[It's impossible not to feel a little defeated by his own inability to clearly say no - it betrays his desire to have Reynir pet him, something he's explicitly not wanted in the past. True, the situation is different, he knows Reynir better now, he's feeling pretty awful and it would be comforting, but Onni isn't one to accept comfort, he isn't one to ask for it. Most people leave him be when he doesn't say no, but also doesn't say yes.

Reynir doesn't. Instead he pulls off his gloves and reaches up to carefully dig his fingers into Onni's feathers, at the crown of his head, between the tufts at the top of his head, gently scratching and rubbing with the tips of his fingers and his blunt nails. It feels good, and Onni makes a slow, slow blink before his eyes sink closed and he fluffs up just a bit more. Reynir's fingers keep scritching over his head and then the feathers around his beak, a spot that was already itchy and in need of preening. In spite of himself, he makes a little owlish noise of contentment at the sensation.]

Of course I do, sometimes. Everyone does.

[His voice is a little hazy as he says it - Reynir's petting and scratching is making him feel sleepy.]

I probably fake it less than you think I do, though. Usually I am okay.

[When Reynir goes on to say that, maybe not today when he's sick, but that sometimes he can do things so Onni can rest, that he can help, that it isn't pointless because Reynir will be on a team with him, he opens one eye and looks at the redhead. Frankly, it's not something he's heard from anyone before, he's never had the option of a person who will help and do things so he can rest. Usually, he just goes until he can't and then sleeps too late the next day.]

I'll keep it in mind, I suppose.

[It comes out gruff, mostly because Onni is feeling a little strange about it.]