05.Feb.12, 10:12 PM
Talian clutched his book close to him, as if it were protecting him from potential scorn. He didn't mind Erisi's closeness, though it reminded the healer of their previous encounter. No matter how he tried to twist it in his mind, the whole thing hadn't been so bad. The worst part of it was that Erisi wasn't Fiora. His eyes widened and shined with just a bit of hopefulness as he realized he was not about to be destroyed. A faint smile appeared, accented by the shadows cast by candlelight. "Thanks," he said softly as Erisi informed him that he was actually there to help.
Talian couldn't imagine how Erisi was going to help, but that quickly became evident. The healer listened quietly as Erisi spoke, noting the almost uncharacteristic (though admittedly hard-edged) kindness and understanding Erisi was displaying. While at a loss for normal interaction most of the time, Talian was perceptive enough. He knew how peoples' body language worked and he had an ear for vocal inflections. As far as he could tell, Erisi was being honest with him. Talian's pessimistic and suspicious side reminded him that Erisi could just be a good actor, but this didn't seem like Erisi's style. If the other candidate wanted to hurt Talian, he would have just done it.
His smile slowly crept wider across his face. "Thank you," he repeated, his voice warm and relaxed, more relaxed than it had been all day. He felt like Erisi had given him a gift. The idea that someone so callous was going out of his way to give him advice was, in it's own way, touching. He leaned back against his headboard, much as he'd done last time, and sighed. "...This isn't the first time I've been told that I need to try it," he said, carefully avoiding a definition of 'it'. "And I'm...I'm not sure if I'm standing or not. I was told that I'm probably not suitable, but I'm being required to take the classes and such anyhow...I think they may be trying to...'fix' me, or at least see if I can," he admitted in a mellow tone.
Talian couldn't imagine how Erisi was going to help, but that quickly became evident. The healer listened quietly as Erisi spoke, noting the almost uncharacteristic (though admittedly hard-edged) kindness and understanding Erisi was displaying. While at a loss for normal interaction most of the time, Talian was perceptive enough. He knew how peoples' body language worked and he had an ear for vocal inflections. As far as he could tell, Erisi was being honest with him. Talian's pessimistic and suspicious side reminded him that Erisi could just be a good actor, but this didn't seem like Erisi's style. If the other candidate wanted to hurt Talian, he would have just done it.
His smile slowly crept wider across his face. "Thank you," he repeated, his voice warm and relaxed, more relaxed than it had been all day. He felt like Erisi had given him a gift. The idea that someone so callous was going out of his way to give him advice was, in it's own way, touching. He leaned back against his headboard, much as he'd done last time, and sighed. "...This isn't the first time I've been told that I need to try it," he said, carefully avoiding a definition of 'it'. "And I'm...I'm not sure if I'm standing or not. I was told that I'm probably not suitable, but I'm being required to take the classes and such anyhow...I think they may be trying to...'fix' me, or at least see if I can," he admitted in a mellow tone.