Welcome to Gaia! ::

Aten listened to Cassie have her turn. He felt so impulsive in his confession, so thoughtless and blunt with her that he had feared he may have said too much too soon. His heart had been pounding so strong and hard that Aten swore it was threatening to fire out of his throat and plop on the floor and scurry off. The Imp had hardly noticed that he was clutching his queasy stomach. But as Cassie spoke more, and once again resumed touch with him, his fears started to alleviate. Aten started to feel more whole, started to feel less ... like a mess. And while he tried not to get too hopeful, it was clear in the Imp's face that he was clearly excited, mood having lifted.

Though he said nothing in response to her just yet, Aten rose to his feet, cupping the girl's face between his large fuzzy hands and kissing her crown. "If nothing else," he said quietly, less heavily than his words had been before. "Then at least you know how I felt. How I feel. And despite all that I may have gone through before, Cassie ... I am just grateful we finally had this talk. I will not force Smolder to do anything, nor you. But if ... if he allows me to join you both, despite his own personal limits ... then I will consider myself truly blessed by the Nine. And if not, then there will be no hard feelings. I owe it to you and to Smolder both not to let the outcome change any of our relationships. And ... for the way I have behaved in the past, I really do need to apologize. For being so avoidant and locked away from you both ... you are my friends before anything else, and that has to mean something. And I does. I am sorry I did not act on it before. And for my lack of emotional intelligence previously ... I am so very, truly, and deeply sorry if I left you and him both feeling as though I didn't care. Trust me ... I do. More than at times I care to admit." He sighed then, letting his hands drop to her shoulders as he gently closed his eyes in relief. "I am just so happy it is all out in the open now ... no more secrets from me."

Aten watched Cassie for a while longer, just to make sure things were genuinely okay. But soon she was reassuring him, making him feel far better than he had in quite some months, and again he exhaled, letting the last of the panic, stress, and fear leave him. He left out a soft, breathy chuckle and nodded. "Yes." his voice was smooth and quiet, the smile in his eyes as he addressed her once more. "I can breathe much more easily. Thank you, Cassie."

The Imp tucked his hands behind his back, a very warm, soft expression in place, eyes shining with warmth now instead of tears, and once again very much exuding the man he had become instead of the manic yet timid boy he once was. "Thank you so much for listening, my friend. Please ... do keep me in the loop. And I think I shall get outside for a little while. The Nine only know I've been studying relentlessly. I could really use the break." The Nightmare gave a small, perhaps slightly awkward wave with one hand. "Until next time."