfy him and give him a good feeling, because good feelings had been evading him lately. He tore off strips of skin and fur, not caring about them, just wanting the meat in contained. The bones were a nuisance, but he didn't feel like picking them out so he crunched them down as well with his strong teeth.

So ensnared in what he was doing, it took Alexander a moment to realize that Yin had said something. Something about his phone, and his mom. The words finally clicked together in Alex's mind, and he lowered the mutilated carcass back to his lap, where Fei sniffed at it, and attempted to pull off a small strip of meat for himself. Alex's face was smeared with blood, his eyes shining in an almost eerie manner. Thinking about his mom cut through his almost crazed hunger, and brought back with it those feelings of confusion and doubt once more.

"Do you really think she would like to talk to me?" To Yin, it might seem like a really weird question, especially coming from Alex who tried to call his mother at least once a day, every single day. There was no doubt that she had a strong maternal bond with all of her children. But to Alex, there was still that nagging self doubt. He had left his horde to come to school, and many had told him it was a ridiculous idea, that he should not go. What if they never wanted him back now? What if they felt like he had made his decision and had turned his back on them? And, lets face it, he wasn't exactly the best son in the world.

Idly, he reached down to pick at the flesh still attached to some of the skin and fur of what had once been a sheepish but was now the dinner, or was it lunch...resting in his belly. He was sitting very close to Yin, the side of his leg pressed up against the other boil. A quick glance around showed him that they were basically alone in each others company at the moment, and Alex was actually feeling a little bit better now. Having Yin there helped, and apparently not having an empty stomach did as well. He tested out a smile, just a small one, but possibly the most genuine one he'd been able to muster since Yin had first entered his room. He then leaned against Yin a little, moving an arm so that his hand rested on the ground to Yin's far side and a little behind. He propped himself up on this arm, in a position to almost be holding the other boil but not quite.

Alex considered Yin's response to his question, one part of his brain telling him it was a lie while the sane part of him told him it was obviously true. Which side he believed he didn't even know for sure, but the fact remained that at some point, he was probably going to have to call his mother and face facts for himself. The zomboil shifted a bit, his face still smeared with blood, the front of his white hoodie splattered in dark red. So much for being clean.

"Maybe I should wait to call her..wait until this passes." Yes, wait, just like he felt he aught to wait before seeing Yin again. "Unless..do you think I should call her right away?" He seemed puzzled, or at least, confused. Not sure which part of his instincts to follow. His mom had always been a comfort, and the calm headed voice of reason.

"And...do you think I should tell her what happened? What if she makes me leave the school.." At this point, Alex wasn't even really sure that it would be such a bad thing, even if it did contradict the feeling that he did not belong back home again and that they would not want him. But he couldn't just go home and leave Yin. He'd told the boil he'd always be there. Told him he wouldn't let him go. He needed to be able to stay, for him if for nothing else.

These were warm thoughts, ones to chase away the bad ones that were making things so confused, and were further enforced by Yin's next words. Pleasant. Yes, this was pleasant. Why had he ever thought it would be a good idea to send Yin away? He needed him. He made this all so much more bearable.

For a minute, he felt almost normal, like everything was as it should be again. His smile returned, slightly bigger then before, and his arm lifted, his hand leaving the ground as he wrapped the arm around Yin in a half embrace. For that moment he had a chance to hope that it was over, that whatever had been plaguing him since whatever had happened with the isles and the phoenix was actually gone.

And then the whispers started again.

His smile wilted a little around the edges, but he tried not to let his unease show. He gave the boil a squeeze with his arm and answered. "Yes, it is. Very. I look forward to when this goes away and...and then things can be even better."

Was it almost time to say goodbye? He was dreading it now, not wanting to release his hold and just let Yin leave. They could stay here together for a while longer, at the very least. That would be okay, wouldn't it? As though to stall, a sudden thought occurred, and he glanced down to see a pair of glowing blue eyes staring back up at him.

"Uh, Yin? Would you...I mean, if it's not a bother, would you maybe take Fei with you when you go? I just....he needs somebody who can look after him better right now. And I know he'll be happy with you, and with Lady Terror and Princess Eva. Just until this is over, of course. It won't be for long..."

He hoped.

With his free hand Alex idly began to trace the ground with his index finger, before he reached up to pick what was left of the sheepish carcass off of his lap and set it to the side of him. Dimly he was aware that he was actually still hungry, but that was a fairly normal feeling. He wasn't going to ask Yin for more, especially since he had just proven to himself he could go several days at a time without eating and be fine. He nodded a little at the idea of sending his mother a message at least, since that would really be a lot easier then talking to her, though he knew from past experience that once he texted her, she would probably call and demand to talk anyways. Well, maybe. Maybe she wouldn't even bother, since Alex was surely not even worth the time or effort.

Shaking his head now as though to clear it, and scrunching his eyes shut for a few seconds, he opened them again and spoke in what he hoped was a casual and normal tone of voice. "Ya, I'll probably do that. She's probably worried, especially if anything that happened has been broadcasting on the news." But would it be, or would the horsemen and boogeymen try to keep it under wraps? Since Alex hadn't exactly cared enough to go on the web or turn on a skelevision since returning, he didn't exactly know what the rest of the world knew at this point.

And then back to the subject of Fei, who had jumped off of Alex's lap, content that his owner was acting more like himself now that Yin was around, and had wandered off to chase some insect type mini fluttering around. Alexander hadn't exactly cared much whether Fei was there or not the last 24 hours he had been cooped up in his room, other then the occasional time he felt like the pet was being a bit of a pest. And he didn't know yet what things were going to be like once he got back to his room and was alone again, or if this condition was going to get worse instead of better. Should he risk keeping the vaisel just for the sake of company? What if he went completely unhinged and hurt the little guy in some way? That would just be awful, and pretty much made up his mind for him. Why risk the vaisel if he wasn't willing to risk Yin? The other pets were probably safe. They hid in the garbage around the room or in the closet and never bothered to come out unless it was feeding time. But Fei was bound and determined to be the center of attention most of the time, and one moment of anger, or a small loss of control and he could end up severely hurt.

It made him sick to his stomach just thinking about it.

"No." He said, with perhaps a bit too much force. "No, you should take him. If he misses me, he'll just have to deal with it." His voice might have sounded more strained again, and he removed his arm from around Yin. The zomboil didn't want to be alone, and was dreading it, but he was only doing it in case he was a danger to everyone else, was only doing it because he felt like it was the right thing to do.

Alex instantly felt bad for pulling away, for the tone in his voice, for saying that if Fei missed him he would have to deal with it. He realized much too late that what he said could be applied to Yin as well, and was actually probably, in a small subconscious way, directed more towards the weremantis then it was the vaisel. He didn't mean to sound so harsh about it, though, and would have found a nicer way to say it if he wasn't just so..stressed out.

In any case, what was done was done, and he couldn't take the words back now. All he could do was say goodbye, and try to reassure Yin that he would be fine, that he would come and find him when this was all over. If it's ever all over. His thoughts gave voice to his fears, but he pushed it away. It would have to end, eventually. He couldn't continue his unlife like this. It had to stop at some point. And when that point came, he would seek out Yin, and everything could be okay again.

"I will." He nodded, voice softening. It was nice that the weremantis cared so much about him, enough to make him promise to take care of himself. "I mean, I'll do the best that I can, in any case."

And that was all he could really say about it, because who knew what Yin expected of him.

Alex nodded at Yin's invitation to take the food back with him. It was probably a good idea, seeing as once he was back in his room he was unlikely to emerge again until he had to, or until he was feeling better, and who knew how long the latter might take. He also took it as an invitation that there time together was at an end, for now at least. He did intend on finding Yin later, of wrapping his arms around him properly, of being able to hold him through the night as he used to. But not right now. Now he needed to be alone, needed to keep himself away from everyone just in case. But it wouldn't be long. He had to keep telling himself that. If Yin was already recovered then it could not be much longer for him as well. Who knew...maybe he would even see the weremantis again later that night?

Slowly, he pushed himself to his feet, snatching up the sheepish as he rose to his full height, waiting for Yin to do the same. "I--I'm sure this won't be for long." He murmured, already feeling like perhaps this was not the right thing to be doing, that perhaps he should just follow Yin back to his room now and spend his time with the weremantis. The thought of going back to his own room, where it was so empty and alone, it gave him a chill, not unlike the one he had gotten when he thought about leaving his room earlier.

Nothing made sense anymore.

"If you need me, don't hesitate to come and see me." He flicked his gaze so that he was looking steadily into Yin's eyes now, voice soft, almost gentle. "If...if it's been too long, and things aren't improving...I'll find a way to let you know. I'll send you a message on groanspring or something." A small smile to show that he wasn't just joking around. "But I really think this is just..for the best. I don't want to hurt you, or make life harder for you. I promise I will find you when this is over." Not once did he tell Yin he should come and check on him, only to come to him if he needed it, and only that he would find him when he was ready.

If Yin still wanted to be found, of course. He almost winced away at the thought.

It seemed like Yin understood, and he was taking it well, not getting angry or telling Alex that it was over between them, as he seemed to keep thinking that's what was going to happen. Maybe that was another reason he wanted to just be away from Yin for some time. Maybe he thought if he stayed away from him then the final blow would never come. Though that made very little sense considering Yin had just had all the time he needed to do so. If only Alex's self confidence wasn't completely shattered at the moment. If only he didn't feel at the moment like his whole world was probably going to crash down around him at any second. If only he could just be happy, feel happiness again, and hope, and not all of these other things. Then maybe instead of holing himself away from the world he would be slinging an arm around Yin's shoulders, teasing, telling jokes, laughing, and even finding amusement in how uncomfortable Yin would be with the physical contact out in public, of all places.

If Yin was searching for any hint that Alex didn't want him, he was not going to find it. He meant what he said, that Yin should come to him if he really needed it. He couldn't fathom why that might happen, and was fairly sure that if this boil, who could be brave enough to leave his original home and strike out into the unknown world, to come to a school where he knew nothing of the ways of the rest of Halloween, alone and unsure of himself...well, if he could do all that then surely he was going to be okay without Alex, who was pretty much completely useless and still had no idea what Yin saw in him to make him think otherwise. After all, they had just spent a week apart from each other, and they had both managed just fine.

He decided to block out the part where Yin was texting him in the middle of the night, claiming to be unwell, and how haggard he looked when Alex first saw him again. If he thought about that he might break down now, and refuse to let Yin out of his sight. He doubted very much that that would be a very good idea at the moment. So instead, he put on a brave face, ignored the incessant whispers in the back of his mind, pretended for now that he wasn't full of insecurities, that he knew everything would be alright if just given the time to get through it. "I will." He said, very simply, agreeing that if he needed Yin he would come and find him, though inwardly he already knew that he wouldn't. He had to learn to deal with things on his own, anyways. Now would be an excellent time to start.

The change in Yin's tone, the hopefulness, it just made Alex sad. Was he really doing the right thing here? It sounded as though Yin was trying to make their time together last until the very last. Instead of letting the pain this was causing him show, he gave Yin the briefest of smiles, "Of course. Which door, though? The one to the dorms or the one back to my room?" He may have had the smallest of teasing lilts to his tone, though his heart just wasn't in it at the moment. He thought about reaching out and taking Yin's hand again, but he was almost afraid to do so. Afraid that if he did, that when the time came, he would not be able to make himself let go, and all this hard decision making would have been for nothing. So, he shoved his free hand into his pocket, to try and curb the temptation, and turned to slowly shuffle back towards the dorm, happy, for the moment, that he still had Yin at his side.