Oh, of course. How could I forget the illustrious — ( her cough-scratched voice drops into childish, haughty mimicry. ) "Zapodidae".
( sometimes, she's struck by a suspicion that paul would happily read an encyclopedia back to front, and miraculously retain room for it in his brain. that's fine with alina — it's nice, for a change, to not be expected to have answers for every single question that crosses her desk. no need to undergo the metamorphosis resculpt had tried to cocoon her in, like larvae not yet ready to emerge, no need to be — better than what her raw form is. so, she's not the brightest lantern in the room. so, her knowledge doesn't illuminate every corner of what there is to know of the world. she can pluck her know-it-all paul from a shelf and flip through his pages, completing her where she's incomplete.
endeared, she nips the ends of his fingertips as she retrieves the sugary bear from him, all scraping and indelicate teeth. the next, too, more like a pampered housecat than she'd like to admit — if she isn't careful, she'll forget how to use her claws, a domesticated and dependent wretch. )
It's been ten minutes. Was I meant to run away? ( she squints through her chewing, which quickly progresses to the distracting task of sucking on paul's fingers, knowing there's no trace of gelatin stuck to them. some tangible proof, maybe, that her limbs are loose — that she isn't tensing to bolt, now that he's cornered her. now that the threat of having his mind meld into hers like water pouring into a vase is inescapably real. her heart spasms in her chest, a trained impulse against the thought of invasion. still, she presses a kiss to the cool marble of his hands, before draping them over a cheek. ) I promise I'm okay. Just — guide me through it, while you're doing it.
( aleksander had never warned her before ripping her open. neither had alia, before tiptoeing in uninvited. it might be nice to hear him knocking at the door, asking her aloud to let him in, making himself known not as an intruder but a guest. )
no subject
( sometimes, she's struck by a suspicion that paul would happily read an encyclopedia back to front, and miraculously retain room for it in his brain. that's fine with alina — it's nice, for a change, to not be expected to have answers for every single question that crosses her desk. no need to undergo the metamorphosis resculpt had tried to cocoon her in, like larvae not yet ready to emerge, no need to be — better than what her raw form is. so, she's not the brightest lantern in the room. so, her knowledge doesn't illuminate every corner of what there is to know of the world. she can pluck her know-it-all paul from a shelf and flip through his pages, completing her where she's incomplete.
endeared, she nips the ends of his fingertips as she retrieves the sugary bear from him, all scraping and indelicate teeth. the next, too, more like a pampered housecat than she'd like to admit — if she isn't careful, she'll forget how to use her claws, a domesticated and dependent wretch. )
It's been ten minutes. Was I meant to run away? ( she squints through her chewing, which quickly progresses to the distracting task of sucking on paul's fingers, knowing there's no trace of gelatin stuck to them. some tangible proof, maybe, that her limbs are loose — that she isn't tensing to bolt, now that he's cornered her. now that the threat of having his mind meld into hers like water pouring into a vase is inescapably real. her heart spasms in her chest, a trained impulse against the thought of invasion. still, she presses a kiss to the cool marble of his hands, before draping them over a cheek. ) I promise I'm okay. Just — guide me through it, while you're doing it.
( aleksander had never warned her before ripping her open. neither had alia, before tiptoeing in uninvited. it might be nice to hear him knocking at the door, asking her aloud to let him in, making himself known not as an intruder but a guest. )