#derora

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The drumming. Can't you hear it? I thought it would stop, but it never does. Never, ever stops.

@dot-speckter​:

[It was a nice surprise to see Annie standing a few metres away. They’d only spoken once but it had made an impression, she was a lovely person, and quiet like herself.]

I-I… Yes. [Dot nodded, smiling. ] Thank you very much. [It meant a lot to hear that, especially since she didn’t even know the other girl very well. She shuffled slightly to the side, making room in case Annie decided to sit with her.] 

You like zodiac stuff? I’ve read a little about it…

[Annie’s always a little nervous at taking social cues: the idea of misreading them is horrifying. Dot might be shuffling over to make space for Annie to sit down, or she might be just trying to get comfortable. Or, worse, she might just be offering out of politeness without actually wanting Annie there at all.

But as her therapists are so keen to remind her, letting herself spiral into that sort of thinking isn’t healthy at all. Even if you do make a social faux pas, the other person will probably forget it before the day is out. Annie’s the only one worrying about it for years. So before she has time to overthink it any further, she takes a seat.] 

Oh, um... [She laughs, a little embarrassed.] I mean, I know it’s silly. I guess it’s just fun to think about. I’m a pisces too, my birthday is the first of March, and I spent a lot of time in high school looking that stuff up. I wanted to know who I was compatible with, which is so embarrassing, I know. I was always on the lookout for a cute taurus, gemini, or cancer, because apparently they’re our best love matches. I mean, not that anyone wanted to date me in high school, but... yeah. [Annie laughs again, breathy and blushy. Didn’t matter what sign her crush was born under, it generally wouldn’t stop them laughing when she opened a locker full of shaving foam, or had a spider put in her hair, or whatever torture they’d come up with for her on any given day.] 

@dot-speckter

[Dante is a proud man. He rarely admits to being wrong or making mistakes. Out loud, anyway. Inside, he spends a great deal of time questioning himself.

And these days, it feels like the questions keep piling up on his lap with no answers being made readily apparent. Every day he questions his ability to remain committed to the NWRF a little more. He’s upholding rules he doesn’t believe him, and the hypocrisy weighs very heavily on his shoulders. Apathy becomes harder and harder to maintain, crushed as it is beneath the weight of all these questions. His only saving grace is that he’s not actively involved with the security side of things. It’s never his job to reprimand or punish; except that he’d taken it upon himself to reprimand someone quite recently.

It’s been bothering him. More than he’d allow anyone to guess. He’d reduced the poor girl to tears, for goodness sake, after she’d already been fighting a difficult moment. He had known that snapping at her wasn’t productive; he hated that he’d become that person. That monster, that allowed his irritation to take control of him. He’d vowed many years ago that he’d never allow that to happen again.

So, while Dante is a proud man, he is also a man in search of forgiveness. His own, more than anything. He needs to start making amends somehow, so he decides to start here: in the library, where he has been informed that Dot spends a lot of time. He finds her perusing the bookshelves. If he is feeling a little sick with himself, a little wracked with guilt, it isn’t written on his face or in his body language.] 

Ms. Speckter - if you’re not too busy, could I borrow you for a moment? [It’s clear that this is a request she’s free to turn down, not an order.] 

[It was a rather easy question to answer, and Dot was quite delighted that he didn’t seem opposed to the idea, a good start for sure.] Hm, I suppose I’d rather learn this. And don’t you think it’d be nice to talk to someone in your native language? Though it might take a while for me to get the pronunciation correct. [Beneficial for both parties, she leaned forward, eager for him to agree.]

Well, if I want to learn another language then I’ll learn them as well. [Dot was stubborn, and occasionally she was also let out a bit of confidence. It would give her something to do, learning various languages was exciting.]

["If I want to learn another language then I’ll learn them as well.” Constantin’s mouth twitches. She’s ambitious, he’ll give her that. Languages aren’t easy - he grew up speaking Romanian and Russian so they come naturally to him, but learning English even as a teenager had been tough. Dot was young, but not a child. Still, far be it from him to discourage someone from wanting to learn. And she’s right: it would be nice to talk to someone in his native language.] 

You have good attitude. If I help you learn Romanian, in return you correct me vhen I say wrong grammar in English. This vay ve both learn. You like to learn? [It’s uncommon to meet someone with such a keen interest in learning new languages. He’s curious as to how far that ambition extends.]