All the while that she spoke and he listened, she was sensing him. Even the facial expressions she didn't see were betrayed by his constant emotional flux, and she wondered briefly if he was ever still in that regard. Curiosity, worry, a low grade of discomfort once the attention was focused on him. Odd that he was being so open to a virtual stranger; she had the feeling he was not so candid to even some of his coworkers, which begged the question of what she was in his perspective. He seemed also eager to be within her tight constraints of comfort level, though eager perhaps seemed too strong a word. Keen, perhaps?
Still, she nodded once at his answer, seemingly satisfied. She brushed her hair away from her face, tucking it behind her ear. Amber eyes carefully surveyed his face before answering, and something struck her; he was young. Probably quite a few years younger than her... and she felt tired all of a sudden, deep down in her bones. Why he even bothered humoring her was beyond her scope of emotional understanding. She didn't actively seek out nor encourage connection, yet somehow he was getting under her skin, getting to her thoughts it felt like. The old urge to retreat emotionally and find physical distance was a powerful pull, but she resisted by taking all of his reactions in.
Every emotion, every small thought was betrayed by a movement, a micro facial expression flickering and fading, shifting himself to make her comfortable... and she found it weirdly refreshing. She didn't wear a mask... yet oddly she felt the intense desire to startle him by being blunt, shake out some intense reaction, but once again it was subdued. At his question she exhaled quietly, lips twitching slightly in near nostalgia.
"I wanted to understand," she replied softly, eyeing him. "About everything. Blasters, vibroblades, exotic weaponry. How their wound patterns could be treated... how to be useful in a galaxy where being educated matters little." Her voice was soft, gazing at him more directly now. Slowly, carefully, she shifted over to face him more directly, eyes meeting his directly. "There are some perks to being a physician... the first of all having a code to live by. I find it reassuring to know the first rule: Do no harm. I'm sure you understand very well the need for rules and codes."
She had an odd urge, again, to close distance, but pain and a need to have some space for sake of not pushing too far warred in her mind. She would wait still, read him more to understand what he wanted, if he even knew at all. Her own question followed easily after, voice a quiet rasp. It was the most obvious, easy question in the galaxy, and yet perhaps not the easiest to answer.
"Why a Ranger?"
@TerranSteel
Still, she nodded once at his answer, seemingly satisfied. She brushed her hair away from her face, tucking it behind her ear. Amber eyes carefully surveyed his face before answering, and something struck her; he was young. Probably quite a few years younger than her... and she felt tired all of a sudden, deep down in her bones. Why he even bothered humoring her was beyond her scope of emotional understanding. She didn't actively seek out nor encourage connection, yet somehow he was getting under her skin, getting to her thoughts it felt like. The old urge to retreat emotionally and find physical distance was a powerful pull, but she resisted by taking all of his reactions in.
Every emotion, every small thought was betrayed by a movement, a micro facial expression flickering and fading, shifting himself to make her comfortable... and she found it weirdly refreshing. She didn't wear a mask... yet oddly she felt the intense desire to startle him by being blunt, shake out some intense reaction, but once again it was subdued. At his question she exhaled quietly, lips twitching slightly in near nostalgia.
"I wanted to understand," she replied softly, eyeing him. "About everything. Blasters, vibroblades, exotic weaponry. How their wound patterns could be treated... how to be useful in a galaxy where being educated matters little." Her voice was soft, gazing at him more directly now. Slowly, carefully, she shifted over to face him more directly, eyes meeting his directly. "There are some perks to being a physician... the first of all having a code to live by. I find it reassuring to know the first rule: Do no harm. I'm sure you understand very well the need for rules and codes."
She had an odd urge, again, to close distance, but pain and a need to have some space for sake of not pushing too far warred in her mind. She would wait still, read him more to understand what he wanted, if he even knew at all. Her own question followed easily after, voice a quiet rasp. It was the most obvious, easy question in the galaxy, and yet perhaps not the easiest to answer.
"Why a Ranger?"
@TerranSteel