( While it isn't ideal to be a test run for a matter so severe, it is so much better than no help at all. There is so little magic there, and curses run their roots too deep for any layman to extract.

He exhales soft, but soundless. )

I had hoped my situation might be similar enough. ( He doesn't fully know the mechanism behind which Vanitas's magic (?) operates, but it is enough that there is a chance. ) I have, by my estimation, a few weeks before these marks cover me fully.

( He rolls down his sleeve, the demonstration accounted for. He doesn't know how long it will be for sure, but he's estimating by the marks' rate of progress per day, per hour, per minute. )

I have a friend whose abilities lay in neutralizing and calming. I would ask that he come along, should he be willing, in the event that my curse does not take kindly to meddling; it should make me a more peaceable patient.

( He's not going to pretend it's not dangerous, but he does want to know if he's asking two non-combatants to come along. )

In the event that it fails to temper me, though... How well are you able to defend yourself?

( He notices Vanitas's lingering gaze, and the seemingly unhappy reaction, which makes him wonder— but, for the moment, he's satisfied to hear Vanitas is more than capable. )

I'll be counting on you to pluck my friend from danger, then— Ellis, if you've met him. I don't believe he's much of a combatant.

( He remarks upon this first, because the second request leaves him uncertain. He is quiet for a time. He'd not considered having the luxury of setting a date for his treatment, and it feels... almost strange to have this sort of control, instead of being helpless, at the mercy of its terminal progression. )

... The 30th, if you would. I'd like to make some few arrangements, but I think it will take some time. ( He taps a finger on table. ) I intend to speak to the Goddess and see if she is willing to contribute in some way. And, while I don't intend to fail treatment...

( ... As if it were a choice. He knows it isn't entirely, but he knows it will require strength of character, and a will to remain who he is. )

... I think it may be best to have a third and final party available to slay me, if need be. I would prefer that you and Ellis need not worry about anything but your own parts.

( He knows the Goddess said death is occasionally permanent, occasionally arbitrary, but he doesn't know how he feels, leaving himself to become an ugly fixture in the wilderness. It just feels worse. Having someone who could feasibly end him would give him peace of mind, even if it may not make a difference in the end. )

( He studies Vanitas's demeanor for a moment, and he lets that remark hang there, before he finally answers. )

In a sense. I'd like it to be a closer friend of mine. ( He wonders if he should call them friends if they're currently closer than that? He doesn't know what the right term for it is. ) But I think he will resent me if I ask him. He will be there, along with another friend I will ask to commit to the execution.

( It would make Mishka pleased if Adelis knew nothing of this, and, if Adelis does have to know, that Adelis be the one to do him in. As much as Mishka has operated on the pretense that he would rather be at peace when he goes, he supposes he owes Adelis a little better than to operate at Adelis's expense. )

Are you used to such situations?

( Mercykills, and all. He has no clue how Vanitas's practice usually goes, nor the attitude of his usual patients, other than they are dangerously gluttonous; not always a trait that lends itself to sensible requests to end their lives, he imagines. )