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"Hey, Legs, do you want to join me to find tomes today? I'd rather not go outside by myself if it gets dark."
Legundo wasn't too bothered by the question — he had been asked that multiple times since travelling to Oakhurst. Besides, Abolish was Legundo's friend — closest friend, if the doctor had to be honest. It wasn't like the other would betray him. Hopefully.
Legs quickly accepted the offer, following Abolish as he guided the two to a tomb. His face remained so.. blank. It was hard to read Abolish's expression at times. Legs tried his hardest to understand what features he could make out on the other's face, but it always led to no answer. It was concerning, admittedly, and Legundo was curious as to what thoughts ran through his head: he wanted to make sure his son-figure was alright, after all.
"How've you been holding up, by the way?" Legs enquired, hands in his robe's pockets. He hoped he didn't sound too nosy when speaking, but judging by Abolish's awkward glance back, it did.
"I've been alright, I guess," he answered, "Nothing's fantastic here, though. I don't know what you expected me to say."
An awkward chuckle escaped the shorter one, "Right! Yeah, I didn't know either."
Why Abolish never chose to point out his clear bluff was unclear, but Legundo respected it.
Abolish's gloved hand held a lantern in it, unlit but prepared in case nightfall came. Legs was surprised by how much Abolish hid away but still stood out, both physically and socially. Even if his monochromatic theme made it hard to spot him, the noble was easy to see aswell: his hair was always half-up, with a small braid at the front. He wondered how long it took to do that braid — it wasn't he had any hair to do it with — but never asked. It was a pointless question anyways, so what was the point in prying? Then again, Legundo did just ask a pointless question... hypocrite.
Pushing some strands away from his face, the taller of the both pointed towards a tomb (how did he find them so quickly?) and muttered something about not pushing Legs, which— that was still cruel. Legs still didn't (and wouldn't) forgive Abolish for that.
"Come on," Abolish gestured before falling down the tomb into the water below. Legundo followed suit, wincing when he hit the bottom: it was always a bother drying your lower half after a journey. Even if he was wearing solid boots, it never made it less annoying.
A groan was heard from the end of the corridor where Abolish already was, frowning, "Nothing here. Someone must've already come here."
"Oh well..." the doctor mumbled, shaking his head. The noble didn't respond to that, but frowned a little at how dismissive Legundo sounded. When Legundo looked over at Abolish, he could see the frown; it was nice to see the other display some kind of emotion other than unbothered. Speaking of emotion...
Perhaps now was a good time to ask? It was secluded and private (which Abolish would atleast appreciate), and Legundo knew that, if nothing was the matter, he could just leave.
As the noble was about to leave, Legundo gently grabbed his shoulder, causing the former to freeze. Sorry, Legs thought, though didn't vocalise it.
"Wait. May I ask you something? While we're down here, I mean."
Abolish looked at Legundo with a stare so intense it could almost be a glare. Legs flashed an apologetic grin, before he felt the shoulder relax in his grip. Phew.
"Sure," the short statement made Legundo relax himself, letting go of the other, "..what about?"
The return question was expected for the doctor. He didn't waste any time in replying, "I'm just curious about.. you. You told me about why you're here, and whatever else, but I want to know about..."
About what? Abolish probably wasn't going to tell every little thought, and Legundo didn't want to piss the (not-)butler off, so what was he wanting to know exactly?
"...about?"
"Why are you so distant?" was what Legs settled on. He could see the discomfort from Abolish, and so he quickly continued talking, "I get that you're quite an introverted man, but you've almost been.. more quiet? You almost cringe whenever somebody mentions you in some way. It's like you don't enjoy being talked about."
How offensive did that sound? Legs bit the inside of his cheek, silently praying, even if he wasn't religious, that it didn't cause conflict. Thankfully, the worst from Abolish was a huff and slightly frustrated tone.
"I– I do enjoy being talked about," the noble said, free hand reflexively moving to toy with the hem of his glove, "It's not that I don't like people talking about me. It's just... I don't know."
Abolish glanced over at the exit to the tomb: Legundo could tell he didn't want to be a part of this conversation right now. There was clear anxiety, which wasn't expected on the doctor's end. He was about to apologise, but Abolish decided to give a genuine answer. Or, rather, a question.
"Do you ever feel like.. out of place in your own body?" What?
"...huh?"
"Like– you know when you know something's wrong when you talk to people, and you wanna say: “Hey, something's not right with me and I wanna talk about it” but you can't?" the black-haired clarified, "Like- I dunno. Just.. you feel uncomfortable with yourself."
"..I guess I have. Not.. not entirely, but I understand what you mean," the true answer was what are you on about, Abolish? This is mildly worrisome. However, Legs wanted answers, and he was going to go along with it if it got him somewhere.
Abolish had put his lantern back in his bag, and now the hand he used to hold it rubbed his other arm rhythmically to calm himself. He hummed, collecting his words. Now that he was being more truthful, Legundo could see how.. vulnerable the other was. It reminded him of the boy. His boy.
"Yeah, well..." Abolish took a breath, shoulders shrugging, "That's how I feel. I guess. I don't know, it's hard to explain."
Legs was about to ask for more, but chose to not. He started to realise that he was asking a lot from the taller one and (no matter how badly he wanted to ask more) he didn't want to make Abolish upset. He had something to work with.
That's what mattered.
"You don't need to tell me anything else, Abolish," Legs smiled softly. He gently pat his friend on the back, rubbing small circles on it, "Thanks for telling me, and I'm sorry if I came off too strong."
While he didn't say anything else, Abolish simply nodded. He still looked anxious, but some of the worry had faded into embarrassment. Swallowing a lump in his throat, the noble attempted to stand up straight and walk towards the exit again, mouthing a sort of “let's go” to Legundo. The latter happily obliged, just behind the other. He'll ask more later. Or perhaps he'll just wait for Abolish to be comfortable.
He didn't mind either way. The sun was about three-quarters of the way in the sky, and it'd start to turn dark soon; what was important was that Abolish got his lantern out again once they got the the top.