[she looks back at him, matching gaze for gaze as her ages of skill have given her. despite the way her heart aches and yearns as she etches the moment to a sensory memory, she does not let her placid expression break.
instead, she just gently teases him:] Slippery slope, Wolfwood. I pray you raise your standards a bit above 'mysterious, potentially dangerous.'
Not true. [she lifts her chin a bit, turning her head in the direction he's leading them.] It'd just mean you'd have to chat a bit more to learn things.
I do plenty of chatting! [Just ask any of the shopkeepers! Or some of the locals he's given a hand, or people he meets in passing at cafés. He's cheery and mostly polite, fitting right in.
...Which was always the point. It's easier to slide in and out of places if you're a friendly, pleasant guy. Maybe a bit weird, but not some mysterious, potentially dangerous loner. It's not that he's naturally chatty. He's perfectly willing to talk if the situation calls for it, but he was always blunt, even when those situations were frequent. He'd worked out how to chat, because people were less likely to match 'hired assassin' with 'nice oddball priest.']
Just...not with friends.
[His steps had slowed; he picks up the pace now so the next couple won't run into them.]
[He's not sure if he's not following her or if she's not following him. For once, it's Wolfwood's turn to split hairs over wording.]
You don't have to chat with friends. You can just talk. Or not talk.
[Or argue. Arguing is always on the table. The point is that a friend should be someone you can just be yourself around. And if yourself is someone who's not chatty, there's no expectation you should be (unlike there is at, for example, overly fancy parties with stupid dress codes).]
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mycrosstobear) wrote2021-11-14 03:26 pm
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instead, she just gently teases him:] Slippery slope, Wolfwood. I pray you raise your standards a bit above 'mysterious, potentially dangerous.'
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If I did that, I wouldn't have any friends.
[Hell, if said friends had standards above that, he would also not have any friends.]
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...Which was always the point. It's easier to slide in and out of places if you're a friendly, pleasant guy. Maybe a bit weird, but not some mysterious, potentially dangerous loner. It's not that he's naturally chatty. He's perfectly willing to talk if the situation calls for it, but he was always blunt, even when those situations were frequent. He'd worked out how to chat, because people were less likely to match 'hired assassin' with 'nice oddball priest.']
Just...not with friends.
[His steps had slowed; he picks up the pace now so the next couple won't run into them.]
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There's more to remember if you do. I hope you can.
[just not with her.]
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You don't have to chat with friends. You can just talk. Or not talk.
[Or argue. Arguing is always on the table. The point is that a friend should be someone you can just be yourself around. And if yourself is someone who's not chatty, there's no expectation you should be (unlike there is at, for example, overly fancy parties with stupid dress codes).]
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In some ways, yes. In other ways, no. Silence only speaks so much, and actions can only spell out certain phrases.
[words have meaning. simple, succinct, confusing or confident...
a lot can be left unsaid.]