[Atem's eyes, newly freed and able to use their eyelids, go half-closed as the skin's pulled up and his snakes start to pull free in an uneven, slow, wiggly little wave, responding to Atem's desire to get out from under the shed skin-layer. It feels nice, pulling free, having warm shade-fingers between the snakes...like peeling off uncomfortable shoes at the end of a long day and having hands in your hair at the same time. It's the most relaxed expression Atem's worn in a full week. And that's why the petulance in his voice is muted, without any true hurt, when he replies:]

I'd have thought that was obvious, from the way I act around you both...

[Is he not making it clear that he loves them? Is...is willingness to punish and/or kill for their sakes coming off as insincere? Maybe it does, in a world where almost everybody is at least a little bit of a killer. But, really, it takes snakes he can't control to signal that he cares?]

Should I be making my feelings clearer, when it comes to my friends?