>>5535114You calm down and think this through logically. Marina is under the impression that you’re here of your own volition, and it won’t be easy to arrange the truth in a way that won’t greatly offend her. Plus, that might goad Set into interfering further, something that is almost certain to end poorly for you.
Therefore, the best way to handle this is to avoid rocking the boat. And that means you need to play along with Set’s carefully arranged charade, at least for now.
Just think of it as a debriefing; let her steer the majority of the conversation while maintaining a veneer of interest. Offer a few token topics of your own to feign interest, without exposing yourself to too much risk. Speaking of which…
> “It’s nice to meet you too, Marina. Trust me, I don’t scare easily. Besides, I’ve been looking forward to meeting you; I’m glad to see that nothing’s been exaggerated.”Her obviously forced smile fades a bit, and you immediately start to worry that you’ve blown it already.
Damn it, this is why you prefer to keep to yourself. It’s not like you were a ladykiller before you enlisted, and the Sandbox served only to further strengthen your bad habits.
Can’t even make it five minutes before you do something stupid to ruin the mood.
About halfway into your mental self-flagellation, you notice something that gives you pause.
The reason her smiled dimmed wasn’t because you inadvertently offended her or said something thoughtlessly rude. Instead, her superficial smile is replaced by something a little more discreet and genuine.
Maybe you give yourself too little credit. Besides, you’ve always been good at talking yourself into and out of trouble, hopefully that talent’ll come in handy tonight.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKYmisws_rwWhile waiting the waiter, you both make attempts at small talk. It’s a bit awkward and fumbling at first, but you eventually find a comfortable rhythm.
In doing so, you get the sense that she’s trying to get a surreptitious feel for your personality and ethos, which isn’t something you can fault her for. You’re doing the exact same thing as well, only hopefully better.
Despite her easy confidence, you can catch a hint of tension under the surface. Not directed towards you, just a kind of general stress. You know the feeling well enough, given the number of near-miss ops you’ve gone on.
And she didn’t seem to be bluffing about being a little rusty, you get a gut feeling that she’s probably as unused to all of this as you are.
Lastly, her body language also seems to indicate a degree of approval for your polite evasiveness.
Most people would regard your taciturn nature as a sign of disinterest or hostility, but Marina seems to appreciate that you prefer to play your cards close to the vest.
After all, no word is more powerful than the one that goes unspoken.
