finalityinfate:
Tori’s gaze flickered up to him for a moment as his question was posed, eyeing him for a moment like she was checking he wasn’t about to make fun of her. Biting her lip, she shrugged and tugged her sleeve back over it, not able to decide whether or not to answer him by the time he’d changed the subject.
“If she wanted to give it back, she would have.” The sentence was a little snipped; half-defense, half-bitterness, before she’d shaken it off and the nervous half-smile was back. “And I-I-.. I just-.. like your lessons. I-I mean I like other lessons-! But I like yours– a-and it’s not like I try to forget the homework, i-it just-.. happens. And you’re scarier than other-.. I mean-! Um.” Lip firmly between her teeth again, she rather sharply shut herself up and lowered her gaze to the papers she’d dragged over. “I-.. used to,” she murmured after a moment, “Wish on them. I-it-.. th-they’re mostly just a good luck charm now.”
Piper wet his lip and furrowed his brow, a small laugh bubbling in his throat. “Scary?” he repeated, his smile spreading. “What about me is scary?” He’d began to search her face and opened his mouth to insist-- He wanted to know what made him so intimidating! It wasn’t just her that seemed to be suspiciously obedient in his class, and he considered himself an extremely lax tutor. Maybe it was something he wasn’t catching onto?
Before he could pose his question, however, he let his lips fall close and stared at her quietly. “Can I ask where you got them?” he tried, offering her a softer smile. “I used to wear them on necklaces when I was younger. Leather cords-- That way you could make a wish and when when the cord fell or broke off, you could expect it to come true.” Smirking, he started scribbling on the paper in front of him. “My mother said they were gifts from Aphrodite. You could tell because they look... You know, womanly.” he chuckled. “They’re nice shells. Take care of them.”
