"You're asking...? Uhhhhh, hmm. It's? Probably fine? Is that what you?"

Beljani has no idea what to do with her hands. Is she allowed to touch a princess? Is that a sin? Is that something you do when you comfort people? Maybe a shoulder pat or a... oh no, no no no, she doesn't know this girl well enough for a hug! What is she thinking? Gods, this is [i]so[/i] not fair. This is, like, you could not have made her live a life that would have left her less prepared to handle the whole 'comfort and support' thing. She didn't even have her letter writer with her! 

What a... man. This would be so much easier if she just spread into Redana. You know, a little. To give her a nudge. But that's... bad. That's a bad thing to do. It is bad to infect the girl your sister has been openly pining for with your pheromones right in front of her. Behind her. Whatever! She attempts the next best thing which is... reaching out and shaking Redana's hand? Ugh, kill her now, please. No wait, no no, don't! 

Cringe. Cringe, cringe, cringe. Beljani sighs. 

"Ok, can I be honest? I don't really know a lot about how the temples work, either. You know, when we were- when Bella, and Mynx, and Beautiful and I were kids, there were... more of us, right? We had teachers, almost. But then they got marched off on some sort of mission and just never came home again and it. Uh. It was just us. And Mother. And, you know, she's got that whole garden philosophy thing going on and, let me just say, understanding the ins and outs of how we actually work? Not a priority for her. Wasted education. Gotta... trim those leaves, so they only grow in the 'proper' direction."

She shudders, in spite of herself. Come on, 'Jani. Mother's gone now, you even found your in with Bella. You are supposed to be becoming the universe's coolest wingman right now, why are you getting flustered by the memory of someone who's out of your life forever? Because she was [i]in[/i] your life forever, duh. Ugh, why was it so hard to know what to say? If they were going to call her an 'Oratus' couldn't they at least have taught her some basic public speaking skills? 

She pinches her cheek. Not hard, mind you. Nothing about her life since Sahar has made her fall in love with pain. Just... a little thing. To remind herself that it's there. That [i]she's[/i] there. And who all in this big empty stupid hallway she had to thank for that.

"Do I think Bella will ever forgive you? Dunno if that's even relevant. You're not... you're not the one she's having problems forgiving. If you think it sounds bad being a bioweapon just imagine being her. Nobody even told her what she was until it was too late to do anything with that information. I don't know if Mother erased it or just disguised it all or what, but she put a lot of work into Bella that she didn't bother with for the rest of us. But that kind of effort comes with... expectations."

A sigh. This feels like the sixth best version of an explanation that seemed to be taking her all day to give while still leaving out two thirds of the best or most useful information. But she couldn't stop talking. As stupid as the words were, there wasn't anybody else around to save them. And honestly, gods be damned? If she was committed to plunging through a bathtub full of Beautiful's forgetfulness potion and turning into goo on the other side? She'd at least walk into that last goodnight knowing her tongue had accomplished one good deed in the galaxy. Her tongue. Not her virus. [i]Her.[/i]

"If you think Bella sounds like two people to you, I think... we all agree. I don't know how many people Bella thinks she is, or thinks she has to be I guess, to keep everything going, I just know she expects every single one of them to be flawless at all times. It's not a great way to be. I mean, I wasn't there but, I... heard. That she killed Mynx on the battlefield, while she was Trēdecima. Or at least, she tried to. And that'd be bad enough, but she did it thinking it was you the whole time. That's a lot, right? You think so too, right?

Just... I don't know. All I can really tell you is that Bella and I are family. We both agreed and that makes it true and I dare you to tell me otherwise. So I'm... I'm with her, until I can't follow her any further. And she's with me, until we run into the same wall. And we were, honestly, horrible people to each other before this, so... no. I don't, I don't know. 

She... just. The way she chased after you. The way she dragged the rest of us into it. It was not just a job to her, even though jobs are basically supposed to be all she has. I don't know what to tell you, Princess. I just don't. I feel like... I mean, well, I wrote her a really nice letter, that seemed to work pretty nice. You want me to hook you up? Might as well, right? Not like we've got time to hesitate anymore, right right?"

Beljani does her best to smile bravely. She definitely succeeds at smiling, but whatever kind of smile it is she is much too nervous to figure it out for herself.