Everyone says nothing of the sort. [It's blunt and uninformative, like having your nose pushed against a wall.] And you're not a bad liar, but that was unconvincing. [So unconvincing that he's pointing it out to you, rather than just making a note of it.]
[Soubi's face is completely neutral as you're telling him that you would have wanted to be taken. There's no disbelief or skepticism; your words elicit absolute seriousness. His eyes flicker a little as it all connects with memories - of Nana in tall heels and a surreal outfit of white and gold, of playing in the park with the sunken flower clock, of disoriented little fighters who had no idea where they were or what they were. He'd been a lure. When he wasn't ... training. But that was all before he got tall enough to be intimidating, and lost his ears. There were plenty who held him responsible and felt tricked. Goura's not an easy school to transfer into, at any age.]
>[Shakes head sadly] I'm not even kidding, I thought every day that it would--
[You get a dispassionate, but deeply personal murmur -] You must have hated your life very, very much. [For all that he has what he wants, and is what he believes he should be, being anything else would have been intolerable. Impossible. And he wouldn't have gotten as far as he did if that weren't true. He was running towards something, but he was also running from something. And he recognizes some of both in your words - yearning and desperation.]
[Soubi pulls his sleeve easily out of your hand and puts your forearm in a very businesslike grip.] No one as weak as you has any business trying to shake me. [There's ice in that, but almost immediately, he releases your arm. Soubi blinks, breathes, and puts on a front of I'm Just That Much Of A Jerk to cover for the fact that you actually managed to overstep one of his limits. He's been around very few people who would do that ... who didn't deserve to be growled at because they didn't mean any harm. He doesn't acknowledge what you just did, or what he just did, or the fact that either might have been inappropriate.]
I think you've taken it as a given that this is real. Why else would you walk up to me in a semi-public space and start talking about spell battles? Or is it not so simple?
no subject
[Soubi's face is completely neutral as you're telling him that you would have wanted to be taken. There's no disbelief or skepticism; your words elicit absolute seriousness. His eyes flicker a little as it all connects with memories - of Nana in tall heels and a surreal outfit of white and gold, of playing in the park with the sunken flower clock, of disoriented little fighters who had no idea where they were or what they were. He'd been a lure. When he wasn't ... training. But that was all before he got tall enough to be intimidating, and lost his ears. There were plenty who held him responsible and felt tricked. Goura's not an easy school to transfer into, at any age.]
>[Shakes head sadly] I'm not even kidding, I thought every day that it would--
[You get a dispassionate, but deeply personal murmur -] You must have hated your life very, very much. [For all that he has what he wants, and is what he believes he should be, being anything else would have been intolerable. Impossible. And he wouldn't have gotten as far as he did if that weren't true. He was running towards something, but he was also running from something. And he recognizes some of both in your words - yearning and desperation.]
[Soubi pulls his sleeve easily out of your hand and puts your forearm in a very businesslike grip.] No one as weak as you has any business trying to shake me. [There's ice in that, but almost immediately, he releases your arm. Soubi blinks, breathes, and puts on a front of I'm Just That Much Of A Jerk to cover for the fact that you actually managed to overstep one of his limits. He's been around very few people who would do that ... who didn't deserve to be growled at because they didn't mean any harm. He doesn't acknowledge what you just did, or what he just did, or the fact that either might have been inappropriate.]
I think you've taken it as a given that this is real. Why else would you walk up to me in a semi-public space and start talking about spell battles? Or is it not so simple?