“I want to know what makes you sad.” from Mahri and "I want to know what hobbies you like" from Cordelja
Rex looks at Mahri and their ears sag at once.
“...Thinking about all the time I’ve wasted,” they murmur. “Or- rather, I suppose, the amount of time it took me to ... realize some things about myself. The time it took to find the people who would truly be there for me. The... wasted efforts in people and places that wound up hurting me. The loss of opportunities...”
“I gave up a lot of myself for someone who didn’t really want who I was at my core,” They explain at last. “And I’m very glad I’ve walked away from her, and not sad about that at all- but what hurts is knowing that she drove a deep wedge between myself and people I cared about. My whole career, even... She managed to drive a wedge between myself, and - myself, if that makes sense? It hurts to think about, and I still catch myself thinking about that a lot.”
“Never compromise who you are for anyone,” They say at last, as if they feel obligated or compelled to turn this into a teaching moment. “Not even someone you think, perhaps, that you’re supposed to do something like that for. The truth is that the people in the world who are good for you, would never ask you to be anything other than yourself.”
~~~
Rex brightens at the far lighter hearted question from Cordelja
“Oh- gracious, that’s a popular one, so I’ll try not to go on about them all, but- I have sort-of maybe been investing a little more lately in the culinary arts. I’m not Bismark quality, by any stretch, of course- but I figured, I really should expand on what I’m able to make, what with the twins arriving and all.”
“I’ve given savoury pies a go, lately, which was horrifyingly difficult because it involved pastry, which is very much baking and far more in Ceridwen’s realm of expertise- but over fifty percent of it was unburnt, and I would like to think that the next... maybe the one after the next one will be edible!”
