[ the feeling's mutual, then. somehow the schadenfreude doesn't sweeten the experience, however fleeting it proved. rarely does it ever.
they spend much too long, in restrospect, staring each other down like cowboys poised on opposite ends of a godforsaken town. kaji finds himself trusting mat's denial for as much as it's worth, by one virtue of it sounding the most heartfelt kaji's ever heard from him, and by another virtue of the twinge of paranoia synchorized to the foreign intruder - be it a voice, a thought, or a malevolent presence even more abstruse than even that. the effect on him was immediate. no one could ever hope to conceal such a split-nano reaction, himself included.
kaji's expression softens despite everything. it's almost imperceivable. almost. ]
Are you?
[ before he realizes it kaji is on the move, power walking down a hallway illuminated by the same white, preternatural lights. he has enough sense to cast a look over his shoulder, a subtle invitation for mat to follow, though kaji wouldn't be surprised to catch him on his heels with an urgency not of his own volition. ]
Maybe the better question is, do we have a choice?
no subject
they spend much too long, in restrospect, staring each other down like cowboys poised on opposite ends of a godforsaken town. kaji finds himself trusting mat's denial for as much as it's worth, by one virtue of it sounding the most heartfelt kaji's ever heard from him, and by another virtue of the twinge of paranoia synchorized to the foreign intruder - be it a voice, a thought, or a malevolent presence even more abstruse than even that. the effect on him was immediate. no one could ever hope to conceal such a split-nano reaction, himself included.
kaji's expression softens despite everything. it's almost imperceivable. almost. ]
Are you?
[ before he realizes it kaji is on the move, power walking down a hallway illuminated by the same white, preternatural lights. he has enough sense to cast a look over his shoulder, a subtle invitation for mat to follow, though kaji wouldn't be surprised to catch him on his heels with an urgency not of his own volition. ]
Maybe the better question is, do we have a choice?