[ apparently, Johnny also considers it surprising. Then again, he hasn't met the Regent. You can't get a whole world listening to you (or shaking in their boots) if you're not good with people, he presumes; maybe they're good at making people feel comfortable, only laying into their subjects when they've convinced said subjects they deserve it. ]
Well, that's good. I thought they might... I dunno, put you in a dungeon or something for failing.
The Regent's been alive for a very long time. I think small things don't bother them so much anymore. They seem like a, um, bigger picture kind of person.
[ Maybe even slightly, surprisingly nice?? If still intimidating. And then the Regent's address happened... ]
[ slightly disparaging. He's not down for destroying the world anyway, but doing it on a whim would be even worse. ]
Well, anyway... I don't trust that guy, so I hope the other Kenoma are taking care of you. [ a beat. ] I got real sick in Venera, but I'm all right. That Eustace guy helped me out. You know him?
[ She took it for granted that Johnny came out alright because he seems like he would come out of anything alright in the end. Mention of Eustace is more of a surprise, and Johnny may feel a small pleased sunburst in its wake. ]
Yes, I know him. He helped me too... Actually, he's been very mindful of my well-being since I arrived here.
[ Eustace may or may not just feel guilty because he was the one who recruited her into the Kenoma, but she chooses to believe that he's a naturally kind and nurturing person behind that massive gun of his. ]
You two seem like you would get along. You're both very... cool.
[ he figured she'd know him, because Eustace has given Johnny the impression that he's the type of busybody who would immediately start looking after Gray. Smugly, he notes that it sounds like he was right. Johnny doesn't trust Eustace farther than he could throw him, but at least there's someone over who sort of cares about Gray - he can tell she thinks highly of him, anyway, which is a point in his direction.
What he wasn't expecting was for Gray to say he's cool?! He's very genuinely bewildered by that sentiment - enough that he's willing to overlook the comparison to Eustace, which irritates him for some reason. ]
Cool? [ if it came from anyone else, he'd assume he was being made fun of. ] Hah... First time I've heard that in a couple years. You're weird.
[ dismissive, but not unkind... he seems tickled. ]
[ She startles when he calls her weird, then again when he accuses her of hating the poor Veneran lady's art. ]
N-No, I... Well, I didn't understand very much of it, but...
[ Hate is a strong feeling to have toward what looked like children's drawings manifested into sculptures. She wouldn't have spent money on the stuff in a million years, but maybe it's just because she isn't artistic enough to get it...? ]
I meant that you have a cool demeanor... I think. If it sounded weird, please forget I said anything...
[ Wipe it from your brain like she's now trying to do... ]
[ The comment about compliments from girls seems to come from left field, and Gray's brain hiccups as it grapples with the statement being both funny (weird-funny) and quite sad. He's only been nice to her so far despite having very few reasons to be. She feels like that's proof enough of his praiseworthiness... She makes a note to compliment him more in the future. ]
Do you not get along with him?
[ She thinks being compared to Eustace should be a high compliment. She should be so lucky as to be compared to him someday. It will absolutely never happen, but if it did happen, she'd feel quite nice about it. ]
[ it could happen!! they have the same hair color, so there's one thing... ]
It's not that, exactly... He's one of those guys that's hard to read.
[ he keeps showing up when Johnny is in trouble - and Johnny, being Johnny, finds it suspicious, especially since Eustace's bearing is never particularly friendly. ]
When I first showed up here, he's the one who found me, technically.
[ Can he hear the approval in her communion voice... because it's there. ]
He doesn't say much more than what he needs to, but he's always thoughtful. And if you seem like you need help, he'll always be there for you... He isn't as scary as he looks.
[ a scoff. ] He ain't scary-looking with those big fox ears on his head.
[ they're very silly!! Unless she's referring specifically to the huge gun he's seen Eustace carrying around - that's another story. In any case, now Johnny's wondering how many of these traits Gray apparently thinks he shares with Eustace. ]
But I'm glad you've got someone over there you can rely on. That Regent shouldn't be employing kids in the first place.
[ Johnny's mindfulness of her age momentarily takes her aback, even though she knows on a gut level that good people don't make teenagers fight their wars for them. At the same time, she's already used to following the whims of irresponsible adults, so for someone in her life to (rightfully) point out that she is, actually, a child who shouldn't be asked to do dangerous work, it's depressingly shocking.
At the same time, she doesn't want to be coddled either, so... ]
Um, what should the Regent be having me do instead then?
Huh? [ the question was evidently one he hadn't been anticipating, and he flounders for a moment. ] I don't know... Going to school?
[ it's hypocritical for him to suggest this when he'd stopped going around her age to focus on his racing career, but at the same time, he'd like to think that racing horses is a more acceptable mode of employment than "death cult infantry." ]
[ That's probably a good thing. The Pleroma sure are soft on their youths. ]
There's only one Aion here younger than me [except Majorita really isn't] but I think she likes to fight. I think... on average... your Aions are probably a bit more mild-mannered than ours.
[ that gets a little laugh out of him, despite everything. ]
I don't know about that. We've got some crazy folks here, too. [ not naming names but hayame ] ... I'm saying all this, but do you actually know how to fight?
[ This may be the first time in Gray's life that she's been told to her "face" that someone doesn't believe in ghosts, and it momentarily takes her aback. She's seen such claims in movies, so she knew non-believers existed, but it's different to meet one in person. ]
Robbers... um, I suppose so, but the cemetery I watched over didn't have much to steal.
Well... I know they talk about spirits and stuff in the Bible, but I never saw one, so I figured it was just a metaphor or whatever. People make up things like that so their kids listen to 'em all the time.
[ and what is church if not a big organized parent trying to discipline its rowdy children?! of course, his feelings are a little more complicated nowadays. ]
[ As someone who doesn't really believe in God despite being reasonably familiar with the Bible and also magic, she supposes she doesn't have much room to question him. It really is hard to believe what you can't see.
... Oh. She realizes belatedly that he knows what the Bible is. She'd briefly taken it for granted that everyone would know. ]
Mr. Johnny, are you from Earth too? Most Londoners believe in ghosts even if they don't interact with them directly, so I thought... Um, where are you from?
[ a mild flicker of surprise at his being from Earth being questioned. It's such a strange thing to have to clarify - he's still not used to it. ]
Yeah, I'm from America. Kentucky, specifically. [ as she may have been able to guess from his accent. ] I lived in England for a little while when I was a kid, though.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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[ apparently, Johnny also considers it surprising. Then again, he hasn't met the Regent. You can't get a whole world listening to you (or shaking in their boots) if you're not good with people, he presumes; maybe they're good at making people feel comfortable, only laying into their subjects when they've convinced said subjects they deserve it. ]
Well, that's good. I thought they might... I dunno, put you in a dungeon or something for failing.
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The Regent's been alive for a very long time. I think small things don't bother them so much anymore. They seem like a, um, bigger picture kind of person.
[ Maybe even slightly, surprisingly nice?? If still intimidating.
And then the Regent's address happened...]no subject
[ slightly disparaging. He's not down for destroying the world anyway, but doing it on a whim would be even worse. ]
Well, anyway... I don't trust that guy, so I hope the other Kenoma are taking care of you. [ a beat. ] I got real sick in Venera, but I'm all right. That Eustace guy helped me out. You know him?
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Yes, I know him. He helped me too... Actually, he's been very mindful of my well-being since I arrived here.
[ Eustace may or may not just feel guilty because he was the one who recruited her into the Kenoma, but she chooses to believe that he's a naturally kind and nurturing person behind that massive gun of his. ]
You two seem like you would get along. You're both very... cool.
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What he wasn't expecting was for Gray to say he's cool?! He's very genuinely bewildered by that sentiment - enough that he's willing to overlook the comparison to Eustace, which irritates him for some reason. ]
Cool? [ if it came from anyone else, he'd assume he was being made fun of. ] Hah... First time I've heard that in a couple years. You're weird.
[ dismissive, but not unkind... he seems tickled. ]
You must've really hated that lady's sculptures.
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N-No, I... Well, I didn't understand very much of it, but...
[ Hate is a strong feeling to have toward what looked like children's drawings manifested into sculptures. She wouldn't have spent money on the stuff in a million years, but maybe it's just because she isn't artistic enough to get it...? ]
I meant that you have a cool demeanor... I think. If it sounded weird, please forget I said anything...
[ Wipe it from your brain like she's now trying to do... ]
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... Nah, I'm gonna remember it. I don't get many compliments from girls anymore.
[ it's nice that someone thinks he's cool even if he's a loser in a wheelchair. He doesn't believe it, but it's nice. ]
I'll forgive you for comparing me to Eustace. [ a beat. ] But I figured he was the kind of guy that might look after you.
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Do you not get along with him?
[ She thinks being compared to Eustace should be a high compliment. She should be so lucky as to be compared to him someday. It will absolutely never happen, but if it did happen, she'd feel quite nice about it. ]
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It's not that, exactly... He's one of those guys that's hard to read.
[ he keeps showing up when Johnny is in trouble - and Johnny, being Johnny, finds it suspicious, especially since Eustace's bearing is never particularly friendly. ]
When I first showed up here, he's the one who found me, technically.
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[ Can he hear the approval in her communion voice... because it's there. ]
He doesn't say much more than what he needs to, but he's always thoughtful. And if you seem like you need help, he'll always be there for you... He isn't as scary as he looks.
[ Her experience might be slightly skewed. But. ]
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[ they're very silly!! Unless she's referring specifically to the huge gun he's seen Eustace carrying around - that's another story. In any case, now Johnny's wondering how many of these traits Gray apparently thinks he shares with Eustace. ]
But I'm glad you've got someone over there you can rely on. That Regent shouldn't be employing kids in the first place.
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At the same time, she doesn't want to be coddled either, so... ]
Um, what should the Regent be having me do instead then?
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[ it's hypocritical for him to suggest this when he'd stopped going around her age to focus on his racing career, but at the same time, he'd like to think that racing horses is a more acceptable mode of employment than "death cult infantry." ]
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Would you want to go back to school?
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... No.
[ ok, he can't argue with that... he didn't like regular American school, and he's sure kenoma school would be worse...... ]
Okay, maybe not school, but definitely not fighting people.
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Do your younger Aions not fight?
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[ a beat. ]
Or... I guess we do, but no, he doesn't fight. [ he's never met Yuya, so it took a moment to remember him. ] Not that I know about, anyway.
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[ That's probably a good thing. The Pleroma sure are soft on their youths. ]
There's only one Aion here younger than me [except Majorita really isn't] but I think she likes to fight. I think... on average... your Aions are probably a bit more mild-mannered than ours.
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I don't know about that. We've got some crazy folks here, too. [ not naming names but hayame ] ... I'm saying all this, but do you actually know how to fight?
[ WHAT was gray doing back home... ]
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[ This undoubtedly means more to her than it will to him... ]
Maybe you know this already, but ghosts can be very dangerous.
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[ ... ]
... Well, maybe I believe in 'em now. [ he kind of has to. ] Isn't gravekeeping more about chasing away robbers than spirits?
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Robbers... um, I suppose so, but the cemetery I watched over didn't have much to steal.
[ ... ]
Why didn't you believe in ghosts?
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[ and what is church if not a big organized parent trying to discipline its rowdy children?! of course, his feelings are a little more complicated nowadays. ]
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... Oh. She realizes belatedly that he knows what the Bible is. She'd briefly taken it for granted that everyone would know. ]
Mr. Johnny, are you from Earth too? Most Londoners believe in ghosts even if they don't interact with them directly, so I thought... Um, where are you from?
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Yeah, I'm from America. Kentucky, specifically. [ as she may have been able to guess from his accent. ] I lived in England for a little while when I was a kid, though.
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