[ He doesn't move, accepting the way she grips him with no complaint. His mouth does twist a little though at the idea of being broke — he doesn't know what to do with the practical implications of this or how she's going to collect, but also please, he's about to become a college dropout — but mostly he just... needs to hear what Hella is going to say.

He got weird towards the end, and yeah, that's a part of his life that Mark can definitely stand to forget. He exhales a breath that he doesn't really need to, long and low in a drawn out, uncomfortable sigh. ]

Yeah... [ Once he'd gotten his fill of deer and had had time to reflect when on a full stomach he had, indeed, been able to perceive his freak behaviour that much more clearly. ] I couldn't— I couldn't just keep... being like that.

[ Even if he didn't get any worse, which, no. He was definitely going to get worse.

So he tries for a smile instead, because man, aside from asking Suzuha to kill him and confiding that decision in Haru, that might be the worst memory. Topic change...? ]

I feel a lot better now, though. So it was the right call. [ A beat. A stronger smile, too. ] And I'm glad you're still here, too.