“I don’t know, Nike…” Dagan thought for a moment, visibly pondering the question, as though his very life depended on it. “I, well… He didn’t really say anything about it. Maybe, I guess.”

Honestly, Dagan was still a little shell shocked by the thought that he had been like the new arrival, when he first arrived. Really, anybody who knew Dagan, as few as they numbered, would have probably been unable to see the man in such a situation, either. Still, he didn’t have any knowledge of his first days in the city, so he couldn’t really be sure, either, and he did get better, too. At the very least, this offered some hope for the new arrival’s condition.

“I guess it doesn’t really matter right now,” he sighed as he looked back down to the new arrival, who he had taken to sitting back beside. “I know he will get better, at least. He’s a lot more active than he was with Attis, too!"

There was a lapse in speaking for a little while after Dagan’s exclamation, at least for him, though Nike was free to say whatever he wished, but after a few moments, an interruption would occur from the curious side of Dagan: “So, Nike… You said we were friends?”

His voice was hushed, not quite a whisper, but there was a bit of awkwardness about the way he had asked his question. Dagan didn’t like the thought that he had forgotten someone and this would ring especially true for a friend.

"Yeah, he definitely will," Nike nodded.

He earnestly believed this, too. Nike had never met anyone that he hadn't all the faith in the world for, Dagan and the New Arrival included.

Nike, too, went silent after that. It was a bit awkward. He was looking the New Arrival up and down, as if examining everything about him that he could without just outright touching the kid. The New Arrival was definitely a younger person, comparatively, but not quite a child. Just not an adult like Dagan and Nike. Maybe close. Who knows? And he was short, too. Short and scrawny. Probably not the best runner in the world, built like he was.

The New Arrival regarded Nike with a stare that bordered between curious and intimidated. He was saved by Dagan's inquisition, however, which took Nike's attention away from the New Arrival almost instantly. He watched as Nike returned to Dagan.

"Yeah, man. I was there when Attis dragged you in here. We hung out a bit later, and then just kept with that," Nike scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, "Buuuut, I mean, I understand if you forgot and all, I guess. I mean, it's kind of been awhile and all."

“I, I don’t know. I want to say sorry, I do, because I don’t want to have forgotten someone,” Dagan’s voice was just as hushed as before, as he closed one of his hands into a tight fist, his knuckles turning pale from the pressure, “and especially if they were a friend! I don’t even know what to say, Nike… It wasn’t on… I’d never do it on purpose, though!”

Excitedly, he reassured himself and Nike on that fact, though it probably was not needed; after all, who in their right mind would choose to forget something or someone, right? That would be horrible… At least, that’s what Dagan thought. However, truthfully, Dagan also felt as though he--had--forgotten someone else before, a long time ago, and he had come close to remembering … Something about it, earlier, but it had fled just as quickly as it had came, and it didn’t feel like it was coming back anytime soon; this, however, Dagan would keep to himself. There was no need to bring it up right now...

“Hnh, we’ll just have to catch up sometime. Anyways... Did we stop meeting each other for a reason? It's weird, I feel like I should remember seeing you about, even if I had forgotten you, but..."

The city was huge, but Dagan often took to traveling it in search of others to talk to. He was, after all, a social creature and, for whatever reason, he simply could not recall having seen Nike around. Or maybe he had...

"It's fine, man," Nike patted Dagan on the shoulder, "Don't beat yourself up about it. I'm sure there's a reason you forgot--you just have to remember . . . uh, why you forgot. Then you're bound to remember."

Well, it made sense to him, at least, even if it didn't to Dagan. And it probably wouldn't. Nike wasn't making the best of sense with that one--but it didn't matter. He had the utmost faith that Dagan would remember him eventually. He seemed sincerely apologetic enough that he couldn't possibly have forgotten on purpose--so it was just a matter of time, probably. Things usually made more sense after time.

"Well, yeah. I haven't been around much for awhile. Work and such. I've been in the Rea--" Nike started at first casually, but cut himself off rather suddenly.

Nike paused for a moment, not finishing his sentence. He withdrew briefly into deep thought, concentrating long and hard, but shrugged it off seconds later.

"Well--just work, you know? Keeps me busy." Nike shrugged. "I had some free time today, and heard all this buzz about the New Arrival. Had to come check him out, you know?"

Dagan followed each word that Nike spoke, possibly because this was the only real conversation he had, had in a while, considering the new arrival’s condition, and so he found it odd when Nike broke off from speaking and shortened the details a bit, it felt like. Luckily, Dagan also wasn’t one to immediately pry… Well, excusing what had happened with Seeker and Attis in the hall, but that was different!

“Yeah, I know…” He said, continuing the rest of what he was going to say in his mind: sorta.
“Well, yeah. I can see why you’d want to come back, considering what we had to go through to get him… Outside of the city was more exciting than I thought it’d be, did you know that?”

Smiling, Dagan looked over to the new arrival, and back to Nike; there was a brief moment of remembering all he had went through outside of the city, and the things he had done As weird and terrifying as it was, every fiber of his being also knew how exciting and great it felt, being outside of the city…

“So you work, huh? Like Attis?”

Work, work . . . he didn't elaborate on what kind of work he did, and it was unlikely that he was going to in the near future. He looked a tad bit serious whenever he thought about it, definitely far from the normal appearance for him: grinning, confident, and content.

"Yeah, sort of." Nike scratched the back of his neck. "Kind of has me out of the city a lot. I get homesick sometimes, you know? That sucks about it, but . . . still."

Nike went silent for a few seconds. It might be clear by then that he didn't like to think about it too much, let alone talk about it. Chances were it wasn't so much a sensitive subject than it was something he just wasn't interested in talking about--or was maybe a bit nervous about the details or something. There was no real way to tell at the moment, not without asking, and there was no guarantee that wouldn't end with just a brushing aside of the question!

He changed the subject, anyways.

"So, how was it?" Nike asked with the utmost interest, "I mean, your trip out of the city. Any less eventful than the last time?"

Dagan wasn’t happy about the change of subject, if only because it didn’t sate his curiosity, but he believed that Nike had a good enough reason to avoid talking about it and Dagan really didn’t want to make Nike uncomfortable, either.

“Last time? Well I don’t--Well, I don’t know, but some guys did try and eat me out there! I, uh, actually, it’s kind of fuzzy around then, but I beat one of them… Huh, I wonder why I … Nah, forget it! Anyways, I found the new arrival out there and some guys who tried to eat me, right? And these two shadows digging and I ran for a long, long time, too. Seeker was a jerk, but he actually saved me, I think, and it just didn’t occur to me. I wonder what’s up with him?”

Oddly, the more Dagan spoke about his trip, the more it seemed like the whole thing was one big blur, he remembered everything that had happened, down to a very basic level, but if someone had asked him how many people he had fought, he wouldn’t have been able to answer anything more specific than “a few” and neither would he be able to explain how he had beaten one of his attackers with a broken arm, but he did know he felt better in that one instance than he had ever felt before. Regardless, he was positive it wasn’t important; after all, there was so much going on at one time that he was bound to forget some things, right?

“I’m not sure if it’s okay for me to say this, but it was really fun… I kind of want to do it again one day; and that's weird, isn't it?"

Well, it definitely sounded like an eventful trip. Things--people, monsters, or otherwise--trying to eat you often denoted some degree of eventfulness. Some powerful degree, probably. Something that one might never forget! Though, considering the way Dagan talked about it, it was likely that he might forget sometime. At least, the details. But he'd forgotten before, right? That is, if Nike was telling the truth the whole time.

But what reason did one have to doubt him?

"Hah!" Nike laughed, "Not at all, man! It gets boring in this old city after awhile!"

Nike patted Dagan on the back in a friendly sort of way. The New Arrival watched this with a confused gaze. He was having a bit of trouble staying up again, but was starting to move his hands, as if trying to use them on the bench to keep himself sort of upright when it felt like his back was failing him.

Both the New Arrival and Nike shifted their focus when the opening of a door echoed throughout the Great Hall. Nike and Dagan would recognize the arrival immediately, the red hair, the white suit, and the way he walked with a dignified sort of manner.

Attis looked tired, but rested. His hair was a bit of a mess--moreso than usual--and his suit seemed as if it'd been hastily put on. He smiled bashfully once he beheld Nike and Dagan, giving them a small wave as he approached.

“Yeah, it does, doesn’t it--”
Dagan had scarcely replied back to Nike when Attis made his entrance, though Dagan was a bit slower on the uptake than the other two, noticing Attis only after the fact.
“Sleep well?” He asked in a cheerful tone; at the very least, Attis would have to have felt better than he did before going to sleep. He had, after all, looked like a wreck when Dagan met up with him, and now he looked much less so!

Instinctively, Dagan looked down to the new arrival, re-realizing that Attis had left back when the new arrival wasn't conscious and was unable to respond to anything at all, and now, now he wasn’t nearly as out of it as before!--On the road to recuperation, maybe?

For a moment, Dagan thought of telling Attis about the New Arrival's recovery, though he did not know how best to describe the situation; which was to be expected, all things considered. Even still, Dagan figured it would be best for Attis to check up on the new arrival himself, and to come up with his own opinion on the matter, it would not do for Dagan to simply say everything was better, when it wasn't that much better than before.

"Very," Attis replied with a relieved sigh. "Thanks again."

"Eh? Taking a nap, huh?" Nike asked aloud, a grin spread across his lips, "With all that's on your plate, I'm surprised you could even fit one in."

"Me, too," Attis smiled, but looked to Dagan when he said this.

It was then that Attis noticed something was off--but not an uninvited oddity. No, far from it! Attis saw then that the New Arrival's eyes were on him exclusively. His lips were still subtly parted and he seemed to have problems making even the smallest of movements (though, he was starting to get better at moving his hands and tensing his arms), but his eyes were fully mobile. The New Arrival was alert. If Attis hadn't have been bright and relieved before he arrived in the Great Hall again, he'd have been instantly rejuvenated at this sight.

"Oh, hey!" Attis declared with gusto at first, but quieted and calmed himself almost immediately, fearing that he might frighten the New Arrival at this potentially overly energetic regard of him. Attis took in a breath and took a step forward. "You're awake. And you can see m-- us. That's a good sign."

“I thought so too!” Almost immediately, Dagan chimed in right after Attis, though he was far more unconcerned about scaring the new arrival than Attis was, and understandably so! Dagan had been with the new arrival the entire day and was almost always energetic, unless he specifically tried to tone himself down, for whatever reason. “It wasn’t that long ago, I think, but he started moving a bit more and more. I think he’s tried to speak a few times, too, but it was really hard to notice at times…”

Dagan’s focus shifted from the new arrival, to Attis, and then back again; things were starting to get to be a bit livelier now, it felt like.

Thinking to himself for a moment, Dagan felt like bringing up the earlier topic, about how he had forgotten Nike, but thought twice about it, he didn’t want to cause any unnecessary worrying on Attis’ part, and like Nike said before, Dagan was also sure he’d eventually remember… He’d just have to think really, really hard on it. Yeah, it’d probably be best to not mention anything at all…

"That's great," Attis replied, relieved. "I think I'll just run a final little test for now. A . . . kind of unfortunate test, and I apologize in advance . . ."

Attis paused a moment. Nike watched with interest, and the New Arrival tilted his head to the side curiously. Attis took in a deep breath, bit his lower lip, and raised his hand next to the New Arrival's face. This was the part he hated. The New Arrival traced his eyes over Attis's hand with an inquisitive stare, until Attis snapped his fingers. The New Arrival took in a sharp gasp, let out a pitiful whimper, and recoiled to the best of his ability as if suddenly bitten by a snake.

That was the whole purpose of trying to keep calm and non-threatening; Attis knew he was going to alert the New Arrival eventually. But it was for the best. It showed Attis how cognitive he was.

Still, he stood up straight and frowned--not at the results of the initial test, but the fact that he even had to do it. But still, it was conclusive, and was ultimately full of good signs about the New Arrival. Attis took in a deep breath and turned to face Dagan and Nike.

"Well, he can see and hear just fine, and his reflexes are good, too," Attis noted. They were simple tests, preliminary tests, and they were necessary to determine how future examinations were going to go. Attis was clearly pleased with the results, though he still hated having to scare someone half to death . . .

In the meantime, though, the New Arrival, having recoiled to one side, could no longer sustain himself with his arm, and slowly slid down onto his side.

Though still seated, Dagan had moved forwards, similarly to how he had been ready for Nike, when the man had made his initial entrance, and it was entirely instinctive, too. Likewise, Dagan was facing Attis, when he went to stand, though he had caught himself. Obviously, there was nothing pleasing to Dagan about what Attis had just done, though he understood that it was probably needed, but a little bit of warning might have been nice, but maybe that would have lessened the effect Attis was looking for.

“T-That’s good,” Dagan said, still a little surprised, though no doubt less surprised than the new arrival had been. “Didn’t see that coming,“ he confessed.

Dagan raised a closed fist to his mouth and let out a cough, clearing his throat, as it were, before finally reaching over to the new arrival, helping to sit him back straight, rather than allowing the younger-looking man to lie on his side, which could have grown uncomfortable after a while.

Attis frowned--not quite at Dagan, but at himself. "I know. I really hate that test. You know . . . someone arrives here, no choice but to trust us with their lives, and I have to scare them half to death. Then, there's things after that. Like advanced reflex testing and all of that."

The New Arrival was a little uneasy in trying to hold himself up this time. He kept staring at Attis with a look of nervousness and distrust, perhaps expecting him to do that again, and preparing himself for that inevitability. It was, needless to say, a bad first impression.

But completely expected on Attis's part.

"I hate doing it. I don't want to give anyone a bad first impression of me, but integrating new people into the city--it's for the best for everyone that we know these kinds of things, you know? So . . . I don't really have a choice," Attis sighed, "I'm pretty sure it's that trauma that makes everyone forget they ever met me in the beginning, too . . ."

That was a depressing fact--or an opinion, for that matter. Really, Attis had no documentation of this fact, only the belief that it was true, and he probably wasn't too far off. Most didn't remember that they'd met him in their first days in the city, and it might have been because the trauma of examination. Attis's was a thankless and vilified job in almost every way, but someone had to bear the weight of it for the good of everyone in the city. It was just unfortunate that it had to go that way.

Although probably not the intended effect, Attis had done an almost perfect job in making Dagan feel bad, as he had sunk just a bit lower in his seat, but otherwise showed no other signs of discomfort, as far as that was concerned.

“If that’s why, Attis, then you just have to meet them again, and on better terms!”--It’s working for Nike and me, he continued in thought. Truthfully, though, it wasn’t Dagan’s place to make Attis feel better, and there wasn’t really much else he could add on the subject; after all, Attis already understood that it was a necessary part of his life and a necessity to the city, too. Still, at least Dagan had already offered to help the other when they needed it, and perhaps that was enough.

"Anyways," he popped out of thought, pulling himself up, and off of the bench. "He's doing a lot better now, just like I thought he would!"

It might have been a bit off-beat, not keeping up with the depressing atmosphere Attis had set up, but that didn't mean it wasn't needed, all the same; in fact, maybe Attis would even appreciate changing the direction the conversation was taking, who was to say?