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"It destroys and stronger things rise from the ashes. You can be a stronger thing, 'Noke." He said simply as he watched the Sun trainee, uncertain as to whether or not he should just be standing there or if he should be hugging him or something. A part of him was pretty certain that if he tried to make too sudden of a move Inoke would just slug him and he couldn't guarantee that if the other hit him he wouldn't hit him back... And a brawl in his bedroom really wasn't what he wanted to get himself into.

"That's what I've been telling myself, at least." He murmured. "That might be the only method they have for disposing of whatever made its way into us... And given the way these asshats operate? Once something is proven to work why tweak it to make it less terrifying? Most of us have faced some pretty ******** terrifying things to begin with... Our lives from here on out are just going to be more of the same."

"But we aren't humans. Not anymore. We're more than just human. We're hunters. We have above average abilities and we're put through vigorous training to prepare us for things to come, whatever the ******** that means. You. Do you know what you are, Inoke?" He reached out, snagging the young man by the arm, dragging him across the room to his closet where he paused long enough to throw open the door. A few things that he'd taken down from around the room tumbled out across the floor but he ignored them, instead jostling Inoke in front of the mirror hanging on the inside.

"You are a Sun trainee and once you pull yourself out of this you're going to realize that you are a phoenix whether you like it or not. You flew right into the sun and it hurt like hell but you're not the only person that was hurt. Every other idiot in that godforsaken quarantine burned right along with you and it's each of our choices whether or not we let it break us." His grasp tightened on the other man's arm for a moment before he released it. "Now ******** look at yourself and tell yourself you're better than this s**t because you're the <******** sun."

"Y'know what?" He paused, brow furrowing as his facial features took on the expression of a child whose freshly twisted balloon animal had just been viciously popped by the playground bully. "******** you." He huffed, stooping down to snatch one of the things that had tumbled out of his closet, tossing it back in so that he could reach out to shut the door. It was proof to just how not okay he was himself that he didn't just laugh it off or react with a grin of his own that Inoke was trying to crack a joke.

<Human, not everyone shares your enthusiasm for magical transformation scenes...>

"******** you too." He muttered to himself as he turned away to head back to his desk. He'd left his ink open and if he didn't close it off it would dry out and if it dried out he'd have to get another bottle and....

He closed his eyes tightly in an attempt to hold back tears, scrunching his entire face up even further when he felt the warm, wet drops sliding down from the corners of his eyes and along his cheeks anyways. "I didn't want to have to shave my head. I look like a ******** tool in a beanie..." He managed before biting down on his lip, focusing on the feeling of his teeth pinching down on tissue to distract himself again, not entirely certain as to how well it was working.

He didn't pull away, though, and he didn't try to say anything else either.

"I don't think any of us are okay..." His voice was low as he rocked back slightly, bringing his hand up to wipe at his eyes before shaking his head, attempting to shake everything off in the process. He eventually sighed. "But we have to be, right? Because it's not just about us, not me, not you, not any single one of us... But us together."

He paused again, bringing his hand up to tousle Inoke's hair before nudging the other back. "That sounds so ******** cheesy. Th'hell are you letting me spout stupid s**t like that for? And what do you mean my jokes are terrible? My jokes are golden, man."

"At least you know who Monty Python is. There might actually be hope for you, 'Noke." He managed a smirk, a slight trace of light returning to his eyes, dancing along with the madness that had been there only moments ago. He was used to trying to keep that part of himself at bay; a lost child that had gotten lost and hurt in a dark place by a frightening beast.

"Let's just... Ride it out and see it through. That's what you do when a wave tries to knock you down out on the ocean, isn't it? You pull yourself up and you make that thing your b***h?"

"What you just described there is sex." He managed a smirk, shaking his head slowly. "Guess that explains why you like spending so much time out there, at least. It's gotta be great for tension and I'm sure Vi enjoys being back in her natural element along with you. Sadly, I'm not about to take up skydiving just so Vader can touch the clouds again... Free falling through that cavern was bad enough."

"I've got an idea of what free-falling feels like. I'm certain that the only difference would be the sailing safely to the ground after the parachute trips vs the crash landing I had into the underground lake." He shrugged his shoulders lightly, bringing his hand up to tuck a strand of hair away from his face.

"If you can find me a strong enough SPF I'll go surfing with you... Unless Deus Ex protection shields guard against sun burn."