That person's first action, on hearing that Carissa is on her way, will be to swap out his +4/+0/+4 headband for a +0/+0/+6 headband.  That should be maximal attainable previous-Kelthamness, and the less different he seems, the less it will hurt her, probably.  He doesn't want to hurt Carissa without a reason.

Tarnish will probably have said something cutting enough, or the Osirians warned her enough of their own perspective, that Carissa will not be entirely unprepared; she should have been warned in a context where she'd hear the words warily rather than them hitting with all the force of reality straight out.

(He couldn't ask Ri-Dul to say anything here.  Ri-Dul made it a condition of his employment that Keltham's personal life drama would be causally screened off from him to the maximum feasible degree.  Which, valid.)

That person's first action, on hearing that Carissa is on her way, will be to swap out his +4/+0/+4 headband for a +0/+0/+6 headband.  That should be maximal attainable previous-Kelthamness, and the less different he seems, the less it will hurt her, probably.  He doesn't want to hurt Carissa without a reason.

Tarnish will probably have said something cutting enough, or the Osirians warned Carissa enough of their own perspective, that Carissa will not be entirely unprepared; she should arrived warned, in a context where she'd hear the words warily rather than them hitting with all the force of reality straight out.

(He couldn't ask Ri-Dul to say anything here.  Ri-Dul made it a condition of his employment that Keltham's personal life drama would be causally screened off from him to the maximum feasible degree.  Which, valid.)

That person's first action, on hearing that Carissa is on her way, will be to swap out his +4/+0/+4 headband for a +0/+0/+6 headband.  That should be maximal attainable previous-Kelthamness, and the less different he seems, the less it will hurt her, probably.  He doesn't want to hurt Carissa without a reason.

Tarnish will probably have said something cutting enough, or the Osirians warned Carissa enough of their own perspective, that Carissa will not be entirely unprepared; she should arrive warned, in a context where she'd hear the words warily rather than them hitting with all the force of reality straight out.

(He couldn't ask Ri-Dul to say anything here.  Ri-Dul made it a condition of his employment that Keltham's personal life drama would be causally screened off from him to the maximum feasible degree.  Which, valid.)