"...well, my problems are mainly my own stupid fault," he concludes.

"Awwww! I'm sorry you're dealing with that! Is there anything w—"

Wait did she just say "us" and almost say "we"?

Oops?

<Help!?>

"—I? Oh this is awkward."

The jig is quite possibly up. Ruby's voice is higher-pitched, a little bit tighter, and very quick, while Sable's is very much a mid-tone, and an in-between speed. The combination of the expressions and voice change is probably too much.

His smile had been crookedly returning but now he just looks puzzled and a little concerned. "You all right?"

"Mhm! Quite alright, but likely just gave you all the pieces to figure out something I usually prefer to share when I'm a bit more sure of someone. At this point there's no helping it, though, so refuge in audacity."

"It's good to meet you, Torok," she says with a daring grin. "That was Ruby, and I'm Sable."

...he blinks, processing this. "Huh. Okay."

"Nice to meet you, Sable."

"Goodness. You do adapt well. As Ruby was saying, though, we're certainly sorry to hear you've been having a rough time of things. Anything five mostly-mundane human girls with one body between them can do to help? I'm a good listener if nothing else."

"Five, wow. Are you all named after colours? —anyway I was going to joke that you could go back in time and smack me upside the head before I ruined my life but, I don't know, feels weirder to say that to you than Ruby. I don't have any serious suggestions, at any rate."

"My problem is that the other day I was walking in the desert and a witch tried to mess with me and I killed her, and now I'm telling all my friends and watching them like me less for it, which is very reasonable of them and not really something anybody can fix."

"Oh. Awful regrets, okay, I get that. No time travel, sorry. We'd use it for a few things if we had it, too. You look like you need a hug. Want one?"

"—I mean, yes, but—what?"

She holds up one finger. "You said 'your own stupid fault'."

She adds a second finger and starts walking closer. "You didn't lie to me about it, and you're not lying to people you've known longer."

She adds a third as she hops onto the deck of the hut and sits down next to him. "I can see the regret all over your damnably pretty face."

And then she adds a fourth finger. "And I've done things I regret too."

And then she's hugging him.

She gave damned good hugs in her old body, and if anything this new one will be even better at it.

...after another few heartbeats of bewilderment, he relaxes into her arms. After a few more, he hugs back.

There's a splash from the lake. "He's a murderer, you know," Palla says conversationally. "Ooh, I smell oranges."

(Torok snorts in fond amusement. Maybe the fond amusement also hurts a little. Life is complicated that way.)

Yeah, she's not letting Torok out of this hug until he shows signs of wanting out himself. She smiles at Palla over his shoulder and says, "Yep. Another trade. If you don't mind diving in again, I'd love to leave here with a fish in a sack instead of oranges in a sack."

She keeps hugging Torok and rubs his back a bit.

Palla shrugs, starts a fire in the prepared firepit, sets a fish to roasting over it, and splashes back into the lake.

"...feels like I should apologize for being such a miserable lump," Torok sighs.

"Nope. Made that apology before myself. It doesn't help. You're just discounting your pain at that point. Was it a big fuck up? Yes. Does beating yourself up about it bring the witch back? No. Does denying yourself the chance to express your hurt bring the witch back? No. Is punishing yourself somehow more productive than healing as best you can and doing what good you can along the way? No."

...he shakes his head and sighs.

"It's not even... don't get the wrong idea, I'm not a good person." Does the fish need turning? He glances at it. It seems fine. He will just have to continue being hugged, then, apparently. "That's not what I want out of life. Lately what I want out of life is mostly something to eat and somewhere to sleep and nobody messing with my head. I just... well. I guess I was also trying to be a good friend. The people here are really nice, except when they're demons."

She shrugs a bit and smiles. "You don't have to be a good person. I've landed on an unfamiliar world with no one but my headmates. At this point, the only friends I have outside of my headmates are Lily, Hazel, and maybe Palla. I'm not gonna say no to another friend. Even one with a complicated past."

She shakes her head. "We're on a world with demons, as you mentioned. There's a bit of a need for violence sometimes here."

She pulls back a bit and looks at him. "You gonna be okay, Torok?"