Oh - well, I didn't mean to imply that you haven't been doing well before this, or that you only started now. I just hadn't mentioned it before, so it felt like I should.
[a tiny bit amused, but he tries to hide it enough to not make her more uncomfortable.]
Were people not kind to you back home? I know you mentioned you had a position of authority... I guess it would make sense if people were more formal, in that case.
[her expression, oddly enough, softens quite a bit.]
Hmm. No. The people of the Ninth House love me very dearly. But it is a little different. They have known me from birth as their Reverend Daughter, and have entrusted their hopes for the future in me.
They do not necessarily know me on a level that is divorced from my role.
[...she takes a moment and swallows, sips her drink, because it's hard for her to hear that sort of sympathy without either getting upset or lashing out.]
Yes, it was lonely. And yet, my House is still so dear to me.
[he misses the mark on that a little and takes the pause to mean she's thinking of something painful rather than trying not to lash out, so he shifts course slightly regardless.]
Well, at least it sounds like that changed when you got to the space station, right? I mean, there's Mollymauk, and that girl you told me about who...
[he pauses, because the first two things he remembers that she said about yuel were her being stupid and odd, and neither of those really feel like awesome descriptors.]
Uh, the one who had - animal ears, I think? And probably more than just the two of them.
[listen sometimes you just don't know how to react when someone nails on the head one of your core sources of sadness when you're trying to be a cool bone witch.
she laughs a little at the animal ears]
These descriptions make it sound like a rather sorry lot. Mollymauk and the animal ears girl. Yuel, is her name. [she doesn't have to be mean about them.] No, there were a fair few on the station who I grew to feel close to.
...A friend for a friend. [she tries to say this a little officially-sounding even though really she's just so awkward at getting to know you talk.]
The people I became closest to were the ones I went on one of those - everyone vanishes on Thursday and comes back with new traumas excursions. Sheila was there, but Takeru and Vira as well. I don't think I realized I would get along with any of them. Sheila seemed like...someone whose experiences have been so different from my own, and I didn't imagine we'd have anything in common. Takeru was so intelligent but I felt it likely he and I would be at odds. Vira was someone I liked from the outset, but I didn't imagine we would become as close as we became.
I think we all saw one another a little more clearly after that.
[a little bit amused, but he tries to make it neutral enough that he won't put her off.]
They all sound like pretty great people. I mean, of course Sheila's great, but the other two as well. It makes sense that going through something like that would make you closer... [and then, with a bit of a frown:] I'm still sorry that you had to, though, whatever happened there.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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[no fun allowed. but she will gesture for him to sit, if he'd like.]
I'm well enough. It was a difficult weekend.
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[he glances her way as he takes a careful seat, though.]
But - you did really well, yesterday.
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Thank you.
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...Do you see it another way?
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[but it's different for someone to say so.]
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[she's just bad at accepting compliments.]
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[he doesn't follow quite yet, tilting his head instead.]
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[chin in her hand, looking a bit embarrassed.]
Forgive me. I do poorly, when someone tries to be...nice to me.
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[a tiny bit amused, but he tries to hide it enough to not make her more uncomfortable.]
Were people not kind to you back home? I know you mentioned you had a position of authority... I guess it would make sense if people were more formal, in that case.
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Hmm. No. The people of the Ninth House love me very dearly. But it is a little different. They have known me from birth as their Reverend Daughter, and have entrusted their hopes for the future in me.
They do not necessarily know me on a level that is divorced from my role.
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That kind of pressure can be really tough, I'd bet... And it's hard to make friends with people who see you more as a leader. Right?
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I wouldn't describe my relationship with them as friendship, no.
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...It must have been lonely. I'm sorry to hear that.
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Yes, it was lonely. And yet, my House is still so dear to me.
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Well, at least it sounds like that changed when you got to the space station, right? I mean, there's Mollymauk, and that girl you told me about who...
[he pauses, because the first two things he remembers that she said about yuel were her being stupid and odd, and neither of those really feel like awesome descriptors.]
Uh, the one who had - animal ears, I think? And probably more than just the two of them.
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she laughs a little at the animal ears]
These descriptions make it sound like a rather sorry lot. Mollymauk and the animal ears girl. Yuel, is her name. [she doesn't have to be mean about them.] No, there were a fair few on the station who I grew to feel close to.
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[he is, unfortunately, nosy]
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Sure! I don't mind telling you whatever you want to know.
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The people I became closest to were the ones I went on one of those - everyone vanishes on Thursday and comes back with new traumas excursions. Sheila was there, but Takeru and Vira as well. I don't think I realized I would get along with any of them. Sheila seemed like...someone whose experiences have been so different from my own, and I didn't imagine we'd have anything in common. Takeru was so intelligent but I felt it likely he and I would be at odds. Vira was someone I liked from the outset, but I didn't imagine we would become as close as we became.
I think we all saw one another a little more clearly after that.
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[a little bit amused, but he tries to make it neutral enough that he won't put her off.]
They all sound like pretty great people. I mean, of course Sheila's great, but the other two as well. It makes sense that going through something like that would make you closer... [and then, with a bit of a frown:] I'm still sorry that you had to, though, whatever happened there.
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[a sigh.]
We are all somewhat difficult personalities, other than Sheila. Who forces us not to argue.
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[a pause, and then a laugh. he sounds a little bit amused as he continues.]
I mean, as long as nobody does something that makes her angry. Her temper is kind of impressive sometimes! But not in a bad way.
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[anyway, she nods.]
Alright. Tell me of someone at the school.
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