~Rerir was starting to wonder if this was meant as a memorial of sorts to those lost to the Wild Hunt, to his hand, indirect as it was.

Even still, a single stem was taken from the bundle to be added to his...strangely growing collection.

...he'll have to make regular passes near the old outcrops.

~...annoyingly fitting.

"...are you not afraid you'll burn?"

~spiritual sense, but would this not simply complicate matters for Kyryll in the end?

...Rerir did not know how to express any of those thoughts just yet, trying to find some sort of metaphor the fae might understand, focusing on that last bit he'd expressed himself.

A moth to a flame.~

~if this was some sort of trick to lure him into a false sense of trust and security, humming in thought as his gaze trailed the fae from head to toe and back again.

...was he not worried about how close he was getting? Physically? Mentally? Emotionally? They were already bound in that strange,~

~fae could no longer see his face, Rerir took a moment to pull the bandages back up over the lower half of it, turning back round as he adjusted the piece crossing over his nose to make sure whatever heat had burned into his face was covered.

He took a moment to study the other, trying to decide~

~but instead saw him? Something alluring?

The specific mention of his eyes, the little comparison to the kuuvahki they both strangely represented, made Rerir turn his head away.

...he hated the colour red, and yet, that seemed to be something Kyryll was appreciative of.

Angling himself so the~

~there, noting how they seemed to pulse a moment like a quickened heartbeat from an organ that was no longer there.

...so... he didn't see a monster anymore? Was that what he was supposed to take from this? That Kyryll no longer saw the Racher of Solnari, the Sinner, the Blasphemy Against Death,~

~would never be able to escape the identity of a monster no matter how much he wanted to step out of that shadow.

What he heard instead made him pause, gaze flickering up to meet the fae's in the mirror's reflection, a strange sensation of movement in his chest making him glance down at the marks~

// GOD IT'S SO FUCKIN IRRITATING HOLY SHIT

~Kyryll what he himself thought of what he saw.

It couldn't be much different than what Rerir thought of the man, the 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨, staring back at him...

He just needs a moment to recover from the shock of himself, then he'll gladly move on with the fae to the contaminated room in question.

~and tilting his head this way and that. "...before I stormed the palace with Dainsleif to rescue his brother..."

He certainly hadn't looked like this back then...

Pulling back, Rerir took to simply staring at himself, judging his own reflection in silence, already having forgotten he'd asked~

~in his thoughts, leaning closer to the mirror again as he cautiously touched at his face and around his eyes, disturbed and fascinated.

...they really did look like the eyes of a monster, didn't they?

"...the last time I saw myself was back in Khaenri'ah..." He comments absentmindedly, turning~

~head to stare at his own reflection again like he just didn't know how to feel about the changes.

...did everyone afflicted by the Abyss change like this? Were the others worse off than he?

"...yeah-- sure, what's your opinion?" He more phrases the question like a statement made idly while lost~

// ....okay but hear me out.... what if.... WHAT IF.... it was a genuine Genshin/Phasmo AU, not just them playing the game...

~reflection, then turns his head to look at the fae as though looking for some sort of answer from him.

"...have I-- ALWAYS looked like this to you?"

This... sick?
Dead?
𝘔𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘴?

~more examining his eyes like he's disturbed and intrigued, carefully touching just beneath them.

"...is this... from the Abyss?" It has to be, he can't think of any other reason his eyes would change like this... was this how he ALWAYS looked?

Pulling back once more, Rerir stares at his~