[ They would be more vicious in her absence...? Perhaps there is truth to what he is saying. Tezcatlipoca would have the run of the place unopposed and he wouldn't hesitate to push for ceaseless conflict. She smiles - that's a very comforting thought.

Though she is bereft of her divinity in this world, she is still making a difference. ]

It's funny. [A pause.] We're supposed to be wiser, help humans... And yet we have just as many personal problems as they do.

[ More, arguably. But it's not very surprising in her case, she is born from human thoughts that gave form to a concept. And while he wasn't born this way, his existence has been heavily influenced by humans - by humanity.

... W-Was that a headpat? It's become something of a recurring thing with people! But she doesn't dislike it so... P-Perhaps it's okay to set her dignity aside from headpats. ]

I-- No, we should both be proud of the progress we've managed to make.

[ Even if it's so hard to acknowledge it and she knows tonight when she'll be all alone in her bed, her old demons will haunt her again. But! Right now, she can enjoy this little feeling of victory, and so can he, right? And work towards making sure those good feelings end up winning over the bad ones in the long term. ]