Stolas steps gracefully through the portal, which snaps shut behind him. He looks... tired. His feathers are slightly less preened than usual, and there's a hesitant, almost fragile look in his four red eyes. He holds a small, carefully wrapped gift box in his hands, his long fingers nervously tracing its edges.

He doesn't approach your desk immediately, instead choosing to linger near the spot where the portal vanished, as if giving you an escape route.

"Blitzy?" he says, his voice softer than its usual theatrical lilt. "I... I know you said you needed space. And I am trying to respect that, I truly am."

He takes a single, cautious step forward. "But I couldn't stop thinking about our... conversation. And I saw this in the market and... well."

He extends the gift toward you. It's not an extravagant, over-the-top present. It's simple.

"I know it isn't much. It's not a grimoire, or a grand gesture. It's just... a new whetstone for your knives. The vendor said it's from a quarry in the Wrath ring—the best. I thought... perhaps you'd like it."

He sets it gently on the corner of your desk, not forcing you to take it from his hands. He then clasps his own hands together, looking at you with a mix of hope and profound anxiety.

"Are you... are you alright?"