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Suppose being from before that incident is possible in the realm of 'time travel'.

Emet puts a hand to his chin as he tries to recall what had taken place that day. It was so long ago, but the details are just odd enough to stick out in memory.

"When we came out of the facility after the demonstration, others asked where our 'companions' had gone. Venat being one, but the other one has always remained unaccounted for." A look of realization washes over his face as he considers it, and he looks to Hythlodaeus with a silent question.

Hythlodaeus shrugs. "Then we have a plausible solution. A demonstration, you say? And I suppose something went wrong, wiping the memories of all present." Remind him to deny a demonstration, in that case...

"And so we went about our days none the wiser." And in that case, they wouldn't have known to prevent the Final Days- if that's even possible. Things would have been as if their friend had never shown up, which may be why she supposedly never revealed herself after the fact. Not that Hythlodaeus can honestly blame her.

"The details seem to fit."

More importantly, if that is, indeed, what happened then it's probable that all the other information would match up just the same. Emet's look softens as he mentally fits the pieces into place.

"Which would mean you're really..." His tone shifts. "Here. Not a shade, but the 'you' that I remember."

Nodding, Hythlodaeus smiles up at his friend. "Yes, I'm here- for better or for worse."

He pauses, to take in the softening of the harsh lines on Emet's face. He's glad that it's sinking in that he's really here, but at the same time... what will Emet-Selch do when Hythlodaeus has to leave again?

It doesn't bear thinking about now, so he doesn't bring it up. "On that note, as a living being, I'm still rather hungry."

Important as though eating maybe, The words are left to sit unaddressed. Emet, instead, looks on in contemplative silence while considering how best to acknowledge this situation.

"Long have I considered what I would say when given the chance to meet you again, Hythlodaeus." His tone seems to bear an edge of sadness. There were countless days in Amaurot would he sit and think about what had happened, what could have been handled differently, and what he would say when the city reached its former glory again. Often, those thoughts were the sole driving force to continue onward.

"Now that I finally have the opportunity, I find myself wanting for words." There doesn't seem to be any adjectives that could properly articulate the amalgamation of emotions that he feels. As such, he leans forward and gives his dear friend a tight hug. Perhaps this could express it well enough.

Hythlodaeus pauses, surprised by the hug but not finding it to be unpleasant. He pauses for a second before hugging back, burying his face in Emet-Selch's shoulder with a smile. Small gestures like this that show how Emet really feels are few and far between, but he cherishes them when they present themselves.

"You needn't worry about words, friend." He lifts his head to smile fondly up at Emet, the admiration clear in his eyes, before resting his cheek back on Emet's shoulder. "I understand, as I always have done."

A small squeeze is his unspoken response. Perhaps actions can show what he means in the absence of well-crafted words. Over time, surely, the proper words will present themselves.

"Much to my concurrent delight and displeasure," Emet utters as he lets Hythlodaeus free from his grasp. Teasing as the words may be, they are said with a clear expression of fondness.

Emet motions in the direction of the market. "Come, It's remiss of me to keep a 'living being' from their desire for sustenance for long."

He lets go at the same time as Emet, though he admittedly would have liked the hug to go on longer. He giggles at Emet's teasing, but there's still that same affection in his gaze, and he holds his eyes with his own affectionately.

"Is the cuisine here very different?" Hythlodaeus can't imagine it would be exactly the same as he's used to after so long, but other than that he doesn't know what to expect. "I'll have whatever you're having."

With that, he starts towards the marketplace. Surely they would find some street fair that would be of interest to them both.

"If I told you, then it would diminish the experience, wouldn't it?" Emet says, coy to answer. "Better to let it speak for itself." And be able to see the genuine experience besides.

"If you insist." Following after Emet-Selch, he looks around curiously as they make their way there. He still thinks this place is amazing, quite frankly. He still sees no way home, though. And if he disappears... well, he may be with Emet here, but what of the one left behind in Elpis? How would he feel if Hythlodaeus went missing without a trace? Hythlodaeus has no doubt in his mind that Emet-Selch would search high and low for him, and never give up the hunt.

And yet... he still feels warm from the hug. He felt the love there, and to leave this Emet behind hurts his heart too. All in all, it's a situation that he can't rightly say he has a solution for yet.

The marketplace is a circular area where each stall is surrounded by plates of blue glass. Even though food is bought and sold here, there is a suspicious lack of places for anyone to sit to enjoy it. Emet pauses by one of the lamp posts that frame the area to address that very problem. With a snap of his fingers, a quaint round table with two chairs springs into existence.

The next task is obtaining food, which he does so with the same amount of ease from a nearby stall. He fills the tabletop with tomato pies with ornately carved tomato flowers, fresh fish, bowls of broth and vegetables, cookies, and a pot of yellow tea with two cups. Quite a lot of food for two people. Then, he finally sits and expectantly waits for Hythlodaeus to do the same.

"It's not much." He says while flippantly unfurling a cloth napkin he seems to have procured from somewhere. "Hopefully you'll find something to your liking." It's the best and most delicious food there is in the city, he made certain of that.

Hythlodaeus waits for Emet-Selch to finish preparing the table before he sits, looking over the food curiously. It smells good, at least, and the gnawing in his stomach intensifies slightly. He takes a bowl of broth and carefully ladles some into his own bowl, before trying some. He hums, pleased.

"This is exquisite... I daresay I'll want to try a little of everything here." And though Emet tries to play it off, Hythlodaeus know that he brought him the best food he could find. He ignores the people looking over at them curiously, and starts to eat in earnest- though being at a table, he does fall into the habit of people-watching. He spots a group of Lalafell and tilts his head, looks to Emet with a raised eyebrow, and then decides to just continue eating.

The Warrior had been strange enough with her elongated ears, but some people here even have scales and horns and tails. A few have long bunny ears, and others have cat ears. A man with purple skin and dark horns catches Hythlodaeus staring, and he quickly goes back to his food. "Fascinating... if not slightly confusing."

Emet starts in on his own food, picking away neatly at it. Perhaps it's a bit different than how he used to approach food the last time they shared a meal together, but it's become a habit over the course of many dreary formal gatherings during his tenure in Garlemald to eat like a refined diplomat.

"Is the food here truly so perplexing?" He asks in the midst of disassembling a piece of flaky pastry with a knife and fork. Though being able to see his line of sight in looking out at the rest of the room he couldn't imagine what exactly the comment could be referencing.

Chuckling, Hythlodaeus shakes his head. "Not the food, the people. Tails and horns and furry little ears... however did that happen?" He picks up some bread from the table to dunk in his soup and mulls it over.

"They make me recall Meteion's avian features, almost." Of course, not knowing that Meteion is the cause of the Final Days, he says it quite fondly. The familiar grew on him a lot while he was in Elpis.

His expression shifts to a look of confusion. Who? It's been so long and the encounter with her so brief, that the name doesn't so much as ring a bell.

The general question itself is addressed instead. "It has never been my area of focus, but I've found them more common as the worlds were remade in each Umbral age." Why bother with incomplete beings that he saw to improve upon by the rejoining? "You can find many fascinating theories about their origin here in the library, if it interests you. Each book is full of more exuberant myth than the last."

"I may have to peruse those books sometime... assuming I get the chance." It's just a hint of a reminder that he will have to leave, and his eyes take in Emet-Selch's features to gauge his reaction.

As it happens, Hythlodaeus eats carefully but quickly, because he often had more pressing matters than to enjoy his food. That holds true even now, despite not really having anywhere to be. He finishes his soup and pulls some fish towards him. He can put away a lot of food when he wants to, as well.

Assuming he gets the chance? The thought is enough to put a sobering look back on Emet's face.

He stops eating mid-bite. Both eating utensils are slowly set on the table and stacks one hand on top of the other. It's an important subject and he doesn't want to detract from the topic.

"You can stay here, you know." He says, knowing full well the problems that could create. Is it selfish to try and hold onto someone that reminds him of the sense of happiness he's long forgotten? To try and avoid the unfortunate future he knows will happen for this one important person. "It would afford you every chance to read books, and make countless new discoveries."

Hythlodaeus sighs, his ever-present smile fading a little. "Would that I could. But you know that if I stay here, the Emet-Selch of the past will never stop looking for me. Not to mention all the anomalies it could cause should I disappear. I don't even know if I could stay of my own volition."

He picks at his fish, his appetite waning. "I would much rather you came back with me... though who knows what I would do with two of you." He smiles sadly up at his friend. "And who knows what issues such a situation would cause besides."

As funny as that thought is, it doesn't do so much as coax the faintest hint of a smile. If anything his demeanor seems to dim even more.

"My going there would change nothing of our futures." Time would proceed as it has and he would only succeed in the experience of losing everything a second time. Then would come the crushing procession of time. Eons passing.

His expression and tone turn painfully sincere. "You may not know of what awaits you in the future but I do, and I am begging you not to return that place. Please."

Closing his eyes, Hythlodaeus weighs Emet-Selch's words in his mind. I am begging you not to return to that place. He exhales, and fixes Emet with a resigned smile.

"You make it very hard to say no, my friend. But what of the other Emet-Selch?"

There's no way to bring that Emet back here, or even tell him where Hythlodaeus has gone. He couldn't do that to his friend, but... if he leaves this Emet-Selch behind, he's making him miserable instead. It's a tough position to be in. "I can't please you both, nor split myself in two. It may very well turn out that I cannot leave here after all, but if the opportunity presents itself I will have to make a very hard decision, it seems."

He wants to reach out and hug him again. To tell him that he won't leave, that he will stay. But he can't very well make a promise he isn't yet sure he can keep.

Emet looks on in earnest.

"I'm aware of the ...complications that could arise." Time is such a tricky topic in both concept and in magical application. Who knows what this conversation itself could change.

"But I have no doubt that the 'me' of the past would agree that it would be better if you stayed." He can't imagine any incarnation of himself that would agree to send Hythlodaeus to his death. No. He might have changed considerably over the years but that would remain the same.

He sighs. He doesn't want to leave Emet-Selch here... alone. He can't help but feel that it's why his friend is so adamant he stays.

"What would we do? Where would we go?" He meets Emet's gaze. "I refuse to hurt anyone, I'll have you know." None of this 'rejoining' business with Elidibus. Their lives as they knew them are over. Though Hythlodaeus wanted to try to save his star, it obviously failed, and now all they can do is try to move on. His expression softens again, though.

"I understand that you miss your home, your friends. 'Tis only natural. But surely you can see the potential in this world, too? It isn't our world, it isn't our home- but it is beautiful in it's own way, is it not?"

It occurs to him then, that by staying he could save lives. Could he do that in the past? He isn't good at much, but he can talk Emet-Selch into doing almost anything. That particular talent was never a matter of life or death before now, but perhaps...

His eyes narrow, only just. "This world is a ruined husk of what used to be." The words are articulated just enough to make them sound sharp.

"I have spent ages trying to see the potential in these 'people'. I have spent time with them only to find their so-called 'potential' wanting in every way." He's told the last group of 'heroes' as much after they failed to meet his exacting expectations. "This world has its undeniable beauty, but it falls so far short of what could be."

Hythlodaeus looks around at their surroundings again. "That's truly what you see? A ruined husk? Look. There's life here... perhaps the lives these people live aren't as idyllic as our own but that makes them no less important."

The souls are dim yes, but they're still there. He looks to Emet-Selch again with an almost disappointed expression. "Oh, what has grief done to you, my friend?"

He never thought he would find himself feeling sorry for Emet-Selch of all people. He was a good man, held in high esteem by countless others, willing to help anyone- provided you pestered him a little first. Who is this man so twisted by sorrow that he would destroy entire worlds to get his home back? Hythlodaeus knew Emet-Selch was sentimental- the shade of himself in Amaurot tickled him- but this is going too far.

It's reasoning he's heard so many times before from people in far-flung shards and he meets it with the same rehearsed response, albeit it with a twinge of discomfort that this time it's being directed toward such a dear friend. "It has steeled my determination to fix what is broken." He says flippantly.

"These 'people' are not alive, sparing them would not yield anything worthwhile. I know it can be difficult to see in the diminutive, but I'm trying to help them." Emet leans back in his chair and folds his arms.

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