Cedric took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled. His face half started to shift reflexively into a practiced display of emotion, but stopped short. He wasn’t sure exactly which expression or emotion it would have been, since he hadn’t been emoting as much lately. It was nice being able to just quietly feel things - and not have to constantly broadcast what he thought he was supposed to be feeling, all just to blend in. Well… he still had to do that most of the time. No amount of emotional growth - at least, not on his end - would make the world more accepting of being different with a capital D.

Still, he could be himself around Andie and Dyllan. He… “trusted” was the wrong word. He knew them, he knew who they were. What made them tick. It wasn’t a perfect understanding, obviously - but he was rarely outright wrong about them. He trusted his understanding of his friends, and he understood that his friends were good people that cared about him. The real him.

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…He’d gotten distracted. That had been happening more often lately. Like a decade long adrenaline rush had just worn off. He’d decided he should be worried, and then grew irritated when he realized that he actually shouldn’t be worried. Worrying about “dream ash” or whatever it was called would not solve anything. Instead, he should be worried about why all this was happening. Why Andie’s Dream was causing problems, why Andie’s Nightmare was able to lead it around by the nose, and why Andie was rejecting her shadow.

Her Vice, her “Arrogance.” It was strange. Andie had always been boastful, sure - but she’d never seemed ashamed or guilty about that trait. Andie did not attempt to conceal or restrain her pride, and even openly encouraged pride in others. She also looked up to her mother, who practically had her picture in the dictionary under the word “confident.”