Vacation's Where I Want to Be

[CJ]

Nudge Gonzo, the new owner of the Happy Happy Restaurant, stood at the corner of the room with crossed arms. He was a tall man, covered in rough scars. His glasses, clean cut hair and casual business attire clashed greatly with his battle torn aura.

He remained absolutely silent, speaking as few words as possible. He was either incredibly shy or didn't want to talk to any of those present. Patrons of the Happy Happy Restaurant might have seen him preparing food in the kitchen, glaring outside to the tables with cold beady eyes.

The party went on under his careful watch. He seemed to insist on participating in festivities, though he himself did absolutely nothing. Not a single bit of cake went into his mouth. Not a drink was poured for him.

The glow of the setting sun warmed the separate party room of the Happy Happy Restaurant. Beth decided to throw a party for, as she called it, Connor's "true return home. This time, without any permanent robot guests. Though I miss the big guy." Connor insisted, however, that the party be in honor of everyone who helped him come back home.

"I didn't do much to help my situation," he said quietly. "And besides, I didn't lose anything from this experience. I'd rather throw it for them. Honestly."

So Connor put up the decorations himself and made all of the food, consisting of an array of appetizers with a main course of turkey crocodile burgers and water buffalo shark sandwiches. A long table was placed in the center of the room with a bar for drinks on the side. The restaurant was closed for the day and the next to give Beth and Connor time to move their personal belongings out of it. Connor and the twins were still employed but Beth said she needed time off to spend taking care of Meek. Only Kaede and Solaine knew of the true reason.

Beth was extremely happy in the whole affair, laughing and telling embarrassing stories about Connor or the twins in a tipsy stupor. It was a great contrast to earlier that morning, when she first saw the Smith twins. Neither the shock of seeing the extent of Solaine's injuries nor the joy of seeing Meek again could compare to the horrified look on her face when realized she had mistaken Joe for Nathan.

Solaine herself would have noticed the change. Sometime during her hospital stay, Joe cut his hair and grew somewhat more muscular. His skin darkened, matching Nathan's build and tone perfectly. Just the fact that he didn't visit her for two days would have seemed extremely odd, given how much he admired her.

Behind closed doors, one might have heard Beth nearly screaming at the twins for something she told them to never do again. Phrases like " everyone's safety" and "my son" and "no knowledge of it" blared through. It was unclear what the twins' punishment was for whatever they had done but they only seemed to be half as excited as Beth at the party.

Seated at the far end (but not the head) of the table, Connor was too busy playing with Meek, who at this point could walk and mutter a few words. Since Connor had returned, Beth had to reintroduce the two. Strangely enough, the child didn't recognize Connor at all. Still, the chef didn't seem to mind. The two seemed closer than they ever had been, to the point where Beth even joked that she was jealous of them.

At the other end was Beth at the head of the table, eying for yet another drink. The Smith twins sat together in the middle. They were one of the last to arrive, still looking somewhat sour from Beth's lecture.

"So," Joe said cautiously, "I don't think we've all been formerly introduced. Who are all of you anyway? What happened when you got to that Seven Gates place? I bet the technology's incredible!"

Nathan would have commented had there not been a burger stuffed in his mouth.

[Kuro]

Shroud Demon was enjoying the party as much as anyone else there, if not more. He was completely astounded and overjoyed at the sight of so much to eat and drink; it was almost too much for him. Needless to say, after some silent moments of pure shock, he dug right in. He never took the bucket off of his head, simply slipping burgers and cake and sandwiches under the bucket and into his mouth, sometimes stuffing every kind of food into his mouth at once. Along with all of the food stuffed down his throat, he chugged down all of the drinks that he could find, including some really funny juice that he had never tried before. It tasted odd, very odd, but it ended up making him feel even happier than before!

By the time one of the twins had started talking, Shroud Demon had already gulped down an obscene amount of funny juice due to the fact he thought it was like any other drink. His entire body was swaying to and fro, his head and the bucket bobbing up and down with the motion. Quite a few hiccups came from behind the bucket and he took another drink of the juice, slipping the glass under his bucket and tilting his head back. He nearly fell out of his chair, but politely placed the glass back onto the table and regained his footing. His entire body turned towards the twins, his voice slurred but still happy, his arms swinging all over the place in grand gestures as he spoke.

"Gre-greetings, noble citi- *hic* -citizen! I am Shroud Demon, a defendoor of peez and justice! I'm so g-g-glad to have *hic* met you, friend! You and your three same-looking brothers, that is impressive! Iduneven know hooowww you can *hic* do that! Youmustberulyprudofyurself. I don't...Yes, yes! The techno-fun stuff was amazing! *hiccup* It was, it was, it was really coooooooollll...oh, except for the last part. Those evil scienciey guys! They, they, they did the really bad thing, they, uh, they...the thing! Yeah! The thing! *hiccup* And then they...the fire...and the arms...and the, the, the heat. Yeah, but at least they helped Konner!" And with that last exclamation, his bucket-head fell onto the table with a clang. He rose up woozily and raised a finger into the air. "Does..do you have anymore of that funny juice? I never tried it before, *hic*, but wow...That's goooooooooooooood."

[Kyubey]

At a certain spot at the table, there was a tall, skinny, slightly older man in a suit, who held a tiny cup of tea. Set before him was a second, much bigger, teacup. Inside that teacup was another teacup, held by a small girl who was made of tea from the waist down. But it wasn't only tea that Camellia was soaking in, for along with her food and drink, she was most of all savoring the rich and delicious taste of the fun, lighthearted atmosphere around her. Really, for the most part, it was all she could take in. Most of the drinks served were, as Finnegan put it, "Not Meant for Children," and all the conversation flew right above her head, mostly regarding things she didn't know about, people she had never met, events she had missed, and other things she just labeled as "adult stuff" in her mind. It was only when Joe asked a direct question of the newcomers that Camellia felt that she had a reason to speak, despite having been there the whole time.

"Uh, well, first of all, hi there! I'm Camellia Charina. I'm thirteen! I'm mostly a Princess, always an adventurer, and 100% Tea Girl. I met Connor and Beth and everyone when they saved me from prison, and after that we had a lot of fun and then we met some magic sea ponies and I finally got myself some vassals, so here I am! Er... yeah, that's all. This here is Finnegan. He's my butler. Finnegan! Tell them more about you!"

Finnegan blinked a few times, as though he did not expect to be spoken to. "Ah, yes. My name is Finnegan. I am a butler." Having finished his thorough introduction, he promptly went back to observing.

How much Finnegan was truly listening, and how much information he was really taking in, only he knew, and he never did say.

[Shark a' Pult]

Although all the recent happenings of late had been wearing on her, Kaede was thankful for the chance to not have to worry about anything and just spend a nice evening with everyone. She did her best to enjoy herself, though notably she had nothing to eat or drink. Having been left without a stomach, among other things, the dinner was something of a painful reminder of how different her life would be from then on. Still, she had a plate and a cup before her, in order to fit in better.

"It was a pretty impressive place, yeah. I didn't even try to understand a lot of what we saw... I think we all got something good out of it though."

Of course she meant Connor's return to his original state, but she found her gaze inadvertently wandering to the back of the restaurant. Towards about where she had been lent a room, and in where she had locked up the bothersome round robot that was now taking care of her. It was for the best, as far as she could tell; Joe might have liked to have seen the strange floating contraption, but it wasn't worth ruining the dinner with its behavior. Beyond that Joe would have to guess towards the strange wonders of Colyne for the time being, as Kaede didn't even have her prosthetics on, still not having even tried them out since being given them.

"It sounds like a weird place for sure, but the important thing is that Connor is back to the way he should be!"

It had been a long time since she had had something Connor prepared, and so Solaine didn't hesitate to have a bite or two to eat. As seemed customary for her however, she had nothing to drink, favoring instead only a cup of ice which she crunched intermittently.

It had been some time since the attack, and Solaine looked fine now. That is at least, any remaining injuries she had still healing were no longer visible through her clothes, bandages or no. For whatever reason, she was at roughly the opposite end of the table, as Kaede had chosen to sit as far away as possible. Something which had not gone unnoticed.

"It's wonderful to meet you all, just by the looks of you, I can only imagine what kind of a journey you had to go through in order to find what you were after. It's obvious that Connor did, but would you all say that you found what you were looking for, if you don't mind me asking?"

It was quite a lot to take in, all these interesting new people and Solaine sought to learn more about them, asking as she had.

[CJ]

Beth grumbled as Shroud Demon avoided taking off his bucket at all costs. Every once in a while, she would slouch in her chair to try and get a glimpse at what was underneath. She seemed to appreciate that she wasn't the only one drinking and had a good time despite her failure.

Joe took in everyone's responses with the utmost attention. Nathan listened as well, but kept his eyes locked on the delicious food in front of him.

"I'm Joe and this is my brother, Nathan," he said pointing to his older brother.

"Yo," Nathan said before taking another bite.

Turning to Camellia, Joe smiled sadly.

"I'm sorry about your situation, Ms. Charina. As you get older, you should be able to hold yourself together more easily. I mean, I'm not completely sure of that but from what I've read about Devil Fruit it sure seems that way."

Nathan glanced at the younger twin as he fumbled his way through his comment. Beth too seemed concerned with Joe. But unlike Nathan's genuine concern, she scoffed and rolled her eyes. Sighing, she spoke before the others could answer Solaine.

"Connor got his body back. Can't tell you how great that is. But Kaede's insides melted when she protected his brain in the case when I couldn't. She would have died if it wasn't for the one scientist who wasn't an asshole but she'll never be the same again. That whole place was trash. I'm never going back."

Beth seemed to catch on that she was being rude in her drunkenness, especially toward Kaede. She leaned back and pressed her wine glass to her mouth.

"But no one got killed. That's what matters."

Connor seemed incredibly uncomfortable in the party room. He glanced at Nudge Gonzo, who nodded to him coldly. The chef sighed and held tightly onto Meek, who had now fallen asleep on his shoulder.

For a moment, he looked in worry at the cup of ice in Solaine's hand.

[Kuro]

Shroud Demon looked at Solaine when she asked her question, his entire body turning towards her in a disoriented manner. Judging from how his body was swinging to and fro, it looked as if he would fall over at any moment. He was about to answer her question when Beth spoke first, and kept quiet as she did so. When she was done, Shroud Demon was the first to speak as he leaned back in his chair, his tone comforting...or at least an attempt at comforting.

"Yeah...yeah...no one died! Yay! Hooray! *hic* N-n-no one died! Not a siiiiiiiingle one... *hic hic* Not only that, but everyone still has limbs! Robot limbs are still *hic* limbs! Yeah...After everything, w-w-we're stilllllll here! Yay! We're having a good time! A good time! A party! Yay! I've never been to a paaaaaarty before.

I am curious though... *hic* What do we do now? Do we, uh, do we set sail on some...more crusades or do we...do we...drink more funny juice? Oh, this juice! I wish I knew about this funny juice earlier! *hic* D-do you, do you have any...anymoooooo -"

Leaning too far back, he and the chair fell over and the bucket hit the floor with a clang. It was still hiding his face though, and he still had an intact glass of alcohol in his hand. He raised it into the air and poured the remainder onto his helmet, the liquid flowing from it to the floor.

"...Do you have anymore?"

[Kyubey]

Camellia was leaning against the edge of her cup, her back facing the rest of the table, with her head tilted far back so that she could look at everyone, although they now looked upside-down to her. Now that the conversation had opened up to a point that she could actually participate, she was having a much better time, and it showed on her face.

"I'm sorry about your situation, Ms. Charina. As you get older, you should be able to hold yourself together more easily. I mean, I'm not completely sure of that but from what I've read about Devil Fruit it sure seems that way."

"Huh? Oh no, I can hold myself together just fine," she said, extending her arm out to Joe, encouraging him to touch it and feel just how solid she was. "I'll have you know that I have complete control of my power, thank ya very much! I wasn't always this good though. When I first ate the Tea-Tea Fruit, I was so weak I could barely even hold my body together enough to even eat! I would spill all over the floor and make a huge mess. But Finnegan here helped, he taught me how to use my Devil Fruit right. I can go full-tea or no-tea anytime I'd like. It's just that, I can't move my legs in normal form at all. My legs are pretty useless, really. Been that way since even before I was a Tea Girl, so that's why Finnegan has to carry me around all the time. Isn't that right Finnegan?"

"This is true, Miss."

"So really, it's a good thing I ate the Tea-Tea Fruit when I did! I can do a lot of things now that I couldn't do before! Thanks anyway, though."

"It's wonderful to meet you all, just by the looks of you, I can only imagine what kind of a journey you had to go through in order to find what you were after. It's obvious that Connor did, but would you all say that you found what you were looking for, if you don't mind me asking?"

Camellia giggled a bit, and looked up at Solaine, very curious about this new person, who everyone seemed to be familiar with but her, and she never had a chance to be properly introduced.

"Nope, haha! I probably wouldn't be hanging around with you guys if I did, really. But I'm getting closer, I just know it! And that's enough for now. Ya look for something for five years, and suddenly it doesn't feel like such a rush anymore. Y'know?"

She was constantly being distracted by Shroud Demon's funny juice, wondering just what was so good about the stuff he was drinking, but for some reason, Finnegan stopped her every time she reached for some. It didn't feel fair to her at all.

[Shark a' Pult]

Kaede fell silent rather quickly and lowered her eyes to her plate, when the others so easily and openly talked about her misfortune at Colyne. Whatever semblance of a smile she might have had was long gone, when she thought to herself about Beth's and Shroud Demon's opinions. Inadvertently she found herself reaching for the mark on her neck.

"Ya look for something for five years, and suddenly it doesn't feel like such a rush anymore. Y'know?"

"Yes... I do."

As Camellia spoke, brought her arms to the table to cross her fingers, and rested her head on her hands with a soft smile. An image of Jean flashed in her mind, understanding Camellia's position perhaps better than most people. Of course, they each had their own ways of reaching their goals. Camellia would continue to travel, and Solaine had her own way of finding what she was after. Of course, rather recently this way of hers had been significantly threatened and even damaged, having lost a few parts. That said, it was fine now and sitting across the table from her conveniently enough, staring quietly at its plate. As long as it was alive though, that was all that mattered, whatever the condition.

"Well that does sound awful, but at least you're all back in one piece! I guess now the question is what you'll all do from here on? I can think of something that Shroud Demon could busy himself with, but how will you continue your search from here, Miss Camellia?"

She thought about asking Beth and Connor what they would do as well, but she already had a very good idea. And of course Nathan and Joe, but she had something in mind for that as well.

[CJ]

"Oh," Joe corrected himself as his face turned red. "I'm not sure why I thought that. I just assumed with your age and your situation that you couldn't control a Logia. I'm sorry for assuming."

He grasped Camellia's arm excitedly when she presented it, almost as though she were some sort of celebrity. He closed his eyes and brought his other hand over to cup her hand in his. He seemed to be mediating, not only on her words but on her very hand itself. He did not hold onto it for very long, but to Camellia and Finnegan, the awkward action might seem to last an eternity.

"You're a very kind person, Miss Charina," he said with a warm smile. "At least, I mean, it seems that way. Your powers just fit you so perfectly. To have Finnegan with you as well is so great. You're very lucky, but you deserve that luck."

With Solaine now questioning Camellia, Joe turned his own attention to Kaede. He seemed to want to look rather serious, but his expression came off as rather pathetic.

"Please don't stop looking," he said, stumbling on his words. "I mean, please don't stop looking toward whatever it is you're looking for, Miss Kaede. If you give up on your dream, there's not much else to live for."

Connor nodded fervently at this. He had made sure to thank Kaede multiple times for her sacrifice but it never seemed enough. At least with Snake and others he could promise endless free food and feel somewhat less guilty. Kaede's situation was very different; there was nothing he could really do. So in this situation, all he could do was sit and watch.

"Man, Joe, you're really talkative tonight," Nathan commented with a chuckle and shoved another sandwich into his mouth.

"Should I tone it down?"

Nathan shrugged, not noticing the rather cold glare the two receiving from Beth. Joe opened his mouth to say something to her but noticed Nudge shaking his head at him. This seemed a good enough signal to abandon whatever conversation he wished to have.

---

Aside from giving Nathan and Joe her nasty glare, Beth kept to herself. She was about to drink another bottle when she noticed Shroud Demon wanted more himself.

She stumbled over with only one slight misstep to his chair. Whispering rather loudly, a cheeky grin came over her face.

"Hey, Shroudy. I'll let you have as much wonder juice as you want. All you have to do is let me take a peek under your helmet. Just one little peek..."

[Kuro]

"Wait...I'm going to...b-busy myself with what? Search for...uh.."

He hiccuped some more, still on his back on the floor. He attempted to stand up at the mention of more funny juice from Beth, but fell back to the floor. He groaned before laughing a bit.

"Oh. A peek? A peek? Uh...no, I have to...I have to...uh, n-no, its armor, my special armor, it helps protect me from...things. I, uh...sorry, no. F-funny juice, please?"

[Kyubey]

Camellia beamed at Joe happily. Ever since she met Connor and the others, it seemed people had been throwing praise at her left and right. For an absolute Princess such as herself, she felt right at home with that. She didn't seem to take any notice of Joe holding onto her hand in such an awkward fashion, either because she was too caught up in the moment or because she simply didn't mind, but Finnegan looked visibly uncomfortable with Joe's action. He still kept to himself, however, and the only time he looked as though he was about to step up and pull Joe away from Camellia was just before he released her hand.

As Joe shifted his attention to Kaede, Camellia shifted hers to Solaine, who was still a bit of a mystery. Camellia took a moment to consider the answer before she responded, it not being something she had really put thought into before that point.

"I dunno," she replied, "There's too many places for me to start. Back when it was just me and Finnegan, we would wander around from island to island, asking around but not ever knowing if we were even closer or not. And now that we're on the Grand Line, I feel like things are still just like they were when we started out. I don't have any idea where my parents could be, and I don't think Finnegan does either. So I was thinking, instead of wanderin' around again, maybe I would just stick around here for a while, if it's alright with you guys. At least until I can get some clues that'll give me a good starting point. Mom and Dad weren't anywhere on the Four Blues, so they've gotta be around somewhere, and finding out shouldn't take too long. The Grand Line's full of people. I think, if I just wait here, I'll come across someone who's seen 'em eventually. Right?"

There was a pleading tone in her voice, as though she was begging to be allowed to remain with this group. Finding her parents was still important, but now she had friends, and she wasn't about to leave them behind without enjoying that a bit more, not when she still didn't know how long it would be before she found what she was looking for.

[Shark a' Pult]

"I mean, please don't stop looking toward whatever it is you're looking for, Miss Kaede. If you give up on your dream, there's not much else to live for."

Joe's words didn't bring back her smile, but it caused her to look up a bit, however hesitantly. Whatever else the others might say, at least she could not ignore Joe for what he said. She questioned though, how much she believed him. Time was, Kaede would have agreed wholeheartedly; Jean Strife, that was all that mattered. Looking back now though, after all she had lost in chasing that dream, she wondered if it was really worth it. She had gotten sidetracked somewhere along the way and ended up paying dearly for it, and ever since Colyne she began to fear that she might not have enough left of her to pursue what truly mattered.

"Well you wouldn't think it, but the Grand Line is a big place. Not Four Blues big mind you, but if you've already got them out of the way, well that's a heck of a good start! At least, if you were to stay on here, you wouldn't have to waste time checking out every little inlet and cove from here to Raftel."

Solaine felt some level of sympathy and connection with Camelia. In a way, she saw herself in the young girl, whom only wanted to find her parents. Growing up, Solaine almost never saw her own, and by the time she was Camelia's age she had trouble remembering what they looked like. Simply put, they just didn't care about her all that much (or at least in her mind it seemed that way), even though she spent seemingly every waking minute trying to impress them or otherwise get them to notice her. Thusly, she wanted to help Camelia, and felt that if she knew more about the girl's parents she might be able to do just that. Even in the worst case scenario, that the girl was turned down by the Andersons, Solaine could certainly offer a place for her and her butler to stay on.

After considering Camelia's situation however, she remembered somewhat of a more pressing matter, in Shroud Demon. Noticing the little predicament he was in she laughed a bit as she addressed him, though she realized he probably might not even notice her at this point, being relegated to the background with the rest of the noise.

"Oh it's just something of a little game we like to play... help protect the weak and the innocent, and uphold justice. At least in theory..."

[CJ]

Beth put on the grumpiest face she could.

"Fine," she grumbled to Shroud Demon. "Yeah, let's have some more funny juice."

Handing another drink to him, she completely forgot about holding off drinks if he didn't take off the bucket.

Turning her attention toward Solaine, Camellia and Finnegan, she noted the possibility of having more friends of theirs in Water 7. She deliriously thought of the notion. It was a happy thought but it wasn't something she could feasibly do.

"Well, I moved to an apartment... I would have given you a place to stay but I sold this place. It was crowded with my family already... and the twins over here taking space too..."

"Aren't we your family?" Joe asked snidely, his emotions distressed by Kaede's lack of a response.

"Joe," Nathan warned, biting his lip.

"You want to say something, brat?" Beth challenged Joe. Her drunkenness getting the best of her, making Connor flush in embarrassment.

"I," he choked in fear.

"No one deserves in my family who threatens my son, got it?" she commanded.

"But I'm your son too!"

"No, you're a monster!" Beth shouted, standing up. She clawed at Joe from across the table. Nudge quickly grabbed a hold of her and dragged her out the room as she shrieked in a drunken rage. Something minor that some might have noticed is that Beth didn't use her powers against Joe. She could have easily drained his energy, like she usually did against people she didn't tolerate, and knocked him out, so why didn't she?

"We should all probably stop drinking for today," Connor said with a nervous laugh.

He immediately got up and went to hand Meek to Nathan and Joe. He hesitated, however, and mouthed an apology to them before taking off after Beth and Nudge.

"I'm sorry," Nathan said quietly as he and his brother held their head in shame.

[Kyubey]

Camellia smiled again at Solaine, beginning to like this new person more and more with everything she said. The idea that she finally might have an actual starting place this time was wonderfully exciting. And if she could do it with such nice people, that could only be even more fun.

"I like big places!" she told Solaine excitedly, "And already this Grand Line is a whole lot cooler than what I'm used to seeing! I mean, Reverse Mountain was pretty much the best thing ever, and if this place is full of stuff like that, I wanna see a whole lot of it before I'm done!"

The tea she looked to be swimming in appeared to be close to boiling over now, and she was clearly putting in some effort to not splash about in her excitement as it was. She was so giddy, in fact, she very nearly didn't listen what Beth said to her. However, despite her momentary glee, she still got the gist of Beth's denial.

A mature, rational person, after getting such rejection, would be disappointed most likely, but would also understand that there was nothing that could be done. A fully grown person would probably accept that the denial was by no means her fault, and was not a refusal of her as an individual. But Camellia was not old enough to have such maturity. She was, for the time being, an over-reactive, emotional thirteen year old girl. Fundamentally, all that this meant was that she would be alone with Finnegan again, just as she had been for the past five years. She could still see the Grand Line like she wanted, but now that didn't seem like enough anymore. Now, without being accepted, having only that felt like having nothing at all.

"But... I," she pleaded, her voice quavering with something that sounded quite like fear, "I won't take up any space at all! I can just stay in my teacup, you can keep me anywhere! Please don't make me go away! I'll work for you, I'll do anything you want, so please..."

Her upper body melted into tea, which stopped bubbling entirely, and even stopped steaming, staying as pure, cold, still liquid.

"I don't wanna be alone."

She only barely listened attention to the conflict that went on between Beth and Joe, and, in her state, what she did pick up she just assumed was her fault. Finnegan stayed as calm as ever. What worry he did show, was only expressed on behalf of Camellia's sadness.

"Perhaps," he said softly, "This might be better."

[Kuro]

"Justice! WHAT.

Shroud Demon sprung up and stood upright, now looking straight at Solaine from behind his bucket. He looked as if he would start talking again, but he quickly became wobbly again and nearly fell onto the table. He leaned on it for support and looked at her.

"W-weak? Inno-innocent? Yay! Protecting the, the innocent and the, the justice, yaaaaaaaaay. Theory's another word for justice, right?"

His demeanor changed when a fight broke out. Beth started yelling at the twins and there was something about threatening a son and a monster. At the suggestion to stop drinking, Shroud Demon gently placed the drink Beth had given him onto the table with a clink. When the twins apologized for, for, he had no idea what for, he didn't know what to say. And then he heard a quaver or a crack in Camellia's voice.

Shroud Demon wobbled over to her side, still disoriented from all of the funny juice he had had. He took a seat next to the teacup and looked at its still liquid. For a few moments, he just stared. Although no one would be able to tell, he was actually looking through her; he wasn't even looking at anything, all he could see was something in his mind, hear the words in his mind.

"I won't take up any space at all! I can just stay in my teacup, you can keep me anywhere! Please don't make me go away! I'll work for you, I'll do anything you want, so please..."

"...Please..."

He reflexively opened up his arms in a gesture for a hug, but realized that given his princesses's state, such a thing would have been difficult. He put his arms down and continued to stare at the teacup, now focusing on the person he knew was inside.

"You don't...you don't have to be alone. Y-you can still make friends...you have Finnegan with you. H-he cares for you, he..." He paused for a moment before awkwardly speaking, as if he wasn't sure of what to say after each word. There was a tinge of sadness to it. "I...I know that you won't take up any space, no, you won't take up any space at all. Y-you can work and you can do anything you say you will and you, you want to, you can help, you know you can, and you just want to stay and you don't want them to -" His voice cracked and it was as if one could hear him holding back his tears. "I'm sorry, I was..I was thinking about...I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say any of that to you, although it's true, I know it's...it's true. Sorry, I was just thinking about...something."

He gulped and tapped his fingers on the table. "I'll stay by you, if you want. A princess always needs two bodyguards, right? Or maybe, a bodyguard and a knight. I'm s-sure that Beth didn't mean any, anything she said about space or apartments or rooms or anything, that must have just been the funny juice, right?" He looked to Finnegan. "I mean, I know that i'm not smart, i'm not smart at all, but even I know that whatever the funny juice is, it can make people say weird things, right? Things that they don't mean?" He looked at Solaine, a touch of pleading in his voice, similar to Camellia's. "Right?"