Both of Ryo's initial replies - It'll happen eventually and I wasn't planning on it - don't make it out. He waits instead, waits for Otoha to explain, and...oh. Of course someone who isn't used to pain would want to avoid it - especially pain that can't be so easily soothed.
"Losing people is sometimes just part of loving them," he says slowly, feeling out the words and hoping they're good enough. "It hurts, but...death is a part of life." It's something most healers know well, usually by learning it the hard way. "Yours will be different, if you're going to live for a long time, but..."
Breathe in, breathe out. "I guess you could choose to live alone." It's terrible, but it is an option. "Never getting close to anyone, never feeling any loss because you never have anyone to lose. But...it sounds so empty." And that's the part he can't get past. "You don't have to live with the pain, but you lose everything good - late night conversations and inside jokes, hugs and laughter, and sharing a blanket, or a meal. Knowing you can rest, because the people you care about will take care of you. Everything good that would get you through the bad times, just..." He shakes his head. "Gone."
There's a few moments of silence as he thinks about what that would feel like, then pulls back and gathers himself. He could never understand choosing that, but it's also not his choice to make. "I can tell you," he starts again, "that grief will heal - not entirely, but enough. I can tell you that the good memories will outlast the bad. And I can tell you that pain is easier to handle when you have friends to help you. What I can't tell you is what choice to make. How you live your life is up to you. You don't have to decide now - just...remember that, when you do."
He pauses, then looks up at Otoha, a faint smile on his face. "Regardless, it's not going to stop me from caring about you." Sorry, Otoha, you're in too deep for that. "You just...need to decide what you want to do with that."
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"Losing people is sometimes just part of loving them," he says slowly, feeling out the words and hoping they're good enough. "It hurts, but...death is a part of life." It's something most healers know well, usually by learning it the hard way. "Yours will be different, if you're going to live for a long time, but..."
Breathe in, breathe out. "I guess you could choose to live alone." It's terrible, but it is an option. "Never getting close to anyone, never feeling any loss because you never have anyone to lose. But...it sounds so empty." And that's the part he can't get past. "You don't have to live with the pain, but you lose everything good - late night conversations and inside jokes, hugs and laughter, and sharing a blanket, or a meal. Knowing you can rest, because the people you care about will take care of you. Everything good that would get you through the bad times, just..." He shakes his head. "Gone."
There's a few moments of silence as he thinks about what that would feel like, then pulls back and gathers himself. He could never understand choosing that, but it's also not his choice to make. "I can tell you," he starts again, "that grief will heal - not entirely, but enough. I can tell you that the good memories will outlast the bad. And I can tell you that pain is easier to handle when you have friends to help you. What I can't tell you is what choice to make. How you live your life is up to you. You don't have to decide now - just...remember that, when you do."
He pauses, then looks up at Otoha, a faint smile on his face. "Regardless, it's not going to stop me from caring about you." Sorry, Otoha, you're in too deep for that. "You just...need to decide what you want to do with that."