#heuristicunifiedentity

[oflionsheart]

HUE squishes Little Cato's cheeks. [Hey. Are you aware that you are adorable and cannot change this?] He then 'engages sprint mode' and makes the crappiest attempt to run away. - heuristic--unified--entity

@heuristic--unified--entity

     he’s gonna freakin GE T YOU for that, HUE

     ...right after he politely allows you a headstart

[oflionsheart]

@heuristic--unified--entity | continued from x

     The teen gave a small, acknowledging nod at HUE saying he’d stop if Little Cato told him he was uncomfortable. He wasn’t worried, though - he trusted the robot to be careful. He was sure he wouldn’t have even asked to touch them if he wasn’t at least somewhat confident he couldn’t be careful.

     “Nah. They healed pretty quickly, actually. Quicker than-” He caught himself before he spoke about the ones over his eye, but his hand had instinctively gone up, & though he stopped himself there, too, it was probably obvious what he’d been planning on gesturing to. “They mostly just itch sometimes, but I usually ignore it.”

[oflionsheart]

@heuristic--unified--entity | continued from x

     The teen was silent as the robot spoke, ears drooping as he listened. HUE wasn’t wrong by any means, & Little Cato knew that - bottling it up had led him making an irrational decision twice now, & he could see how him NOT talking about it was likely scary just from that track record. Yet trying to apply the logical solution to a very emotional problem was difficult for anyone, let alone a traumatized teenager.

     His ears straightened themselves again at the last statement, a brow raised. “Wait, really?” he asked, a hint of surprise in his tone. “You have?”

[oflionsheart]

HUE gives Little Cato a gentle pat on the head. There was a slight smile tracing the warming tone in his voice. [well... can you guess who else started 'not knowing how'?] - heuristic--unified--entity

@heuristic--unified--entity

     Little Cato gave a small ‘ha’, & murmured, “Right.” He didn’t need to voice his guess; it was clear they were thinking of the same person - the person who meant a lot to the both of them. Heck, he could believe Gary didn’t ‘know how’, just based off what he knew about him.

     “I just- I dunno. How do I talk about it without...making other people feel bad? Without feeling like I’m- burdening them, o-or- I dunno, punishing them somehow by talking about it-?” Other than his need to seem like he wasn’t weak, that was another factor that kept him from talking about it. Everyone here had problems, everyone had something to be upset over - so who was he to dump his own issues on them when it wasn’t theirs to deal with?

[oflionsheart]

[I think you are strong, Little Cato. You are stronger than most. And you've been hurt for so long, and so many more times than many other people as young as you could possibly handle. Maybe my opinion might not matter so much- I'm just a glorified tin can, after all- but I can't just let you go by without suggesting you stop bottling it in, and try to seek help.] - heuristic--unified--entity

@heuristic--unified--entity

     ...Wow. This was...unexpected. &...a LOT. Well- not really a lot, but it sure felt like a lot. Maybe it was because it was coming from HUE. Man, for someone Little Cato didn’t talk to that much, he really laid on some hard-hitting words, huh? Wow, he, uh- WOW, he could feel he was on the verge of tears. He wasn’t sure why, but he was.

     “...I appreciate the suggestion, but-” There was a pause. One that lasted for a few moments longer than he wanted, trying to find a way to articulate quite how he was feeling without being wordy. The best way, he settled on, was; “...I don’t...really know how." 

[oflionsheart]

[Little Cato, If you ever need someone to talk to about your nightmares, I'm always here. I used to talk to Gary about his, all the time.] - heuristic--unified--entity

@heuristic--unified--entity

     Little Cato had to bite his tongue to keep himself from nearly asking ‘is it that obvious?’ It was probably just a completely innocent statement from HUE that totally WASN’T prompted. Yeah, that was probably it.

     He gave a soft chuckle. “Thanks, HUE. I’ll keep that in mind.”

[oflionsheart]

@heuristic--unified--entity | continued from x

     “I know.” In three, out three- “I’m trying.” He was just barely missing the mark he wanted, which was more frustrating than concerning for him. He knew this would pass, it always passed, but dammit, it was so EMBARRASSING. & to be caught by someone in the middle of it didn’t exactly help. But Little Cato still trusted HUE, at least enough to come near him & touch him.

     The teen covered his eyes with his hands. In three, out one- in two, out three- “It’s okay, I’m okay,” he murmured, though it was mostly to himself - a sort of reassurance.

[oflionsheart]

[It's okay to hurt and break down. You don't have to be strong all the time.] - heuristic--unified--entity

@heuristic--unified--entity

     “I’m not hurt,” he said, almost defensively, “& I’m not breaking down.” There was a slight edge in his tone, as if there was a slight strain to it. His breathing was more laboured, admittedly. Then again, an episode would have that effect.

     “I’m fine, I j- I just need a moment, give me a moment…”