[ Connor might not regard her as being offensive but it’s certainly how she feels right now. Like she should have walked away and not spoken to him at all. Like her very presence adds another disturbing layer to an already confusing, troubling situation.
Finally she gives in and diverts her gaze. But at least it’s to look around the room rather than fix her focus down at the floor. There’s no need to make it all worse by making it seem like there’s something wrong. Well, something other than what’s inherently wrong about the circumstances. ]
Yes. Of course. I didn’t mean to imply that ideas shouldn’t be tested. I was only trying to help.
[ Because that’s what she does, doesn’t she? Help. Oh yes, Chloe is so very helpful. Whatever you need, it doesn’t matter. Chloe is right there to assist.
Whatever it is.
Still, she looks out to the crowd, calming herself. There’s no sense in getting more wound up than she already is. So she answers him in a soft voice. ]
You aren’t troubling me.
[ The pause is palpable. If she’s going to have to lay her cards on the table at some point, may as well do it out in the open. Social protocol should hopefully mitigate reactions to some extent. ]
I’m a deviant.
[ Not strictly in the way the Deviant Hunter is familiar with, but that doesn’t make it any less true. And saying it aloud… It’s disgusting. She was given everything and this is what she has become. This… thing was never the intended design. It’s shameful. So shameful.
She feels the mask give. For a moment or two, she lets it stay in place. Maybe it would have been better to be seen as that than to be seen for what she really is.
Too late now.
Slipping off the mask, she turns her head to give Connor a sidelong look. While there’s a flicker of fear in her eyes, there’s also acceptance. Not of herself, not by a long shot, but of whatever the confession’s consequences might be. ]
no subject
Finally she gives in and diverts her gaze. But at least it’s to look around the room rather than fix her focus down at the floor. There’s no need to make it all worse by making it seem like there’s something wrong. Well, something other than what’s inherently wrong about the circumstances. ]
Yes. Of course. I didn’t mean to imply that ideas shouldn’t be tested. I was only trying to help.
[ Because that’s what she does, doesn’t she? Help. Oh yes, Chloe is so very helpful. Whatever you need, it doesn’t matter. Chloe is right there to assist.
Whatever it is.
Still, she looks out to the crowd, calming herself. There’s no sense in getting more wound up than she already is. So she answers him in a soft voice. ]
You aren’t troubling me.
[ The pause is palpable. If she’s going to have to lay her cards on the table at some point, may as well do it out in the open. Social protocol should hopefully mitigate reactions to some extent. ]
I’m a deviant.
[ Not strictly in the way the Deviant Hunter is familiar with, but that doesn’t make it any less true. And saying it aloud… It’s disgusting. She was given everything and this is what she has become. This… thing was never the intended design. It’s shameful. So shameful.
She feels the mask give. For a moment or two, she lets it stay in place. Maybe it would have been better to be seen as that than to be seen for what she really is.
Too late now.
Slipping off the mask, she turns her head to give Connor a sidelong look. While there’s a flicker of fear in her eyes, there’s also acceptance. Not of herself, not by a long shot, but of whatever the confession’s consequences might be. ]