Private Eastern Brisshal Celestine Officially Does Azykia A Claim As Her Imouto: The Super Official And Very Much Legally Binding Tale Of New Sisters!

[Celestine]

Celestine remained conscious of Azzy's discomfort with the crowds as she led her through by the hand. If a quiet forest was relatively calming and peaceful, this place must be absolute chaos.

"Well… it technically does itself the qualifying as a weapon," Cel chuckled. "It will do your magic a boosting! You should definitely do it the replacing when you do more of the muns an earn, though." She smiled. "You are welcome!"

The next question made her pause. She glanced down at Azzy who was still looking off into… well, nothing probably. Did she want that? ‘Sister’ was a little dull; not a cutesy nickname at all. She didn’t wanna sound too overbearing though.

"You can do me the calling of whatever you are wanting to," Cel offered with a shrug. "I would do me the calling of sis’, myself, but I think it is the personal choice." Offering Azzy a pat, she continued on.

Honeyhome had a few little shops, most notably the bakery which was had a pretty long line. The tailor, on the other hand, was a little more quiet, offering them a rest from the chaos as they stepped through the doors.

A well-dressed woman sorted various soft fabrics as several magic needles sowed together a dress and some sort of ribbon accessory in the corner. The store was filled with ready-made clothes however, and judging by the need of the needles, she could more than keep up with the demand of newbies.

She turned to notice the two entering, focusing on Celestine first, "Oh my, that dress is beautiful! May I ask who designed it?" — "Uhm… are you knowing the tailor of the Stokbon?" — "I can’t say that I do, but I shall have to visit when I have the time! And are you here for this young miss?" — "Mhm."

Azzy suddenly felt the tickle of a soft measuring thread held to her forehead.

"Well aren’t you a cute little thing~? I can’t say I have much in your size, but the clothes over here might fit." The tone and implication gave a strong impression that she was being led to a kid section. "Does anything take your fancy?"


@Azykia

 

[Azykia]

How could a bracelet be a weapon? She simply didn't understand that sentiment without her mind trailing to some old kung-fu movie where some old man said that 'anything' could be a weapon. She wasn't about to hit people with it though, at least going by what Celestine was saying about it.

"Sis, huh?" She seemed to ponder it as she tilted her head down just a bit in thought as she was guided along safely. It wasn't until the two almost got to the store itself that she elaborated any further. "That sounds... uncreative. At least, compared to Celestine. I'll... try it."

As she entered, she couldn't help but to note the smell. It was familiar in a few ways, like what one might smell when walking into an antique shop or a supermarket full of clothes. Those were two different smells, weren't they? Yet Azykia's sharpened nose had picked up both, giving her a mental imagery of a mixture of the two. She could practically see it as a scene that unraveled in front of her to compliment the several 'pixels' moving so synergistically and fluidly in the corner. She flinched as she felt the thread against her, but deemed that it was harmless only because nobody else was panicking at the moment.

At the tailor's suggestion, her lip trembled as she suppressed her irritation as her mind came quickly to the conclusion of being led to the 'girls' section versus 'women', or whatever the equivalent could be in such as world as this.

"I really like what Cele- sis is wearing." She corrected, accidentally crafting a whole new name in the process.

@Celestine

 

[Celestine]

"Hm… well not everything has to be doing itself a creativity, but you can continue to do it a think of you are liking," Celestine answered Azzy.

And not too soon after entering the store… "Celesis…!" she picked up on the idea immediately. "That could be the creativity you were wanting!"

Between the stutter of the small girl, and the bizarre speech of the astral magician, the seamstress was at a loss for what to make of their conversation. Feeling the need to say something, however, she took a deep breath and hoped she wasn’t making a mistake.

"Oh, you two are sisters? How cute~!" And odd: they looked nothing alike. She took a long glance at Celestine’s outfit and gulped. "Well… we certainly have a beautiful selection of full dresses if that’s what you’re after! I take it you‘re a magician like your sister?" Celestine released a happy giggle, just hearing that from another’s lips, receiving a confused look.

After a moment, the seamstress froze, leaving a brief moment of silence before she felt the need to elaborate, "Do you see anything that takes your fancy, dear?"


@Azykia

 

[Azykia]

"Celesis...?" She muttered after Celesis's declaration about it. It certainly was creative compared to just 'sis'. She couldn't argue that. Besides, it was easy to say, and it still felt like a significant word to say. Those were the best words to use in any marketing slogan, not that she was about to do any marketing for Celestine all of a sudden.

"Dresses are indeed fine, ma'am. Actually, anything that isn't terrible casual will do." She tilted her head down a little bit and brought a loosely curled index finger to her lips. "Um..." She wasn't even looking at the dressed anymore as she considered her answer, which might make it clear that her hesitance had nothing to do with the attire that was presumably right in front of her. It was her pride acting up again. Was she really going to have to explain to everyone that she couldn't see? What a pain. Misfortune. It wasn't a big deal, and yet it was.

The girl eventually gulped, trying to answer before Celestine could even try to answer for her as she thought back to her request to let her take care of herself when it came to pretty much this exact thing.

"Actually, miss, I'm- I can't... see."

@Celestine

 

[Celestine]

"Hm… nothing too casual…" the lady replied back, lost in thought as she realized the issue here. Most of the clothes available that would fit the small girl were awfully casual (though perhaps not by the modern standards, but she didn’t go by those). Moreover, her eyes kept falling on Celestine, noticing the inside of her cloak shifting colors as if it contained the entire night sky behind her shoulders.

… How exactly was she supposed to make her little sister match that ridiculous outfit in the slightest!?

And as if this wasn’t enough, the girl dropped another bombshell. She was blind too!? Yeesh!

"W-well, I suppose your… sister, will be picking for you then…?" It was truly the worst possible situation. Just how judgmental would such a lady be with her family’s clothing!?

"I do the suppose so," Cel nodded, wandering up to join Azzy and peering at all the options. She’d pick one up, hold it in front of Azzy, put it back, repeat, repeat, repeat… repeat… repeat……..

Yep, she was as picky as she looked.

"Oo~" she finally settled on a bright, pastel yukata with a great deal of frills. "Can you do an add of the giant bow on the back? Or wait… let us do the seeing of lil sis’ doing it the wear first!"

Azzy found herself with a soft dress in hand, and then promptly led to a changing room. The seamstress, watching this, asked a pertinent question…

"You’re not going in to help her…?"

Cel shook her head. "She is wanting to do things the leaning on her own."


@Azykia

 

[Azykia]

Sent on her way with the outfit in her possession, she realized once she was inside the room that she had no idea what she was holding. As she did her best to straighten it out, she couldn't fathom from her sense of touch alone what kind of dress this could be. Was the back open? Was it the front? It was almost like a robe, but not even remotely similar.

Then she remembered that silly thing that Celestine said about a giant bow on the back and mentally facepalmed herself. Azzy's real-life counterpart was the sort of woman that could tie a tie ten different ways. She had worn almost any and every variety of formal wear that was ever relevant to her life, and a business trip to Japan or twelve had taught her from a young age how to wear yukatas, kimonos, and... even a Super Sentai outfit, but that was far less relevant at the moment.

Even with this practice, it took the blind one a good while to change for three very good reasons. Firstly, she was blind. Secondly, she was in a new body. Third and perhaps most frustrating though was that she spent two whole minutes trying to figure out of her tunic was supposed to come off through leather-buttoned chicanery and magic or by simply sliding it off overhead. It felt too tight to be the latter for what she was used to, but lo and behold it ended up being the right way to do things for once.

So some several minutes after Azykia had entered the changing room, she had finally exited looking like a completely different person. At least, for all she could tell. She felt like a completely different person. Actually, she was a completely different person right now. This game had too many layers of irony in its coding.

"How does it look, Celesis?" Azzy didn't really wait long to ask, since she couldn't really see what she looked like without Celestine's assistance in the first place. She took the time to show her experience in wearing clothing like what she had been given, smoothing it out such that the folds didn't deny her attire that trademark airiness.

@Celestine

 

[Celestine]

"Are you sure she’ll manage? Maybe you should go check…"
"She will be the okay... I am thinking. Maybe be giving it the few more minutes."
"Is this her first time wearing a Yukata?"
"Uhm…"

…

Celestine completely sidelined that question as Azzy exited the changing room.

"Oh! Wow, you are the absolutely adorable~! Very much the little sis’!" she clapped her hands together in delight.
"You wear that really well, miss~" the seamstress added with a nod, hoping the astral mage wouldn’t—
"—Although, can you be adding the big bow on the back? And be doing it more of the frills on the bottom, please. Oh, and also, can you be doing the dying of this part white so it is matching with the…" this went on.

The seamstress sighed. At least this fancy lady clearly had the money to pay well for all her troubles.

"Do not worry about the muns, I will do it the paying this time," Cel reassured the both of them, though it was noticeably directed towards Azykia. "Seeing the cuteness is enough of the paying me back~"


@Azykia

 

[Azykia]

Azykia began to feel embarrassed being showered in compliments like this. It just felt strange to get compliments on looking nice when she wasn't even herself. At least she seemed to be cute enough. She got to see her face once, sort of, but now she truly wondered what this outfit looked like on her.

When the conversation of payment came up, she suddenly seemed more awake and aware. "Before you buy me a whole yukata like this, does real-world money have any worth here?" She was asking for a good enough reason. After all, if her money could be used here, then she was just some spoiled rich kid all over again. Maybe not by her own hand, but if any of her father's workers caught her playing Terrasphere, they would probably try to force her back into a world of perfect gray again.

What a horrible thought. It made the girl's skin crawl, and she hugged each of her arms.

"Not that I want to use it, I just wanted to ask as a curiosity."

@Celestine

 

[Celestine]

The middle-aged seamstress clicked her tongue in irritation as she heard those words: "real world." Azzy couldn’t see her expression, but from the tone of her voice, she could tell she wasn’t terribly happy. "Honestly, you starcalled…" she sighed, "This world is perfectly real to us. Anyway, if you change back, I’ll get started on the modifications. Here’s the cost, miss."

"Oh, that is not so much the expensive," Celestine shrugged, happily handing over the gold and pulling Azzy aside for a talk which was evidently rather important to have. "I probably should have done you the telling of this earlier, but the ‘Landers’ are the people who do Terrasphere a live, and they do not like to do the hearing that their world is itself a fake. We call this ‘Terrasphere’ and the outside the ‘Starcalled Realm.’ It will do people less of the angries if you can do those the remembers."

Cel pat Azzy on the head. "Do it the think as part of the ‘acting’ training. Now go do yourself another change so you can be looking perfect~!"


@Azykia

 

[Azykia]

What Celestine made a strange amount of sense to her, despite how foreign of an idea that had ever been to her before now. "Acting training... All right." She turned around and found her way back into the room while only narrowly avoiding the bashing of her head on the doorway.

Once she got changed back, she walked out with a frown on her face as she held out the yukata. "I very much appreciate the new attire, Celest- sis." She corrected last second, but it was still obvious it slipped again. More of that acting training she was trying to get used to, obviously. "This outfit is offensively stuffy." With a sigh, she reached up and began to run her fingers through her hair. That was when she actually realized just how long her hair was, and had another thought.

"While we're here, could we get... some sort of hair accessory? I've always really liked them."

@Celestine

 

[Celestine]

Nodding as Azzy headed back into the changing room, Cel gently pushed her by the shoulder to the left to avoid a nasty headbonk. When she returned, Celestine just smiled, not too bothered by the "acting mistake" Azzy made. "You are the welcome," Cel answered, taking the clothes and leading Azykia over to the seamstress where they could get the thing modified.

"It has been the while since I did myself the beginner tunic, but I do a remember of the very fast discarding," she answered. "At least it does the fitting, even if it does not do you the comfort."

Cel handed over the outfit and repeated the multiple modifications she wished for. As Azzy mentioned a hair accessory, a tense moment followed for the poor lady, as she glanced up at the floating hat. Cel let out a long "Hmmmmmm," adding to the stress, before finally speaking her request, "How about you do the hair bow?"

…

"That’s it?" the seamstress asked, too shocked to remember her manners.
"Hm?"
"Uhm… nothing, nothing. Here," she handed a little gold bow with some flowers attached. Cel turned to Azykia and gently tied it into the side of her hair.

"Cute~!" she giggled.


@Azykia

 

[Azykia]

As a person of high social prestige (at least according to some people) she couldn't help but to notice the slight attitude that came from the seamstress, but as Celestine didn't seem to pay it any notice, she didn't wish it into existence by saying anything. This time.

Azykia kept the side of her head to Celestine as she finagled with the accessory, and twisted to face even further away after being called cute so authentically. "Th-Thanks..." She brought up a hand to cover her face just as she had done several times already by now. In her perfect hell outside of the game, people were nothing but kind to her, yet this woman's kindness time and time again seemed to wear at her soul with Embarrassment Magic.

"Uhm, after everything is done here, will you be able to show me what I look like again?" She asked, trying to get onto a topic that wouldn't leave her wishing for the sweet embrace of not life from making her face feel so hot. It felt even hotter than usual, she had just realized. As she thought about it, everything felt so much different in this world. It wasn't as realistic as the Starcalled Realm. It was somehow even more realistic to her.

"Without giving me your own sight, obviously."

@Celestine

 

[Celestine]

Celestine quickly paid several gold coins to the thankful seamstress, who took mere minutes to complete the modifications thanks to her "magic sowing machine," if a few floating needles could truly be called that.

"Sure," Celestine answered quickly, rushing Azzy into the changing room to swap clothes once again the second the dress was finished. As she stepped out again, she heard yet another Celestine giggle, and received a short squeeze, before getting led to what felt like the center of the store.

"Okay, let us do you the show~" Celestine smile, waving her fingers through the hair and once again beginning to weave the illusory figure of Azykia, only for a voice to cut it short.

"Ahem! Could you please do that outside, miss? Illusion magic tends to confuse the needles."
"It does...?"
"Horribly!"
"Hm... that is an interesting. Okay."

After a short walk, they stood off to the side of the building, and the illusion was woven once again. Celestine included the text pointing out the colors, like last time, now adding white and pink for her clothes. The image of a lovely young girl stood smiling.

Unfortunately, unlike last time, they were in a public place, with lots of people around! As Celestine began to make a perfect copy of her adopted little sister (with strange text floating around her), everyone gathered around to watch.

"Wow, it's a perfect copy of that little girl!"
"Oo, a magic show!"
"Mommy, look! That lady's hair is all glowy!"
Etc...


@Azykia

 

[Azykia]

Azykia allowed the universe temporarily named Celestine drag her around, honestly so tired of the atmosphere of the quaint clothing store and its patron that she was hyper focused on seeing herself at the end of it all. Despite this, she was not ready for what she saw.

Was that really her? It was jarring enough the first time to see herself for as temporary of a time as it had been, especially in such an undesirable outfit. Outside of the game world, Azykia was self-conscious and vain, so knowing she bore the appearance she had up until now was painful in a way she hadn't really noticed until now as she had been so used to it passively in her day-to-day life.

The moment where her eyes came to life analyzing the illusory reflection of herself instead of deadly staring in the general direction her head had also been facing was life-changing, and it was obvious by the look on her face. Her mouth opened slowly in awe. Her eyes widened. Her hand raised up in front of her chest in a loose fist, and she leaned to either side to try and get an idea of what she looked like from as many angles as she could without having to risk accidentally stumbling into someone.

Those people hardly existed right now. Unlike the pit of static in the core of her torso and the tears that welled in her eyes, for once out of joy and gratitude rather than sadness.
The young girl tried several times to vocalize her opinion. Her thoughts, her feelings, her gratitude. She just couldn't. Not without falling onto one simple phrase that she felt could at least sum it up as an admittance, or worst case a call for help as her emotions overwhelmed her.

"C e l e s i s..." She uttered slowly in a high squeak of a voice. One would think no one had ever done anything nice for her, but there was so much more to it than that.

@Celestine

 

[Celestine]

Celestine was such a sucker for attention. Unreasonably so. As the crowds began to gather, her simple hand gestures grew more dramatic. Simple flicks of her fingers became a dance of illusion-weaving as she played to the crowd, creating illusory butterflies, fields of stars, and all sorts of other little effects in-between finishing Azzy’s illusion.

In fact, Celestine was so focused on the crowd, she hadn’t noticed Azzy’s rising emotions at all. But what she certainly wouldn’t miss was the ringing squeak of her nickname.

"Hm? Wha— what is it? Azzy!?" She was shocked out of her little dream world, and her illusions all vanished in a puff of light as Celestine raced to put a hand on Azykia’s shoulder. The crowds, recognizing the intimate moment, slowly backed away and went along with their business to give them some (relative) privacy.

"Are you okay? What’s wrong?" She’d broken character entirely. "Do you not like it? We can always get you a different outfit…"


@Azykia

 

[Azykia]

As Celestine came running over, she tilted her head to look a bit more towards where she heard her voice come from. This would be the one time she didn't flinch even an unnoticeable bit when being touched out of nowhere. She didn't even reach up to wipe the tears from her eyes, instead just blinking them down her face. This was so unlike her. Did she even know herself anymore, or was she even the same person at all anymore to begin with?

She didn't look like it. She looked pretty, and happy, and she ended up feeling that way too. Her hand reached up and gently placed her hand over the one Celestine had placed upon her shoulder and gripped it ever so slightly. She broke character again, this time more so than ever before, so Azzy felt the need to make sure she knew not to panic. She wasn't particularly certain in a state like this how to do that, so she simply did whatever felt natural as a result.

"I... I love it." She took a short, shaky breath in. "I love it so much." She could feel the embarrassment threatening to build up again as she was showing her weaker side to a bunch of strangers and this woman she had just met, so she tried her best to loosen up the moment for everyone involved with a half forced, half nervous bout of laughter.

"I'm sorry, I've never been the emotional sort before now. I'm just... beyond grateful." She sniffled and reached up to dry her eyes with the back of her hand. "My apologies, Celesis. I didn't mean to cause you alarm."

@Celestine

 

[Celestine]

Celestine was a bit surprised Azzy was this thankful for such a simple gesture. The clothes weren’t that expensive, and from what she’d told her about the outside, Azzy was a perfect who had the perfect "anything I want is mine" sort of life. Or maybe…

…Azzy was just a way better actor than Celestine gave her credit for!

Either way, Cel smiled, happy to see Azzy wasn’t in any real harm. She wrapped her arms around her and pulled her into a tight hug. "It is okay, you are the welcome," she reassured the sobbing girl, stroking her on the head gently.

The strange looks the two were getting would’ve no doubt caused all the more embarrassment if Azzy could see them, so the both of them could be glad she couldn’t. Even so, while no one wished to get involved, most of them were at least understanding, and didn’t actively mock. After all, everyone here was kinda new to things, so pride wasn’t the strongest here, unlike higher leveled areas.

"I am doing it the love too! You are looking a much nicer little sis’ now~" Cel giggled.


@Azykia

 

[Azykia]

The definitely good at acting and totally not just overly-sentimental fourteen year-old girl nearly cooked alive as Celestine hugged her. When was the last time somebody other than her mother or father had hugged her?

Was it... never? She trailed intently down that line of thinking for a long while and was beginning to realize if not simply feel that it was indeed never. She was already stuck in an emotional rut at the moment, overwhelmed by this practical stranger's kind gestures, so what was a little more emotional dumpster diving? She was certain that the sounds she was hearing nearby were people either gathering or dispersing, or people in general that weren't just Celestine and herself, casting her into the deepest pit of embarrassment yet as she put a little more effort into trying to finish up whatever crying her body was forcing her to commit to at the moment.

What a crybaby. It's not any wonder why Celestine looked at Azykia like she was some little girl. A little sister to be claimed. Yet she couldn't really complain or argue about it. After all, it had yet to be a source of mockery, only kindness. It was her own fault that she was so embarrassed, in a way. At least if choosing between herself and this overly generous illusionist.

"A much nicer... Haha ha, yes. I'm..." It wasn't as though she didn't understand that her body in this game was a fair bit younger than her own outside of the game. It wasn't even something she had a huge problem with, although the she had a few apprehensions if she were to take the time to think about it.

It was more about her sense of pride. That sense of pride was doing... what right now?

It was distancing her from the only person that had ever given Azzy a hug. She couldn't help but to wish it could have been in the real world. That might have even removed her need to play this game in the first place. A friend. Finally. That sounded so nice, like paradise. And all she had to do was humor this girl's one odd yet admittedly friendly request.

She was shaky, as she reached her arms up and around Celestine carefully before actually hugging her back. Gently at first, to be as unimposing as possible. Then tighter, and tighter, until she was gripping Celestine as comfortably and closely as she herself wanted to. She wasn't strong enough for it to be painful, but it certainly was a firm hug.

"I'm so glad I met you, Cele-sis." She emphasized, burying her teary face against Celestine. "I'm really glad to be-" She choked on a sob. What an absolute crybaby. "To be your little sister." She said it quietly, but she said it. The bingo card had been filled out at long last."

@Celestine

 

[Celestine]

Celestine had expected some sort of hugging back, but she hadn’t quite expected so much of a counter-hug so as to wring a few cracks out of her back. That felt kind of nice, even though the breathing was a bit of a challenge now.

Something about the sincerity of it all clued Celestine into the idea that this was no mere act. After all, Cel herself was an expert in illusions and… could act. Somewhat. Which ultimately meant she knew pretty well what a fake looked like! Azzy wasn’t showing anything fake that she could see. After all, if they really had been sisters, the kind gesture would’ve just been assumed, right?

The real question was, just what kind of person was this for her to break down in tears over a few little gestures of kindness? Perhaps someone very lonely. Or someone very professional. Or heck, what about both? Someone who spent a lot of time in a cold, business-like environment where one could only show professionalism and nothing else. Someone like that… would have a lot of built up intimacy waiting to burst out like this, Cel thought.

"Aww, I am glad I did you the meet too," Cel smiled. It was certainly a little awkward in this situation, but Maya worked with kids all the time, and she was used to this sort of thing. Her hugs really nailed that motherly kindness like a professional because… well… she was one.

And yet as she’d thought this, Celestine frowned. If she really cared for this person… then…

…

"Azykia…" Maya sighed. It was a truth that had to be told.

"I should have told you this earlier. I just… really loved the chance to show you around. But, you really need to know…"

Deep breath, and…

"This game… Terrasphere… it can kill you. When I said you can get lost in this game… I meant it more… seriously, than I was letting on. If your character dies three times… somehow, it… it just cuts off your life. So… you really shouldn’t stay here…"

Maya gently pushed Azykia away.

"I’m sorry I didn’t tell you earlier," she added, barely audible as she turned away, biting her lip.


@Azykia

 

[Azykia]

And it was just like that, that her crying stopped. Her eyes widened as such an intense revelation was poured onto her, yet they lidded halfway shortly after. It certainly was shocking to hear something like that about a video game. Then again, if a movie can cause seizures and kill people, why wouldn't a highly immersive and realistic game like this be able to accomplish the same far more easily? She came to terms with that possibility being real fairly quickly. Not that this was the only reason.

Her eyes opened again as she was released and gently pushed away by her older sister. Just as she had come to terms with the whole thing, she was being... rejected? Why?

It didn't take Azzy long to pull herself out of her spiral of self-importance, as she realized just how kind the person playing Celestine truly was as she stood in silent semi-shock for a while. She glanced down and curled the fingers of only her right hand, pressing the nail of her middle finger into her palm almost hard enough to make it bleed. Almost. If Celestine was going to be this transparent with her, to simply say something from the perspective of Azykia just wouldn't be authentic enough.

If the grand illusionist's smoke and mirrors gave,​

if the stage that had been set before was now clearing out,​

now that she had finally stepped up to play her part,

for the sake of being able to continue chasing the only breadcrumbs of joy she had ever found in the last seven years, Kaya would sell this stranger her truth.

She put a hand over her chest in a loose fist as she was wont to do and tilted her head down before finally shattering the silence. All of the emotion had cleared out of her voice, leaving a very monotonous tone and a voice with so little energy it was all it could do to manage to make its way out of the young girl's throat at all. Slow, quiet, monotonous, but somehow painfully sincere.

"Tell me that somebody can't die in the real world. You can't, can you? Much less... being able to die more than once? Terrasphere sounds a lot safer already."

"All that awaits me in that dull place is... a caged bird's existence. Do you know what it's like to be surrounded by a secret service anytime you step out of the house? Assuming they let you. Usually, they... insist on doing my errands for me."

"Have you ever tried to starve yourself to death just to escape the aridity of a world where you can't possibly fail, only to be forcefully put on IV feeds to keep you alive anyways?"

"I may not have a life worth complaining about, but also... I don't have friends, like other people do. I don't know who you are, either, now that I think about it. We might only be getting along in the least through merit of theatrics to begin with."

"Despite that, whoever you are... I don't want to lose the only thing that has made me feel anything but caustic apathy in seven years. Whether that's you, or... Celestine. I know how my luck runs. One day, my father will find out I've been playing Terrasphere, and he'll try to drag me out of it for the same sort of reasons that you've provided. His little angel will be safe from the last chance at happiness she ever had."

"So if it's okay with you, I... would like to play this game a little longer. With you."

@Celestine