maybe tomorrow - open; exhausted

[michael t.]

ALL I FOUND THE SPACE BETWEEN THE SPACES
STANDING IN THE NOTHING, AND TIME RECLAIMS YOU

Bitch. Bitchy bitch. Marianas's words certainly caught Michael off guard, and he wasn't able to hold back the small bout of laughter that left him. He knew well that Marianas couldn't control it, and he felt guilty about laughing, but he also knew Marianas would genuinely never say something like that to Vayne. As a result, he was quick to pat Vayne lightly on the head, saying with another light chuckle, "She can't quite control these things, Vayne. Like she said, she didn't mean it." He was fairly sure his niece could understand that Marianas was struggling, but he wanted to make sure he backed the girl up. Just so that Vayne wouldn't think Marianas was lying just to cover up calling her a bitch. It was pretty clear that Mari was already having a bad day – she didn't need anyone potentially scolding her over something she couldn't control. Although, knowing Vayne... there was definitely a non-zero chance she would end up not saying anything about possibly being insulted.

Seeing Marianas's distraught face over her tics made Michael's heart ache, and he was quick to agree with Harland. Nodding quickly in Har's direction, the dealer spoke firmly to Marianas, a smile on his muzzle, "Don't worry, Marianas... you're not an alien, or some kind of freak, or anything else like that. I can't imagine how frustrating this all must be... maybe you could try talking to Roan about it? Or one of the sages. They might know some things they could give you to help out, or they might be able to teach you how to deal with it more effectively. I wish I could help out more, but y'know. I don't wanna suggest anything wrong..." He chuckled lightly after that, briefly reaching up to scratch at the back of his own neck. Although he had seen others with tics in the past, he hadn't actually asked them how they dealt with their tics. Perhaps he should've, and then he'd be able to give more satisfying advice.

— Reggan