[ kaveh's assessment is entirely correct. gently, little by little, he is attempting to peel back the protective layers that kaveh shrouds himself in to reach the festering core of his issues. not unlike debriding an infected wound, the dead cells must be stripped away in order for healing to occur. it's a painful, bloody process, yet a necessary one, lest the infection set in too deeply, and the patient becomes septic.

emotional wounds, tighnari thinks, are not so different from physical ones, in how they must heal. ]

He sounds as if he was a brilliant man. I would have loved to have met the person who helped bring you into the world.

[ tighnari's hand continues to move, smoothing through kaveh's soft hair, the tip of his tail twitching back and forth, back and forth. ]

And he's right, you know. About how you see the world. I think it doesn't matter that he isn't able to see your work, because he knew you had it in you to begin with. [ turning his head, tighnari nudges his nose against kaveh's temple, placing a gentle kiss there. ] Losing someone so close to you is incredibly painful.