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[Ultimately, and especially at this particular stage of their relationship, there is very little that Silent Salt would do to Shadow Milk, even if he barred entry. Probably go back to sleeping in the stables with Nox. It had been a tempting idea, if not for the Wood Crawlers. Even now, the idea calls to him but...

... People come back here. Elder Faerie could come back. And Salt would be in for the scolding of a lifetime if that happened.

He trudges inside, door all but slammed behind him, determined to make his way to his room. Would, if not for the voice that stops him in his tracks. He turns, armor clanking as he studies Shadow Milk once more.]

I told you I meant to slumber, did I not?

If you're capable of sleeping after what I just saw, then I truly wouldn't know what to make of you, Silent Salt Cookie.

[He walks his way towards the Inn's kitchen, waving a hand. He can only extent his olive branch so far, however.]

I don't need the Light of Deceit to know that, either. Do what you wish! I'll drink the tea, if nothing else!

[Once again, rage flickers down the span of Silent Salt's form. Once again, it fades just as quickly, leaving him feeling hollow. He hates that Shadow Milk is right. The sight of what should have been Elder Faerie dances behind his eyes even if he so much as blinks.

He knows he'll need to check on Puck soon enough. But for right now, he merely gives a stiff nod, before following after.

And, well... eventually he does remember his manners.]

You helped me find... what was left. For that, at least, I should thank you.

[The problem is, is that he understands, and that is a very uncomfortable thought for him, too. This is surely where this weird bout of sympathy is coming from.]

It was all I could do, since this disgusting moon situation has robed me of even more of my magic.

[If not, perhaps there would have been something to save. Perhaps that Fool would not have gotten into that situation to begin with, it's hard to say.]

You're lucky my connection to the beholders hadn't been severed with it, of course.

[This is a very round about way of saying "You're Welcome." He goes rummaging through the cabinets like he lives here. Sets a kettle on the stove.]

...Better to have found something than nothing at all.

It is... good that you did not try to do more.

[For all that Silent Salt had wanted Shadow Milk dead once, that desire has been sapped from him. Acknowledging that he had been complicit in the other Cookie's corruption, and thus in the corruption of the remaining virtues, had altered everything. And while that did not mean he forgave Shadow Milk for what came after, it had cast everything into a far different light.

In any case, he knows he was lucky, just as he knows both he and Elder Faerie were likely unworthy of any kindness offered by Shadow Milk. They had both bound the Beast, after all.

But he does not say this. He simply shakes his head.]

I do not know if I agree. Had I been able to salvage something of him, perhaps. But... anything else would have perpetuated the curse. It was almost cruel to find him like that.

[But there isn't any sort of malice or vitriol in those words. He had been able to confirm there was nothing. That had to be enough.]

Perhaps I will take some tea.

[Shadow Milk pulls down another mug without another word. He sets it down on the table closest to Salt.]

[Now comes the agonizing wait for the kettle while Shadow Milk debates with the halves of his brain that wants to have a conversation with Salt and the other half that wants to maybe poison his tea. He knows the devil talking in his ear is much easier to ignore these days, and he knows the first one is what Vanilla would want. Ugh.]

[Maybe also, he wants to understand this fool in front of him better, to find out where it all went so wrong.]

Truth is cruel, yes. It's almost cookie nature to want to turn from it, if it hurts. To find nothing at all would seem sweeter, and yet wouldn't the question have haunted you?

[This is also spoken without any vitriol. He's simply positing a thought.]

Did you ever think to question why I might have gone to challenge the Forest directly? When I told you of it's weakness all that time ago?

[Sure it must have sounded off to Salt at the time, that the chessmaster would just go in himself, to insight a confrontation.]

[It would have, they both know that. In the past, the fact that Shadow Milk read that much so easily would have infuriated him. Perhaps he would have smashed the nearby doorway for the presumption, or reached for Shadow Milk's throat and strangled him, just as the former had tried not so long ago. His own skin aches with both the memory and the mere desire.]

Knowing how he met his end... If - When he returns, I will know what to expect of his state. How to assist, if needed. [His head bows. Recovery will not be easy. But at least he'll have a chance.

As for the question Shadow Milk poses — it had stood out, when they had discussed it. But there were so many other questions rattling within Silent Salt's head that he had not taken the time to ask. Now, though...]

You lost something, then? Or perhaps, someone?

[He does almost wait for some kind of reaction to come, even if, for once, he wasn't trying to rile him up.]

Armed with that knowledge will aid his recovery, certainly.

[He takes the kettle off the stove, raises his hand as if to call something with his magic, realizes belatedly that nothing has happened, then he grunts in irritation and pulls a tea canister out of the cabinet.]

[He sets the hot kettle on the table like a barbarian to get the tea canister open, trying to get his claws under the lip of the lid to pry off. truly, being without magic is wretched and awful.]

You've heard that Pure Vanilla Cookie was someone who was here before but lost his memory upon returning, yes? I did not take kindly to the Forest taking what was mine.

[He manages pull back too hard on one of his nails trying to get the lid open, which makes him swear in a couple dead languages before he finally pops the top off and retrieves a few tea bags.]

The morning I woke to his disappearance, I felt my soul torn asunder, a pain I hope you never have to endure.

[While Shadow Milk busies himself with the tea, Salt turns his attention toward removing his helmet, at the very least. Much as he doesn't relish the idea of showing his face right now, he can't enjoy tea with it on. He'll just have to hope that the other Beast doesn't pay too much attention to how little he can control the emotions that cross his face.

Like how his brows manage to just barely lift at Shadow Milk's failed display. Just a little.]

I have heard this much, yes. [It seems... odd, for one iteration of a Cookie to somehow be different, but so do a great many other things in this place.

The thought is pushed to the back of his mind as he twists, concern briefly lining his features before he remembers exactly who he's dealing with. Even now, some of that camaraderie they once shared comes naturally. Especially of late.

... He wonders if removing his helmet was a terrible idea after all. Especially when Shadow Milk imparts a bitter reminder of his own actions. Salt's violet gaze falls to his still gauntlet-covered hands.]

In many ways, I do not have to imagine it. Not quite. [He should not admit this, not when things are so fraught. Or perhaps it is the only time to admit such things, considering Shadow Milk's limited ability to harm him.] I felt such a tear as I tried to destroy my other half. Through our link, I felt her pain as I attempted to burn her alive.

Now, I must sit and live with what I did to her, every day.

[But that is neither here nor there. He had not meant to turn this revelation around on himself.]

I apologize for not only your loss, but the grief you must have felt, meeting Pure Vanilla Cookie as he is now. Without the memory you two shared.

[This, too, he can relate to.]

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