Third Floor Common Room - Monday Morning

[wantstocheer.livejournal.com]

Claire was in a great mood this morning. She felt like a huge weight was lifted from her shoulders thanks to her conversation with Dinah last night. Plus there was the whole normal hormones thing.

And maybe thinking about Jon a little.

She was awake far earlier than she needed to be, so she headed down to the common room and found what she needed to bake some cookies. She put the radio on and might even be singing along a little.


[open as common rooms are!]

Comments

[future_sandworm]

Nodding, Leto said: "No offence taken. Trust isn't something to give lightly, after all." He smiled at her.

[glacial_queen]

She retuirned his smile, looking slightly relieved. "I feel as if not everyone here would understand that. That they trust immediately, and can see no reason others shouldn't. Some people seem very...young to me. And I can't decide if I envy them or if I'm frustrated by them. I think the answer is 'yes.'"

[future_sandworm]

"I believe it has more to do with many people living in worlds where trust can be freely given without endangering one's life," Leto replied.

[glacial_queen]

"I find that...hard to comprehend," Karla admitted. "Though I once did."

[future_sandworm]

"What changed?"

[glacial_queen]

"My parents died, my uncle took over, and Glacia became a hostile and dangerous place," Karla answered quietly, shredding the remains of a cookie.

[future_sandworm]

"What happened to you parents?" Leto asked carefully, assuming that the uncle wasn't a person to be trusted.

[glacial_queen]

"They died when I was nine. There was a tragic accident. My aunt, the strongest Black Widow in Glacia, and my uncle died, too."

Karla was willing to bet that Leto was capable of reading in between the lines there.

[future_sandworm]

Oh, he certainly was. He also assumed there was a reason Karla didn't tell him straight out.

"I am sorry."

[glacial_queen]

Her jaw set. "Fortunately, my kind and beloved uncle took me and my cousin in. How kind."

[future_sandworm]

"To keep an eye on you, I assume." Leto studied her expression. "Would you have preferred another place?"

[glacial_queen]

The corner of her mouth kicked up in an expression somewhere between a wry smile and a grimace. "Something like that," she agreed. "After their deaths, I went to live and study with the Hourglass coven for a few years. That was fine. But a little over a year ago, he called me back home to the estate."

There was more to Hobart's manipulations that just a simple desire to 'keep an eye on her.' But that got into territory she wasn't yet ready to discuss with Leto. Certainly not in so public a place.

[future_sandworm]

There was more to the story, Leto suspected, but he wasn't going to pry. Karla would tell him if she wanted to. He nodded slowly, watching her.

[glacial_queen]

Leto had a remarkable way of communicating even when he wasn't saying anything. Karla suspected it was his eyes--they gave new meaning to the word 'piercing.' "Partially also a hostage," she said, dancing around the truth.

[future_sandworm]

That wasn't surprising, really. Leto knew about politics, after all. "And what did he want from you?"

He was sure Karla would decline to answer if she felt it necessary.

[glacial_queen]

Karla deflected the question slightly. "Do they often want more than the simply obvious?" She figured if anyone would know, it would be Leto, with his many generations of memories.

[future_sandworm]

"Some plans are less obvious than others," Leto replied, smiling at Karla.

[glacial_queen]

"What are some of the less obvious ones?" she asked, smiling back.

[future_sandworm]

"That would depend on the particular situation," Leto replied. "So I can offer little help there."

[glacial_queen]

"Oh," she said, sounding disappointed. "Well, figured I'd ask."