EVER THE PURVEYOR OF AFFECTION, his sister, taken aback by the embrace. he tilts his head toward her, as if it would afford him a glimpse of her expression, to no avail. it was no mere gesture befitting a reunion, he notes, but something far more… vehement in the way she holds him, as though he would fall to dust in her hands if she let him go. it is not often she troubles him so, and though he struggles to reciprocate, morpheus peers at her once more, before touching her arm gently. he hopes it speaks to her somehow, in his own way.
he does not recall employing flattery, but dream grants his sister a resigned silence in answer to her remark. may she think what she will, for he is simply… glad to see her here, unharmed, albeit diminished similarly to himself. if an endless as incomprehensibly powerful as death can be tethered by the entities which govern this realm, then it is cause for concern. granted, an ordinary human has accomplished such a feat in the past, but exerting his will over an entire plane? no— that is no simple task, even by way of ancient texts, as roderick burgess was aided by. this is something different, something dangerous, though the dream king does not permit his innermost thoughts to the other at this time.
❝ … perhaps you will be disappointed in me. ❞ he replies vaguely as she withdraws, her touch lingering at his arms. with little else to do in the absence of his kingdom, feeding the birds is somewhat productive, ❝ i am… adjusting, i suppose. ❞
something gentled in her, at the slight touch to her arm, in the clear hesitation of the action. she knew, of course, that morpheus often struggled to show his emotions, to be free with them as she was. and that was alright; death loved him, anyway, and always would. even still, however, it made even the tiniest gesture of affection from him feel like a shout. a small touch, from her brother, was the equivalent of hugging her as tightly as she had him. she knew what it took from him to do, and it made her smile at him, a proud beaming thing that showed the whites of her teeth. it gave her the will to squeeze his arms once before finally releasing him completely, instead tucking her arms behind her back and twining her fingers together.
❝ it takes a lot more than that to make me disappointed in you, dream, ❞ she countered good-naturedly, fixing him with a knowing gaze. in truth, she was fine with whatever he had been doing in this place, as long as it didn’t involve the dark and sometimes bitter wallowing he often found himself in. especially now, when she hadn’t been sure he’d been completely back on his feet in the first place. feeding pigeons, tromping through the woods, hell, even scuba diving: she didn’t care, as long as dream was taking care of himself. and now that she had found herself here with him, she had every intention of making sure he did just that until they found a way out.
❝ adjusting well, i hope? ❞ there was a searching note in her tone, a raised eyebrow that conveyed that the question wasn’t rhetorical. ❝ what have you been up to here, before i found you? ❞
