From Alienation to Encounter (Part 4)

Proxer clenched his fists nervously as he was about to make a proposal. This of course was caught by Jogrin. With the emotions flowing out from Proxer, he had a bad feeling about what kind of plans Proxer had for him. It wasn't something that would put Jogrin at a disadvantage, but if he felt so nervous just from the idea of speaking it, there was a certain prospect that it'd be rejected.

Jogrin had an inkling about what Proxer wanted to do with him, but chose to stay silent and let Proxer speak however he wished.

"Darling?" Having noticed Proxer's fidgeting from the corner of her eyes, Naytia turned to him and queried.

"Oh!... So, uh... about Jogrin... Is it fine for him to come to our place?" Proxer gulped, as if Naytia was the predator here, instead of Jogrin.

Naytia didn't say another word when she heard that. She gazed at Jogrin in a surprisingly composed manner. It was completely opposite to how she acted when she first saw him just a few minutes ago.

'So that's his plan... Not that I didn't expect it. He seemed to be reserved about taking me here earlier, but it's now nothing but dissipated. Just what goes on in that mind of his?' Jogrin asked himself the question that had been asked not long ago.

"I can't let that happen, at least for now... I'm sorry."

Naytia's instincts were telling her that allowing Jogrin near her children might not be a good idea, so she readily rejected Proxer's proposition. Even though she'd never witnessed Jogrin activating whatever powers he had within him, she somehow knew that he wasn't anyone safe to be close to.

"If I may..." sending a modest gaze, Jogrin paused and waited for them to shift their attention onto him. Naytia shuddered at his voice as she turned her gaze towards Jogrin with slighty shaky eyes. It appeared that Naytia haven't got accustomed to Jogrin, which was normal.

"Um... Sure, please go ahead..." Naytia politely consented.

"You made the correct decision. Alien or not, one shouldn't let a stranger into their house without a proper reason, especially when their loved ones reside in it. While I appreciate Proxer's kindness, I wouldn't have agreed to this even if you had."

"Jogrin..." Proxer felt a little hurt upon hearing that, but he understood what Jogrin was saying. He let his impulsiveness and his past got the better of him, again.

"Th-thank you for understanding... I'm sorry to have pushed you away..." Naytia felt guilty for what she said right in front of Jogrin.

"I understand your worries, you don't have to keep apologizing..." Jogrin looked at Proxer after ensuring her that she didn't need to apologize. "Proxer, I have a proposal of my own to make."

Both Proxer and Naytia became curious as they were wondering about what Jogrin had to say. They awaited him to continue, which didn't take even one second.

"It's simple, really. Just take me somewhere that's abandoned, like an old, unusable house, or just another empty plot land that's well hidden so that I won't be found, at least for the time being."

"... Are you really fine with that?" Proxer was certain whether Jogrin's idea was a fair one for him.

"I used to head to one of these two places. I usually stayed overnight, even for weeks, so I don't see any problem with that." Jogrin nonchalantly exposed part of his past, which shocked the couple before him.

"That's..." Naytia was at a loss for words.

"Can I ask... why?" Proxer, unable to hold himself back, threw a possibly sensitive question at Jogrin.

"Well, let's just say I tend to estrange myself due to one major event that took place. Others didn't view me in a good light, so I'd rather just get out of their sights."

None of the two could hide their jarred expressions as they were displayed on both their faces.

'What exactly happened to him?' They pondered, not that they could come up with any answers, since it was Jogrin. Anything was possible when it came to him. That was the impression he gave off to the couple.

"You want to know? I'll tell you if you still feel like it after hearing this: it's the reason why I refuse to make any direct contact with anyone, like just now. Furthermore, I'm certain that both of you would never take me in after knowing about it."

Despite speaking of something seemingly major that hugely affected his life, Jogrin didn't really mind, but he was more concerned about whether Proxer and Naytia were mentally ready to hear it.

Proxer was instantly able to discern that it had to do with his powers. He laid his eyes on Jogrin's tail that stood out so much. The atmosphere was filled with heaviness as a brand new topic was about to be broached.

"There's an empty house nearby. If I remember correctly, its owner left and didn't even put it up for sale. It became a place for public use, but no one goes there at all... Let's talk while we head there..." Proxer suggested after he thought of somewhere that might be fit the simple criterion listed by Jogrin.

"Are you sure? Also, how far away is it from other residents?"

"It's... not exactly in a livable state."

"Doesn't matter. No need to worry about that."

"... And yes, it's far, really far away from the other houses."

"I see."

Jogrin curtly replied and gestured Proxer to begin leading him to said house. Proxer pointed at the right direction which was opposite to where Jogrin perceived some presences which were behind trees. Fortunately, the tree were abundant enough to cover their sights so that they couldn't notice Jogrin.

Proxer gestured Jogrin to follow after him and started taking a step. Naytia stuck close to Proxer as Jogrin followed behind them, some distance away.

They didn't let out their voices in the meantime. Because of that, the noises emitted by vehicles and people talking became prominent, although they were getting further and further away from them.

"It's you call on if you want to hear it or not."

Jogrin said something equivalent to "the ball's in your court" to Proxer and Naytia, who were left a little nonplussed. However, as if they could read each others' minds, they readied themselves and nodded at each other.

"If you don't mind, Jogrin. I... No, we'd like to know more about you."

"I understand that you'd want to, but Naytia too?"

"As his wife, I shall share his burdens."

Even though she didn't mean to, Naytia said something that could've offended Jogrin. She basically implied that knowing about Jogrin's past was a burden, and it wasn't exactly a nice thing to say to the person concerned, whether it was deliberate or not.

Fortunately, Jogrin did't seem to care about that, or rather, he didn't argue with that, since this past of his would indeed impose a big burden on others should they listen to it.

...

There was an ulterior motive for Jogrin to do this.

After talking his past regarding the "Telestrophe" incident, Proxer became a lot more "relieved", according to "emotional perception". Of course, there were other emotions mixed in, namely "grief" and "sadness", but the "relief" was what intrigued him the most.

Was it because Proxer vented that he had this specific emotion?

He didn't even know what it was, let alone having felt it in his life.

'I wonder if I get to feel 'relieved' after I do the same...'

Because of his selfish desire, he didn't even consider what he'd be putting Proxer and Naytia through by revealing that part of his past.