And let me waste my impeccable Nigel Thornberry impression? [ He scoffs, shaking his head. ] Missed opportunity, Katie.
[ She turns away from him and goes back to sorting out her hair, allowing him the opportunity to watch her without feeling strange about it. Their eyes meet in the mirror, and he finds himself responding honestly when she asks what she does instead of coming up with a politely dismissive response like he usually would have done. ]
It hurts less every time. [ Which is probably helped along by the fact that his parents and his sisters aren't here; it feels less real when his immediate family isn't present. ] The worst homecoming was when I left the Temple. I wasn't used to being a disappointment and a social pariah, it was definitely a new experience for me.
[ His family had been as kind to him as they could have been, given the circumstances, always willing to support him no matter what he chose to do with himself, but he knows they were disappointed that he gave up his place at the monastery. It had been a safe place for him, cloistered, sheltering him away from the harsh reality of the outside world, all the more seductive because of that promise of quiet privacy. But it hadn't been the right place for him. He's still not quite sure what is the right place for him, but he does know he's more content with his lot in life now than he has been for many long years. ]
no subject
[ She turns away from him and goes back to sorting out her hair, allowing him the opportunity to watch her without feeling strange about it. Their eyes meet in the mirror, and he finds himself responding honestly when she asks what she does instead of coming up with a politely dismissive response like he usually would have done. ]
It hurts less every time. [ Which is probably helped along by the fact that his parents and his sisters aren't here; it feels less real when his immediate family isn't present. ] The worst homecoming was when I left the Temple. I wasn't used to being a disappointment and a social pariah, it was definitely a new experience for me.
[ His family had been as kind to him as they could have been, given the circumstances, always willing to support him no matter what he chose to do with himself, but he knows they were disappointed that he gave up his place at the monastery. It had been a safe place for him, cloistered, sheltering him away from the harsh reality of the outside world, all the more seductive because of that promise of quiet privacy. But it hadn't been the right place for him. He's still not quite sure what is the right place for him, but he does know he's more content with his lot in life now than he has been for many long years. ]
Now it's not so bad.