#semi request

King was trying to calm his mind. Or rather his heart. For where his mind was a tranquil palace where only he reigned, it was his heart where the remnants of his years apart spoke the loudest. As he considered his anger for Deciet, there was a part of him that was defensive of him, upset at his angry outbursts. If he allowed himself to think about his past, and possibly still lingering, feelings for him, there was recoil in him. He wasn’t sure if this was due to Roman’s recent experiences with him or Remus being jealous. Remus had always suspected something played between them in the past. And perhaps part of him had hoped to be good enough for him if they fused. So thinking about his enemy/old flame, was only frustrating him more. Morality and Logic weren’t much better. He felt exceptionally conflicted about both. Part of him felt guilty for what he’d done. Though that part was distinctly not himself. No this was completely the Prince’s doing. All he’d wanted was to be good enough for Thomas and the others. He never wanted to scare or upset any of them. Which was disgusting to King. It was good that he was in charge now. He knew that Creativity shouldn’t have to please anyone except for Thomas. Then there was Anxiety. A side King had never had the chance to form his own opinion off. Though he’d hoped he’d be a new friend he could teach about the mindscape. And with time, he could probably make use out of him still. If he’d had the opportunity to prepare for his return, with knowledge of these echoes of feelings from his halves, he would’ve probably expected Anxiety to be the least complicated to think about. He didn’t have much of a personal opinion on him to conflict with the two sides. And considering Anxiety had been both a friend and a hindrance to both, he might’ve assumed that the mix of feelings would balance out to indifference. Leaving King some freedom to form his own relatively undisturbed opinion on the youngest side. But… Remus considered Anxiety his best friend. When things were good, they got along great. And Roman… Well, he’d hoped and dreamed about Thomas’ guardian quite often. As for King… he felt a fondness for the youngest of his disciples he supposed. It was kind of endearing how hard he tried to ‘get through to him’. His loyalty to the twins was slightly disarming at times. And it was so adorable to see him soften just a little whenever king showed him praise of any kind… He cringed as a sting of emotion shot through his heart that nearly shook him enough to doubt who he was in his mind. That… That was the tricky part. If these fond feelings were only caused by an echo of how the twins felt about him… Why would what remained of Roman feel so… Threatened, when he thought well of him? He understood that it got a bit agitated, protective even, when he plotted to use Anxiety. But why would he be upset over whatever echo of his feelings remained to inspire the briefest moments of fondness in him? Unless… It was he himself, separate from the twins he used to be, who had developed some sort of appreciation for the purple coded side? He thought on this for a moment. Anxiety had never looked at either of the twins in that cautiously relieved, almost happy or comforted way. That look was just for King. And it was more than a little disturbing that he felt a little smug about getting such a unique look all for himself. Did he… Was he growing fond of the little spider? If he was, then what should he do? He couldn’t let him find out. He was nowhere near confident enough in his hold on the manifestation of caution’s loyalty. Sure he seemed like he was starting to want his approval, but he was also still very warry of him. No. He had to sow more distrust towards the others within Anxiety’s mind before… Yes there it was. Prince upset at the thought of causing Anxiety harm. King rubbed his chest. “Would you rather they hurt him like they hurt us?” he asked aloud in an attempt to communicate with his inner voices. That made Prince shrink back. Contemplatively. “Sometimes the ends justify the means,” King insisted smoothly, hoping to push away the guilt while he was at it. Not his own guilt of course. He had no love left for any of those traitors. The feeling waned back to the background. Good. King took a deep breath and considered his options. He was due for another appearance. Can’t let the others get too comfortable. Besides… A flash of reluctantly curious mismatched eyes shot through his mind. He couldn’t let Anxiety go too long without a reminder of the enticing mystery that he presented. For anxiety was rooted in many adjacent feelings. He had a strong hold in excitement but also curiosity, the twin to worry that excitement was to panic. No wonder King had felt drawn to instinct even before he formed. With that thought he hummed a tune as he made his way through the mindscape. Dismissing the conflicting feelings in the depts. Of his core, certain that they would pass. And only he would remain.