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[Haruka might just hear music, but it cuts off at his knocking. Seconds later, the door opens a crack to reveal just half of the snake's face.]

Hello, Haruka. [Oh he's American again.]

What are you here for?

[Haruka mutters something under his breath that might be something along the lines of "why do you keep changing your accent..." but who can say.]

I'm here for you.

[Does he realize how that sounds? Another mystery.]

Truly? [Colour him intrigued.

He steps back from the door and opens it fully to let Haruka in. His room is neat and clean, but lacking in many personal touches-- it merely seems to be a place to sleep, and a repository for the serpent's belongings.

He's dressed in a simple shirt and jogging pants, not his typical athleisure look he tended to choose as his casual outfit-- Haruka had visited when he was in the middle of some light dance practice.]

Come in, then.

[Me forgetting Haruka and Soujuurou's room is right next door to Shalem's so he might have heard the music this whole time... honks my clown nose.

Haruka is going to make himself at home, though, taking a seat on the bed after taking his sword from where it rests at his waist. (It's become a habit to carry it, with how Palaces and oddities can appear from nothing...)]

Of course. Things got pretty strange at Atem's place, and I'm kind of curious about it.

[With Haruka taking his bed, Shalem pulls up a chair for himself with his tail and sits down, crossing his legs.]

You seem to be curious about a great many things... and tend to assume when you are curious. Such things in tandem usually invite disaster.

Are you sure you want to know?

If I know, then I'll stop assuming, won't I?

[Seems logical, doesn't it? It does to Haruka, at least.]

So, I want to know.

[Shalem looks at him, silently, and keeps looking for a minute. Then he raises one finger.]

Put aside all your assumptions and questions until I invite them-- that is my only condition.

[Wow, you're keeping him from being annoying?????]

...That seems like an acceptable condition.

[He just stares back at him, wondering what exactly Shalem is looking for from him.]

The stage is all yours.

You're allowed one question right now.

...Mm. Were you dancing before I knocked on the door?

[That's a good starting point as any!]

Yes, ballet. My expertise had been in dance and instruments, above everything else. [Except for murder, of course!] I'd neglected my skills in recent years, but I refuse to let them waste away now.

[Which is why it's a good starting point-- it's the perfect segue into who or what he is, was, should have been, and had ignored for his entire adult life up to this point.]

Now that I no longer have anything to fear about who I am, why should I continue to neglect myself? I may not be of the Troupe any longer, but I am still the man they made of me. Atem's little game helped me sort that all out. In a way, I'm quite... grateful. [Then he waves his hand at Haruka. One more question!]

Ballet... That's impressive. I'd like to see it, some day.

[That was something he never had training in, most of his dance training on other forms. He's curious about it—and he wants to know more about the troupe, of course, and what Shalem means when he no longer fears who he is, but...

Well, that's not what he's most curious about. There's more important things to talk about, obviously]

Do you sing?

Opera, mostly. But not truly my area. When I was younger, I was a baritone, but I've not been tested in so long. As you can tell, I've not dabbled in art for a very, very long time.

Yeah, you said it had been a few years off the stage for you, when we met at the theater. I see why you were vague about why you quit.

[he will continue to derail for the time being]

Could you teach me a bit? Of whatever, it doesn't have to be opera or ballet.

Hmm, perhaps. [Then he laces his fingers together in his lap.]

Surely you're not satisfied with this.

Perhaps get to the meat of things.

Hey, you said only one question at a time! There's a lot I want to ask, geez.

[He has to prioritize what to ask first! He's a performer, okay?

But... hm. Meatier questions...]

Are you happier now?

Yes.

[No hesitation, no preamble, no prevarication. Just a straightforward response that yes, he is happy. He looks better, like he actually slept-- almost impossible lately, but now, he's completely fine, even if the shadows under his eyes will take a while to fade away.]

The weight has been lifted off my shoulders, and I can think clearly. You can never appreciate how much of a boon an uncluttered mind is until you live with thoughts upon thoughts without rest. [Then he studies his nails for a moment.] I only regret that it took me this long, and needed an outside force to make it so.

[He thinks about the Palace, the fear that had seemed to grip Shalem, and him arguing with someone only he could see.

Saying he only wanted a "normal life"...]

Sometimes that's what it takes, when you're a stubborn bastard.

[Not that he's one to talk.]

What are you going to do now?

I shall see this through to the end, of course. I have an interest in returning home. [But what is "home"? Rhodes Island, or the Troupe? Perhaps... neither.]

Isn't life here stifling? I find it so, unable to show my true appearance despite the insistence on being true to ourselves and other people to forge connections. This world also doesn't have the accommodations I need for a proper life.

[Rhodes Island pays better than this place, js.]

That means working with everyone else until the end.

[His cheeks puff out as he huffs.]

That's not what I meant.

[Even if it's... good to know? And it is something to think about, how everything here and in his life before has been about repressing himself... Sure, what he was repressing might have been murderous tendencies, but it's still hard on the mind to treat yourself like that.

Why is he empathizing with someone who could kill him? Ugh. It's fine, though. Shalem might be capable of doing terrible things, but he hasn't mistreated Haruka. (Yet. He knows there's almost always a "yet". It's just his lot in life.]

I meant... does this mean you're going to perform again? Go back on stage and everything, even though... Y'know. And I know you said one question only, but, I mean, do all of your performances go like how the Palace was?

[A vague gesture meant to incorporate that bizarre Troupe Haruka saw training him and also the insane shit he was saying to Atem.]

[A shrug.]

You're asking if I shall return to the Crimson Troupe, are you not? [For all the vague commentary, Shalem still understood what he meant.] No, perhaps not.

[And he won't be sharing why, even if he would dearly like to return. But he would prefer to live a little longer.]

Perhaps I shall simply quit my job and become an independent actor, moving from place to place as I please.

Working independently sounds nice...

[Not so much in the sense Haruka would want to quit his idol career, but more it would be nice to not worry about terrible upper management.

He tugs at the hem of his sleeves, a nervous tick as he tries to sort through all the questions and thoughts jumbled in his mind. There's a lot to unpack! With this snake!]

Um. The stuff on your chest, are those... like, weird scales? Or is it something else?

[rockitis is obvs a better topic than just asking if he plans to commit more murders!!!]

Hmm. These, you mean?

[He pulls his shirt off to show off the crystals on his chest. However, there's been a development-- when they were less than a handful before, they've multiplied.]

Do you truly want to know? Because such a topic... it's never pleasant for anyone to hear.

[???? There's MORE of them?! So probably not scales, then, especially with that "pleasant" comment.]

I do. We're supposed to be making our connection better, aren't we?

[Or. Whatever it is this conversation is right now. Not a friendship, though!]

I am dying. [Does his deadpan delivery make this answer better, or worse?]

This illness has ore growing in my body, and the fact that you are seeing its metastasis means I'm entering its later stages, and am in need of proper medical care.

[Which this world does not have. That much is obvious by the way he lets the silence hang between them for a moment before speaking again.]

There's no cure, merely an attempt at giving the afflicted a better quality of life until the ore overtakes them.

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cw: discussion of terminal illness