Did he mess up? Did he already ruin a friendship?

"It's fine, broski." Fresh reminded him of his presence, walking forward. "He'll chill out for a bit. He gets agitated a lot. Thanks for stickin' up for me though. You didn't need to." He assured, patting his shoulder.
"I don't want him to hurt his own family in frustration. I know he's mostly just scared for Geno. I feel it when he talks about him. Geno.. is really important to him, and he feels frustrated that you don't love him the same. I.. I think he considers you.. evil? For that?" Nix shuddered then, the statement bringing up awful memories.

"Guess it can't be helped." Fresh shrugged, pocketing his hands.
"I'm more of an unwitting neutral guy here."
At that, Nix stared at him. Fresh blinked, but otherwise returned the gaze.
"..You do care. You just can't.. feel it."
"Sure." He shrugged again, disbelieving.

Nix looked down, knowing he was aware of things simply no one else could feel. He could see the Soul, something made of both magic and material that was rarely altered by magic itself. It knew, when the structures first came, that it was dangerous to alter the natural forms they took.
But the greater plane had come to recognize patterns, aware of how they generally should be.

That understanding was part of him, and with it, he could see what was different, what was blocked.
Nix reached out and tapped Fresh, right on his sternum.
"Uh, whatcha doin' there?"
He didn't respond. Simply poked with energy. It was loose already, trying to flow while the magic forming the barrier was afraid to break, afraid to alter what had been since the child's birth. He simply.. impressed that it was alright.

He wasn't sure if that helped, but he stepped away all the same.
"You have the capacity to feel. It's just locked away." He explained vaguely. Let the other see his poke as making a point. Fresh didn't need to know he'd been meddled with.
"Kay.. wanna grab a snack while Error cools off?"
He hesitated, glancing up towards the door Error had vanished behind. It was the first time Error got truly angry at him.
"Alright." He agreed faintly, following when Fresh turned and left.

"Hey, Ma." Fresh greeted his mother, the woman standing at the island in the middle of the kitchen, zipping up baggies.
"Hi, sweetie. And hey there, Nix! Do you like it here so far?"
Smiling wide like the other children his age, Nix replied as happily as he could. "It's very nice! I learned how to play Gang Beasts!"
She snorted at that. "That game, huh? I was hoping for something a little less aggressive, but what's done is done. Is Error still playing?" She seemed rather hopeful at that, though expecting otherwise.

"Nah, he went upstairs cuz' Nix defended me?" Fresh explained, a bit confused. She cringed at that, stepping closer. "Are you okay?" She asked both of them, adding apologetically to Nix. "I know his treatment to his brother isn't very nice to see."
"He's told me before how angry he feels." Nix admitted, trying to sound small.
"I just think it's stupid to hate someone because they can't feel. It just hurts everyone else instead."

He ignored the look Fresh was giving him for the unusual shift in tone and behavior. Thankfully, he said nothing as the mother sighed sadly.
"You're quite perceptive for your age. I'm glad you're friends with him, he doesn't have very many."
"None of us have many friends, Ma." Fresh stated pointedly. She nodded patiently. "I can be proud when one of you three makes another friend."

Nix watched the interaction, a little confused. This wasn't how children this age behaved with their parents. Granted, Fresh clearly didn't act emotionally but logically instead, but it was still unfamiliar.
"Is something the matter?" The woman asked him, a little concerned.
"Is it how I talk?" Fresh asked intuitively.
Nix nodded, still lost but welcoming the blunt address of the question.

"I'm told I act more mature for my age." Fresh explained easily, leaning on the counter. "I just think more logically is all." He echoed Nix's own conclusion.
"I figured as much." He admitted shyly. "I just wasn't prepared to see it."
"Oh! Are you a reader? Fresh has a lot of books in his room if you want to take a look while Error's upstairs."
..His vocabulary must have tipped her off.

"I dunno if any of 'em are to his interest, though. They're pretty advanced, remember?"
"It doesn't hurt to offer new things to learn." She fired back with an amused smile. Nix was continually puzzled at their behavior, though he decided not to bother anymore. It was a conundrum he'd solve later. There was time.

The decision was made then, Fresh waving Nix along to follow him upstairs.
He obliged, though hesitant as he neared Error's door. He could feel the general color of emotions behind it, all angry and aching and anxious. He wanted Error to not feel that way. He wanted to help, but he wasn't sure how. Fresh watched him stare at the door, entirely indifferent yet understanding all the same.

After a few seconds, he switched off the near subconscious display of facial expressions and regarded Fresh, knowing the other wouldn't care either way. Not yet, at least.
"What kind of books do you have?" He whispered, mindful of the one in the nearby room.
Fresh only blinked, then opened his door.
"Some books on spatial displacement and temporal distortion, all dat. Theories on subspace stuff. I don't got much on history or fiction or nothin'. Didn't want to bother."

Nix was soon staring at a floor to ceiling bookshelf taking up an entire wall, reading the many titles. He was surprised at how much seemed specifically space themed, though he hadn't read much on those subjects. He sort of already knew them, though in an abstract, not quite explicable way. Part of him was woven into existence- at least, magic was.

Sometimes he wondered if there was a divide between himself and magic. It wouldn't make sense for there to be, that was all he was. He was magic made physical, thinking like the creatures made of matter. He was connected to everything that had magic. Yet because he was built in semblance of a skeleton, he felt different. A little isolated, though most of that could easily be explained by the fact that only so much magic could condense into one space.

He shook himself out of his thoughts, humming.
"It would be nice to see what you know on the subjects."
"So you do read about it? Neato!"
Nix debated how to respond, or if he should at all.
"Something like that." He decided, pulling out one of the books and flipping it open.

But a shift in the room had him looking up, seeing Fresh standing closer with a calculating look on his face. "Y'know you're pretty interesting, broski."
"I've been told as such before." Nix conceded, glancing at the page.

"Error's said a lot about you." Fresh added.
That had him looking back up, scrutinizing Fresh just as blankly. Unfortunately, he still had emotions, as little as they could show on his face.
He was nervous. What was the other thinking about? He was quite logical for a child, there was a distinct possibility that if he knew anything Nix had told Error, that he could go to an adult and be believed. And there were dangers in that.
On the other hand, if he cared, Fresh might already be aware of those risks.
"Is any of it true?" Fresh finally asked.

Nix slowly closed the book, studying the curious face in front of him. He had spent many years studying expressions, but all of that meant next to nothing when faced with someone who literally couldn't feel and express himself like mortals tended to.

However, he could still be curious and cautious.
So, ignoring what he knew to be a fake friendly smile, Nix glanced at the wall. He could still sense the irritation on the other side, though now it seemed shot through with more fear. Bordering on panic.
Error might be listening.

"I don't want to be forced to flee again." Nix started slowly, still gazing at the wall.
"I know Error is hurting. I didn't mean to make him so upset earlier, but I want him to be happier. If he can let go of his anger towards you, he would be. But he might be even more stressed if I have to leave again, and it would hurt me too. I like being his friend." He explained, not yet answering the question.

When he did look at Fresh, he studied the slight frown the other had. He seemed confused, maybe caught a little off guard. It might mean he had no intention of what Nix had insinuated, but he couldn't be sure.
He could never be sure, really.
"Do you intend on telling adults about me?"

Fresh leaned back at the question, looking concerned. Maybe there was a hint of real concern, but again, he couldn't be sure.
"Nah, man. I'm just curious for myself. You're a good friend to Error. You're right about him stressin' too much. Nothin' I can do, but friends are a good distraction from all dat. And he only had Ink before."

Magic curled in delighted understanding, though his face remained empty.
"I'm glad Ink is his friend, as irritable towards him as he is. I couldn't tell if he was a friend or not before, Error wouldn't specify."
"He just be like that, though. I'd ask ya to be patient with him, but I get the feeling you're already really patient.. all the time."

"Patience is a part of my being." Nix admitted with a shrug. "Though after.. 20 or so years, I can start to run out of it." He finally smiled faintly, deciding he'd confused the other with his natural state enough. He felt he could trust Fresh. As difficult as their relationship was, Fresh still looked out for his brother… and his own curiosity, though who was he to judge? Emotions or not, Nix was the same. He existed because of curiosity.

"Do you just not grow up or something?" Fresh questioned, sitting on his bed.
Nix glanced at him, a bit surprised at the question. Error had even found out when he was unearthed from the ice and didn't ask.
"..I stopped aging when I was taken from Nevaska." He answered vaguely.
"Did he also talk about Nevaska?"
"It's real? It kinda sounds like someone mashed Nevada and Alaska together."

Nix huffed his amusement. "A complete coincidence. All three names have different meanings in their languages."
At that, Fresh gave him a look. "Nevada and Alaska are words in another language? You just know that?"
Nix hesitated, not actually reading as he stared at the page.
"If you are aware that I was in ice for a few thousand years, then you know I didn't emerge with an instant knowledge of the languages spoken. I learned them."
"All of them? Pretty sure there's hundreds. And it'd take longer than 20 years for sure."

Well, it looked like he'd be answering questions more than reading. He closed the book, sighing. He wanted Fresh to know that while he'd answer, it was still a bit of a tiring explanation.
"I don't think this is something anyone else can do, but I tend to learn through memories." He paused, seeing Fresh cross his legs in intrigue, patting beside him.

Nix took the seat, placing the book between them as Fresh asked. "Where do the memories come from?"
"People." Nix answered simply, looking away at the mildly concerned look.
"Do you know why I survived in ice for so long?"
"According to Error, you're made completely out of magic, though that doesn't make sense. Magic needs atoms to bond together, otherwise it's loose and unable to hold shapes-" "No." Nix was a little baffled at the explanation, frowning openly now.

"No, magic doesn't need matter to hold a shape. Magic can do that just fine. It simply doesn't want to. Last time it held shapes without any matter, it discovered it could easily break apart the moment it thought of a new priority. Nevaska was created entirely of magic. Only the people and the protected forest surrounding them had matter." He paused in his bewildered rant at the strange look Fresh was giving him.
"Doesn't want to?" Fresh echoed.

Nix stared for a moment, then sighed.
"Yes. Magic learned a while ago about consequences."
"You think magic's something with awareness?" Fresh was genuinely interested, though he didn't believe him.
Nix considered how to continue. He'd explained so much already, but he had never thought he'd get that far before, and he didn't know how to continue.
..So why not the beginning?

"Magic.. has always held sentience. It just isn't like yours. It always existed free of physical boundaries, naturally intangible and unseen, lacking needs of the flesh. No instincts, no fear. Magic cannot feel emotions like people. Doesn't think like people, doesn't even speak like them. Magic speaks.. through will color-shapes. Most of that cannot even be seen by people, but some can be felt." He hesitated, almost looking at Fresh.

Then he made his natural expression visible, a swathe of twisting colors, though now limited to what few colors mortals could see.
"This is how I normally show my feelings. I was born speaking this, though in the beginning I didn't realize it was usually invisible. I just looked emotionless without meaning to. I'm used to showing my emotions like people now, though." He smiled at Fresh, who was still studying the geometric and organic shapes around them.
"It's like nebulas met math.."

Nix let him stare a minute longer.
"Magic can think and feel, though it exists as a formless plane. I think you're smart enough to see that is very different from how monsters and humans exist."
Fresh slowly processed that, frowning thoughtfully.
"If it is so different from us and simultaneously intelligent, why haven't we at least seen signs? Why is it in and a part of our biology?"
"Magic recognized the intelligence in humans when they first appeared. Monsters were created slowly because magic was trying to get on the same level to both understand and communicate. That didn't quite work as intended; after all, monsters are their own people with their own Souls. Something about the matter in their makeup remained distinctive enough to leave magic present and aware, but still unable to understand."

On impulse, he reached out, gently turning Fresh's now puzzled face towards him, staring.
"Your thoughts and language are alien to magic. Sure, it can associate word-sounds with certain things, but the structure and meaning just doesn't make sense."
"...Like AI? No, AI just kinda generates the most likely words to communicate." He frowned, still thinking.

Nix shrugged. "On its own, magic can put together some words, but the order likely won't make sense and connotations are completely lost, and tone.. tone is hopelessly confusing. Metaphors are incomprehensible."
Fresh hummed, idly pulling away so he could lean forward. "That makes sense, though. From an outside perspective that has no frame of reference, it wouldn't make sense. Though if it wanted to understand and has existed since before the dawn of civilization, then wouldn't it have gotten somewhere? I mean, it had to watch languages develop, right?"

"Magic tried, but there's only so far it can get until the differences prevent further understanding." Nix explained, remembering despite the memories being from before his own existence.
"And because it lacks boundaries and even the concept of such, it created the first monsters and existed in humans, too. Nothing really worked then, so it put more of itself in ensuing generations until-" He cut off, remembering her. The one that understood him, that loved him. She was still out there, still alive. She had lived all that time awake. He wasn't sure what it was like, but he hoped she was alright, wherever she was.
…He missed being able to tell where she was.

"Given how it is thrown about here and there, I think god is the best name to give those made of mostly magic. They were more of a bridge. Magic could generally understand her emotions and she could grasp the color-shapes and emotions of magic, too."
"A goddess, then?" Fresh suggested, fascinated. "What was her name?"
"She was Ulwandle Chuyma, and in English that means something like the heart of the sea."
"A sea goddess?" Fresh asked.
"Her family was of fish monsters." Nix explained simply.
"Did you know her?"

Nix wasn't comfortable answering that yet, so he ignored the question.
"Magic was proud of her abilities. Proud of itself for being part of her and just proud of the person she became, so it wanted to give her friends. However, while she existed in the land created by magic, Nevaska, the others weren't. The original idea was to have a better grasp on the rest of the world while introducing new outsiders to Nevaska, but…" He paused again, Fresh watching as the aura of colors and shapes grew darker and bolder, coiling tightly and anxiously.

"Nevaska was a land made to keep people safe and happy. It succeeded in that, and was full of people who were protected, comfortable, and could create as they wished with what little magic could grasp of their will, but.. the rest of the world wasn't like that. It was full of danger and mistrust, and back then magic couldn't grasp fear or even trust. Lack of trust, anyway."
Fresh wisely let him speak, staying silent.

"But while Chuyma had left to meet her younger friends-to-be and tell them about Nevaska, I was born. Basically magic hoped that maybe if it replaced all matter in a being, it could understand." He shrugged as Fresh blinked, looking him over.
"But because there's no matter within me, no physical mind, I am still odd." He glanced at Fresh again, the other expectant.

"I can understand language. I can be given memories and understand, and because I am simply magic made physical, that understanding spreads. There are still some strange things though. I can feel as you do, though I don't automatically show it on my face like you, I express the same as magic. I had to learn how to express like you."
"You're pretty good at it in that case."

Nix smiled in gratitude, turning to face the wall again.
"There are still things I need explained to me, but when they are I can understand them. That means a lot. I'm.. essentially a success after a few thousand years of trying to understand people."
"Why does it care, though?" Fresh asked.

Nix regarded him blankly, baffled at first. Then he realized he hadn't mentioned anything about how magic felt, at all.
"Because when humanity first emerged as intelligent, magic realized it was lonely. And curious. And for a very long time it was trying to communicate, partly because despite how much the destructive tendencies of humanity scares it, magic still loves them very much. People can accomplish so much despite how small you are. Look at society, for example."

Fresh slid his gaze across the room, nodding in consideration despite frowning.
"... That's a lot to think about." He admitted.
"Is it too much?" Nix asked, nervous.
"For someone else, it definitely would be. I'm just thinkin', though." Fresh assured, staring straight ahead with his thoughtful, though somewhat empty eyelights.

Then he asked a peculiar question.
"If you're an extension of magic itself, then would you say you think for it? Like talking to you is talking to something woven into the fabric of the universe?" He paused as Nix considered the thought.
"Basically, from what I understand, you're more or less a mouthpiece of capital G God."

"I don't like religion. It's strange." Nix quickly explained before giving the queries more thought.
"Though apart from that.. yes? I do the mortal thinking for magic, though sometimes it feels there's a divide somewhere. However, that doesn't actually make sense."
"You don't seem to view magic as yourself." Fresh pointed out. "You seem to refer to it and yourself as separate. You and it. Though technically would magic be a they since-"
"Magic is it." Nix decided.
"That feels like objectification though."

"..Yes and no. Magic is but also isn't an object. A thing, but more. See, mountains are an it, as is the sun and moon. Snowflakes are an it, as are flowers. I don't see why a sense of gender or personhood should be applied to magic when it is so very far from people that it needs me to actually grasp mortal concepts at all. I am he because I was made to be a he. I'm as close to normal as magic can be, and with normal comes gender. I could have been one of the in-betweens, but that seems to further complicate things when my very existence is already complicated. And sometimes dangerous. Magic feels mortal emotions through me. It feels fear when I am afraid, and it feels hate when I do- though I don't think I've ever hated something."

Fresh stared at him throughout the long explanation, confused yet fascinated.
"So.. what exactly happens when you do get spooked?"
Nix didn't answer for a moment. He tried to speak, but couldn't. It took several tries before he could manage it.
"Magic.. I. It panics. Imagine if you suddenly felt pure terror for the first time." He suggested, magic coiling anxiously. Fresh regarded the new colors and spiked shapes as Nix hesitantly continued, somewhat panicky and defensive.

"It rushes to protect, is all. Magic just forgets what else it is doing when that happens. There's nothing.. malicious happening. It's just fear. It's not even fighting back, it's just a quick attempt to shield, there's just.. a lot that rushes in." He looked away, wondering if maybe he should have lied instead.

"So it doesn't turn out well for those standing between you and magic?" Fresh concluded.
Nix didn't need to nod. He'd figured it out.
"... Listen, I don't really get the emotion biz.." Fresh shifted the topic, opening the book sitting between them. "But it sounds like those accidents really messed with ya."
"There is a reason I am the only one."
"And dat's cool. Wasn't your fault though. You're all magic but you're also a kid, right? And fear's not fun. But you've been around for a while now, haven't ya? Isn't it a bit easier to know when or when not to be scared?"

That gave him pause, staring at the floor as thoughts whirled in his skull, magic spinning slowly in nervous consideration.
"...That is true.." He agreed faintly. He still chose to be alone.
"But I do not think it is safe for another like me to exist. If this much has happened for me to gain control of my fear, then another like myself cannot be risked. They could end up destroying far more in an ill-fated moment of fear. I at least was born in the safety of Nevaska." Some of it was justification for himself rather than explanation to Fresh.

Fresh didn't seem bothered. "Are you saying that you can decide if someone else made of all magic can be born? I wasn't even thinking of more folks like you."
Nix hesitated. Maybe he'd misunderstood a little. Fresh had never mentioned others like himself, he'd simply thought of it all on his own. Was Fresh just trying to reassure him? The gesture meant a lot more coming from someone who couldn't even feel fear. At least, not really. He wasn't sure how much emotion filtered through the strange block in the other.

Eventually he just shrugged. "My bad. I suppose I am still used to the desires of several thousand years ago. It's on my mind more often than not."
"..The desires of magic?" Fresh hesitantly elaborated.
Nix nodded, hugging his kneecaps to himself more out of habit than anything.
"I was born as an attempt to understand, of course. When I was still growing up, I was rather convinced that another like me would have to be born to better understand people, though now I believe most of the issues were from people not being willing to reach out and help me understand them. They simply expected me to and were disappointed when I did not. It still is the case today."

Fresh actually frowned at that.
"Pretty uncool of them, if you ask me. Not everybody is like that, Nix."
He blinked. That might have been the first time Fresh had actually said his name.
The child kept staring at him. "Really. I don't know if you really know this, but not everyone's the same. At the end of the day we're all a little different, and that's okay. You just need to find someone who can listen to you. Heck, Ma could be one of those people. She's really good at explaining emotional stuff that I don't get, she could probably help you too if you decide to trust her."

Nix stared for some time, processing that. The genuine concern shown to him despite the lack of affection or real care was somehow.. far more touching than all the other offers for help people have given him over the years. He wasn't sure if it was because it lacked something disingenuous that others had or if it had something the others didn't. Maybe it was both.

Mortals continued to puzzle him, but for once, Nix considered the thought that maybe they were confused by themselves too. If that were the case, then who was he to try to understand that which did not even understand itself?

At the very least, he started to hope that one day he would be able to help them be better. If he couldn't understand them fully, then.. maybe that was okay. Maybe he could just share the love he felt. The love magic had, the love that remained despite the fear.
It was okay to love and fear something simultaneously, right?

Why did he even ask? It didn't matter. He was both a child and a piece of something that existed alone since memory began. Let it love that which had risen closer to its station. Perhaps mortals could even one day make themselves undying.
But that day was still in the future. Nix was here and now, discovering more and more.

"I'll think about it." He finally admitted, peering at Fresh as the other stopped running his phalanges through the intangible light. Fresh smiled at him openly, though it seemed more to reassure him than anything. Fresh couldn't care either way, not yet.
But he would, Nix decided. He'd work on that block slowly. Fresh deserved to feel as his kind should. If Nix could feel emotions like mortals, then it would be unfair to leave a mortal incapable of feeling what was theirs to feel.

Fresh finally held out the book, Nix taking it in slight confusion.
"Since you can remember basically any memory at will, then can that extend to stuff about space?" He asked, shifting the subject to something much lighter than before.
Nix snorted at that, flipping a few pages until it landed on a large photo of a nebula.
"Well, when it comes to what lies beyond the world, memories are from magic alone, not picked up from minds it has been a part of. So it is a little.. difficult? To put into words?"

"Does magic not see normally?" Fresh quested intuitively.
"It can." Nix began thoughtfully. "But it sees more than others. And it doesn't see patterns like you do, so it can't compare easily. More, sometimes seeing something for magic isn't just visually looking at something, but also feeling in a way? Do you understand what I mean?"
"How does it feel things?" Fresh inquired.

Nix tapped the page, debating how to phrase it.
"..There is a bit of magic spread throughout the universe. Thinly, of course, but still there. It feels everything, though rarely can anything actually affect it."
"Can black holes affect magic?"
"Yes! Very strangely too. Parts of it have been changed by being too close, and it has lost some of itself to them as well."
"Changed?" Fresh probed. Nix could only shrug. "I'm not sure how to explain in words."

That had the child humming, mulling over the information with a clearly scientific mind.
"Dat's fascinatin'.."
"Thank you." Nix stated, unsure of how else to respond. Fresh sat up. "But how fast exactly can magic travel? Light speed? A little slower?"
Nix winced. "Depends. It can appear in and out of space if wanting to travel somewhere far away, but for all else it prefers to physically move there. The speed changes depending on how far away it is, but it is normally faster than sound. You know sound has a speed, ri-"
The doorbell rang.

It made Nix jump, but otherwise he just stared at the door in surprise.
Fresh simply stood up. "Guess that's that, then. I'll ask more later."
"But..?" He blinked quizzically over, getting up as well.

"Oh, ya don't know?" Fresh asked before shaking his skull. "Nevermind. Ink was visitin' today as well. Error probably wanted you to meet."
Nix stared for another few seconds before regarding the wall.
"Does he still want to? I upset him!"

"He gets mad all the time." Fresh shrugged. "He'll be fine. Just come downstairs, Geno will probably be up soon anyway. Error is always with him."
He opened the door, and Nix automatically slipped his color-shapes back out of sight, following uncertainly.

Down the stairs they went, hearing a cheery voice chattering and two adults in lower tones. He recognized the mother, but the new voice still felt somewhat familiar. In fact, the air was slightly saturated to him, magic taking on the energy of another being. It was familiar, but he couldn't place it yet. It made him happy, at least, as he grabbed his forgotten plush beside the couch.

As he straightened, another child rushed in, lighting up at the sight of him before pausing.
"Oh! Who are you?" He asked, hugging a coloring book close and squinting a little.
Nix hesitated, shocked at how much magic was in the other, swirling erratically and in a contagious delight. He hadn't seen anyone with so much within them since Nevaska. It was startling. It also made him think.

Didn't.. the other children also have a bit more than the usual for this modern age? He only hadn't noticed because he didn't pay attention anymore, not when the lack of magic always felt empty when he thought about it.
Even the notes and hues looked familiar, making him ache deep inside. Like loss, or maybe he was experiencing this "nostalgia" for the first time. He couldn't tell.

"Are you okay? Did I scare you?" The other child asked, skull tilted to the side as his eyelights changed shapes and colors.
Oh.. fuck, he could never leave this family now. They reminded him of home.
"I- no, I just-" He stammered, remembering to express as he gestured vaguely. "You surprised me?" He offered awkwardly, still trying to place the familiar aura that was seeping further into the room from the kitchen.

"Ink?" The new voice called, still vaguely familiar. Magic seemed ecstatic, but the information wasn't reaching Nix fast enough, emotions whirling too quickly to grasp it yet.
"Are you scaring Error's new friend already? I asked you not to.."

The voice trailed off as a woman entered the living room, hazy orange irises flicking in dark eyes to stare at him. Her hands were yellow like his, with such painfully familiar gray scales.

Nix had no idea how to react. He hadn't expected to meet any gods again. He should have. He knew some still existed, the ones that attacked him were only a small number compared to all there was, but he still hadn't truly believed he'd meet another god. He thought he'd feel them long before seeing them.
Her energy could only fill the house. And he paid so little attention that he hadn't noticed until the last second.

".. Chuyma?" He didn't like how hard it was to breathe suddenly, but he had to be sure. Those eyes didn't seem to recognize him.
"Ulwandle Chuyma?" Nix whispered. She stared in confusion, but there was a hint of recognition there. The pink haired woman came up from behind, an awkward smile on her face. She made to speak, but hesitated at the faces in the room.

Nix was questioning himself in panic, did he just screw up? Was this just an impossible lookalike? No, that made no sense, magic didn't make mistakes. It knew itself.
All of a sudden she stumbled in place with a gasp, leaning on the doorframe. The parent behind her yelped as she was shoved back, asking if she was okay.
"Wh- Pantja? Pantja? Pantja?" She questioned rapidly, sounding just as winded as he felt.

At that point, lacking any other response, he could only repeat something Error had said many times whenever shocked by something.
"What.. the fuck."

Her face abruptly twisted up in utter bewilderment.
"Who taught you to say that?" She questioned hysterically.
"Probably Error." The new child, Ink, seemed the least affected by the situation as he deadpanned.
Nix didn't even know what else to say anymore.