mental link - :018

[circumspector]

[ There's a crackle of static, of a radio station getting tuned in and a deep breath. Not a loud one, this one, just tentative brush at whatever is closest. ]

( ... Aoba? Petre? )

[ Well, someone's awake. Tired sounding, but awake and she tries to clear her mind to focus enough to reach out broaden to whoever might be nearby. More direct, a little more present. Nervous always, when she feels disconnected from others. ]

( ... Hello? Anyone nearby? )

[ and for anyone looking for her, she's around the Bearings as she catches up on what she's missed out on, getting herself cleaned up from her extended nap time, and plugging herself back into the nest of machines in the common area. ]

Comments

[circumspector]

[ The frown knitted tight on her forehead. A moment, just considering her, before she shakes her head - this is too different. She has in her short life, watched a great deal many people. Not all of them good, or right, well - not even most of them. But she wasn't interested in playing holier than thou, just what she knew, and she did, she did take Rhys for what he was. Awkward, scared, defensive. ]

I do accept people, they are as they behave, and it's better to let them just do that so you know what they'll do when it matters. [ she is passive, but she is not unobservant. ] I accept him for what he is. I just never expect anything more than what they are. Everyone can be a threat. Everyone can be a coward or even just plain old annoying. That's just... people in my experience.

But apart from that? I don't know what you want me to say?

[ A shrug, impassive, she always is. Her judgement is not that kind - everyone, to her, has use. Sometimes that is a goodness in wanting to see the best in others. Other times, it's long games of chess, moving pieces across the board, making sure the right people were in the right place. That had been her job. That was her instinct. If Rhys was a petty coward, well then she wouldn't put him close to anything defence, but nor did that mean he was useless, either. ]

[adamance]

[A hint of dissatisfaction wells up inside of her and takes hold. If she cannot pry Angel's trust for Rhys from her hands, what will she do? Lexa realizes that her concerns here are two-fold: she both wants to destroy that trust and wants to protect Angel at the same time. It's a selfish, dangerous approach to matters. Lexa does not ask for mediators. She doesn't ask for worshipful words. Yes, he has hit her pride in a way that offends her sensibilities, but the greater question is how it is a problem that will be dealt with elsewhere.

She still lacks her answer.

And in that, she doesn't know what she expected Angel to say. To concede? To a degree, she has, at least in terms of what might become an argument. She has avoided it, making it impossible for Lexa to return to that point without looking utterly foolish in the process.]

Nothing. I ask for nothing.

[To a degree, she also has to concede. Lexa can see how that benefits her more than not.

But also:]

Except for this: I ask that you understand that I will not bring harm to you the same way that your father has. I am neither kind nor caring in the most traditional of senses, and I am more prone to cruelty than you've realized. But I do not use the people I've chosen to watch over as tools. [Her words come with a sense of calculation. Her words deliver a promise, but she is also capable of betrayal, of shedding life if she views it as necessary. That won't ever change.

It's just that she's chosen to make an exception for Angel.]