Bassena stopped talking for a while, as if saying the name of the animal itself was too much for his sanity. "Well, I guess it wasn't such an effective method, because I only got even more scared," he laughed nervously, before sighing and smiling wryly. "Well, it is pathe--"
"No," Zein raised his body, cupping the esper's cheek and kissed the forehead. "No, it's not pathetic."
Bassena blinked in surprise as Zein cradled his head and embraced him. Hesitatingly, he reached up to hold the guide's back, and pressed his head onto Zein's chest.
No one truly knew why Bassena was so afraid of that small, weak animal. He never told anyone, because it felt like a weakness, and he was groomed to never show any weakness. But it was comforting that the person who mattered most to him did not see it as a weakness, and told him he wasn't pathetic because of it.
