Let the past die

Nodding vigorously, Emerald let out a pleased little sigh. She truly did love her brother, and was happy to meet someone else who agreed on how important your loved ones are. "I definitely will! He's so special - I love sticking close by him and watching him grow now that we're here and together again."

She placed a finger on her chin and thought for a moment before answering Selkiris' question. "Hm... Well, I think we've been on the island for two years now. Yes, I'm a student! I take college classes at the academy, I'm majoring in botany!" She couldn't help but clap her hands in innocent happiness as she discussed her major. "Botany is so interesting! I already love the plant world, so learning about all the science behind it is so interesting!"

"A librarian? That doesn't seem too boring! Reading is a lovely thing; Sunshine loves to read and it's a great way to obtain information!" Emerald couldn't help but flinch slightly though - in truth, she held an ever so slight grudge against paper books, due to the fact that the process of making paper meant cutting down trees and using them for manmade projects. However, seeing as she went to school, it was something she'd greatly learned to get over.

She was, though, a little put-off by Selkiris' question. "O-Oh... their name?" It wasn't that she was opposed to telling him - it was more that she was terrified to dare speak that name, for fear of being found and punished like they had been in the past. Yet... she thought back briefly to what he'd said about the past not defining you. Surely she was safe here... right? As such, she consented to speak it, albeit she did so in a voice barely able to be heard if it weren't for the quiet of the forest.

"Faenin... Th-Their name was Faenin, god of the forest."

Emerald was very relieved that Selkiris chose not to say the name aloud once more - it had taken all her strength just to have it said that once. However, she felt rather shocked to hear that he had some kind of theory involving how she and Sunshine had been created. What kind of theory? What did it mean? Yet she decided she was a bit too scared to ask, as it sounded like something rather ominous.

"A-Ah... well, I wish you luck in researching that!" She pulled at her hair and swished her tail before choosing to turn her mind back to her brother. "I really hope you can meet him someday... he really is so kind. He's a lot more wary of things than I am, but he's lovely when he opens up!" She couldn't help but chuckle as she studied Selkiris' appearance. "He may not take to you at first, but I'm sure with some reassurance he'd get there."

Emerald was silent for a moment, as she stared curiously at Selkiris' face. One would expect this to be a negative action, but it was quite the opposite - her innocent and kind nature didn't especially allow for her to recoil from someone based on appearance alone. After the silence had passed, she smiled before speaking, feeling almost sad that he felt his face would be hard to get used to.

"I understand... but, I don't think your face feels hard to get used to. I'm sure Sunshine wouldn't hate you for that alone either - everyone looks unique, and everyone deserves to be separated from their appearance. Or at least, I think that's what I've learned meeting all the people on the island!" She shrugged and laughed a little, not sure if she was making any sense, but hoping she could be at least a bit of comfort.

"Just like..." Emerald was unsure about how to react to Selkiris' first sentence. He didn't seem to mean any harm by it though, so she just decided to ignore it, perhaps ask about it some other time if she ever met him again. She laughed some at his comments about her being special though, and placed her hands over her cheeks in a slightly flustered manner. She was often called beautiful, but it had been ages since she'd heard someone who didn't seem to intend to harm her call her special.

"Well... I'm happy you think so!" Taking her hands down, she tilted her head to the side and then flung it back a little to get hair out of her face, before clasping her hands and staring at them, lost in happy thought for a moment. After a while, she looked up and observed Selkiris again. "You know... I think you're special too. You have - an interesting air to you, you know? You feel to me like someone who I can trust, even though... I'm not very good at that." She shuffled her feet at this, briefly thinking back to all the times she'd had discussions of trust in therapy.