He bristles at her dismissal, teeth gritting as she continues her grand standing. He sets his bag of ice, his frozen salvation, down on the table with a quiet plop as he glares daggers at Terezi. “If you want to delude yourselves, that’s fine by me but I got my reservations,” He says acridly, shoulders hunching up until his chin is hidden by the red wool of his scarf like the most disgruntled turtle. “You are a very good motivational speaker but that doesn’t mean there’s any sense to your words or your plan. Maybe it’ll work out and you’ll all be successful vigilantes, savin’ the day or whatever, but I ain’t holdin’ my breath.”

“An’ there’s nothin’ you can say to cover up the fact that you’re showin’ a blatant disregard for safety. However strong we are and whatever fake made-up powers we might have, we aren’t invincible. It’s not about qualifications or challenge, it’s about my friends gettin’ dragged into this bullshit and gettin’ hurt.” Eridan sighs in irritation, running a hand through his hair and wincing as his fingers brush against the bruised scalp. “And,” He mutters in resignation, looking from Sollux to Kanaya before flicking his eyes downward to fixate on the droplets of water that have formed on the plastic of the bag as the ice melts within, “Unfortunately for the both a us, as long as they’re here, so will I be.”