[right][h2][color=8882be]Sirpa's Catharsis[/color][/h2][@silver21][/right]

[color=808080][i]"Constant fear becomes familiar. And the familiar feels safer than the unknown. This is why some stay in situations that hurt them. Not because they want it, but because it has become something they know how to live with."[/i]

Mist gathers at her side, shaping itself into a figure. Her. Moments ago.

[/color][color=8882be][i]Guess it was a rude question, then. Sirpa felt a twinge of [b]annoyance[/b]. [/i]Normies,[i] she told herself.[/i][/color][color=808080]

The image holds, then dissolves.

[i]"There is no shame in what you feel. To pretend otherwise is to let it fester. And what festers in the dark feeds what hungers there."[/i]

It looks away from the window.

[i]"What is important is that you know why you felt what you felt."[/i]

The Keeper continues. [i]"You have been hurt by people who misunderstood you. Who heard what they expected rather than what you meant."[/i]

Smoke curls into form. Jay. Turning away, shoulders stiff, walking toward the door.

[i]"Jay was already bracing for rejection. Your question, the timing of it. To them, it sounded like what they feared most."[/i]

Whispers reach her:

[i]"Constant fear becomes familiar..."[/i]

[i]"...the familiar feels safer than the unknown..."[/i]

[i]"...something they know how to live with."[/i]

Two hands lower to hers, wrapping around them—oversized, fingers too long, and somehow still snug. Warm. Soft.

[i]"A miscommunication. One that could only be corrected by you, because only you know what you meant."[/i][/color]

[center][color=808080]━━━━━━ ◈ ━━━━━━[/color][/center]

[right][h2]Jay's Catharsis[/h2][@silver21][@JJ Doe][@Stanifly][/right]

[color=808080]For Sirpa, the scene returns to the group circle.

[i]"Sirpa didn't mean to hurt you with her question."[/i] The Moderator's gaze shifts to her. [i]"Sirpa?"[/i][/color]

[center][color=808080]━━━━━━ ◈ ━━━━━━[/color][/center]

[hider=What is Perceived][color=808080]
[list][*] Events in Sirpa's Catharsis can only be perceived by Sirpa[/list]
[/color][/hider]