HARPER
At last she returns his embrace, arms winding tight around him. Harper bears this too, keeping the gentle rocking motion that never even shuffles their feet across the tiles. As if to say this too I can take. "Am I the exception, or do you place such high expectations on yourself that you believe others feel the same when they look at you?" It's spoken like an idle musing, ensuring that she would not feel pressured to answer one way or the other. Open-ended, free of belittlement or chiding undertones. If others truly did see her that way, clearly she was spending time with the wrong sorts. He suspects that may be part of her confusion; that, and the inherent troublesomeness of determining the trustworthy from the deceitful.
"Hm, that's not an easy answer. Sometimes it's a feeling in your gut. Sometimes they prove it to you immediately - protecting you or others, breaking up fights, sharing with people worse off than them. Things that show their morals are good long before you ever introduce yourself." Or tell them of her bloodline, which he suspects is part of the greater problem. Greed would forever be a human trait, and indebting themselves to her would likely be their first effort. "Sometimes it just takes time. If they keep your own secrets. If they worry for you, or make time to reach out despite distance or busy life. Sometimes all you need to know that someone is trustworthy is to determine if they care for you; because then they will do what it takes to keep you safe in all ways." Emotionally, physically, mentally. It's the best answer he has, which is unfortunate considering that detailed as he'd made it, it's still quite open to interpretation and variant upon each person she would meet.
Harper has no insight to her thoughts, so when she pulls away he loosens his grasp but doesn't release her, frowning as he tries to parse the sudden tension in her body. "Hey, it's okay," he shushes automatically. "Everyone needs a shoulder and a hug sometimes. Just as you want to help when others feel this way, I want to do the same." Wondering (quite wrongly) if she was pulling away out of a misplaced idea that she was relying too heavily on him physically for comfort. But he leaves his grip loose, easy to break should she choose to.
"Hm, that's not an easy answer. Sometimes it's a feeling in your gut. Sometimes they prove it to you immediately - protecting you or others, breaking up fights, sharing with people worse off than them. Things that show their morals are good long before you ever introduce yourself." Or tell them of her bloodline, which he suspects is part of the greater problem. Greed would forever be a human trait, and indebting themselves to her would likely be their first effort. "Sometimes it just takes time. If they keep your own secrets. If they worry for you, or make time to reach out despite distance or busy life. Sometimes all you need to know that someone is trustworthy is to determine if they care for you; because then they will do what it takes to keep you safe in all ways." Emotionally, physically, mentally. It's the best answer he has, which is unfortunate considering that detailed as he'd made it, it's still quite open to interpretation and variant upon each person she would meet.
Harper has no insight to her thoughts, so when she pulls away he loosens his grasp but doesn't release her, frowning as he tries to parse the sudden tension in her body. "Hey, it's okay," he shushes automatically. "Everyone needs a shoulder and a hug sometimes. Just as you want to help when others feel this way, I want to do the same." Wondering (quite wrongly) if she was pulling away out of a misplaced idea that she was relying too heavily on him physically for comfort. But he leaves his grip loose, easy to break should she choose to.
if brokenness is a form of art
I must be a poster child prodigy
I must be a poster child prodigy
