[I've pretty much always had pets too, so being without is kind of gutting. But our dog died of cancer a few years ago and we've not gotten a new one because we thought we might move across an ocean and that's rough. My parents don't want any pets though and my mom Strongly Dislikes my aunt's dog, so we only get our dog fix when visiting my aunt at her house this trip.]
"I think I might have to work myself back into Hank's good graces before broaching that topic," Aurus said playfully, though he knew there was also some truth to it. He didn't want to draw Charles' attention back to that topic or to darken the mood, but he knew that Hank was not best pleased with him right now. Hopefully once he saw that Charles indeed came to no harm he would warm again.
As for where he would retire after dinner, Aurus had a ready answer for that question: "My room would be best. An hour or two of meditation before we begin would suit me well.
"My own connection to the Dream is not, if we're honest, as thoroughly intimate as some of my kin. I am far from Soundless--our word for those who work to cut themselves off from the Dream entirely--but there are times when I have explored their ways. Our current distance from my homeland organically makes the Dream feel more remote in a way that many sylvari would find quite distressing. It hasn't bothered me, so I've not spent my time deliberately deepening the connection, but tonight I will. For me, it will be like returning home after a long time away."
Of course all of this sounded terribly obscure and esoteric to talk about. It would be much easier simply to experience it all than to try to explain, and the idea that the two of them would be able to communicate all of this in a way that superseded words was one of the things Aurus was especially looking forward to.
For now, though, they still had dinner and these greetings from the students, all of which Aurus returned in kind, addressing children by name when he remembered who was who, and occasionally when he forgot and simply said hello, asking Charles quietly under his breath to confirm if a particular name was correct. All of this, for Aurus, was a very new experience if he was honest, and he didn't mind admitting it. "It's made quite the impact on me as well. Do you know, I haven't met this many people in a day for as long as I can remember. I haven't even been around this many people, total, in years! But there's something about this place you've made, Charles. It gets under the skin. It's quite exceptional."
Without giving it too much direct thought, Aurus was beginning to realize that what he was feeling extended beyond being in no hurry to leave. In fact the idea of becoming a part of the life of this place was starting to germinate in his mind, fertilized by his meeting with the students. What precisely that meant he had no idea, but if it turned out that there really was a place for him here he could, he thought, see himself taking it.
no subject
"I think I might have to work myself back into Hank's good graces before broaching that topic," Aurus said playfully, though he knew there was also some truth to it. He didn't want to draw Charles' attention back to that topic or to darken the mood, but he knew that Hank was not best pleased with him right now. Hopefully once he saw that Charles indeed came to no harm he would warm again.
As for where he would retire after dinner, Aurus had a ready answer for that question: "My room would be best. An hour or two of meditation before we begin would suit me well.
"My own connection to the Dream is not, if we're honest, as thoroughly intimate as some of my kin. I am far from Soundless--our word for those who work to cut themselves off from the Dream entirely--but there are times when I have explored their ways. Our current distance from my homeland organically makes the Dream feel more remote in a way that many sylvari would find quite distressing. It hasn't bothered me, so I've not spent my time deliberately deepening the connection, but tonight I will. For me, it will be like returning home after a long time away."
Of course all of this sounded terribly obscure and esoteric to talk about. It would be much easier simply to experience it all than to try to explain, and the idea that the two of them would be able to communicate all of this in a way that superseded words was one of the things Aurus was especially looking forward to.
For now, though, they still had dinner and these greetings from the students, all of which Aurus returned in kind, addressing children by name when he remembered who was who, and occasionally when he forgot and simply said hello, asking Charles quietly under his breath to confirm if a particular name was correct. All of this, for Aurus, was a very new experience if he was honest, and he didn't mind admitting it. "It's made quite the impact on me as well. Do you know, I haven't met this many people in a day for as long as I can remember. I haven't even been around this many people, total, in years! But there's something about this place you've made, Charles. It gets under the skin. It's quite exceptional."
Without giving it too much direct thought, Aurus was beginning to realize that what he was feeling extended beyond being in no hurry to leave. In fact the idea of becoming a part of the life of this place was starting to germinate in his mind, fertilized by his meeting with the students. What precisely that meant he had no idea, but if it turned out that there really was a place for him here he could, he thought, see himself taking it.