@bandaidbites / for murphy
"i've been trying to determine whether you're avoiding people intentionally."
cassian motioned vaguely towards the bustling food court, their current position tucked just far enough away from the worst of the crowd to escape the constant noise without entirely removing themselves from it. a faint smile lingered at the corner of his mouth as he balanced his tray against one arm, the other making a small, almost absent gesture in the direction of the gathered survivors.
"or whether you're simply wiser than the rest of us," he added, a quiet chuckle following as he set his tray down on the table nearby. part of him considered waiting. once upon a time, he would have. his upbringing had all but guaranteed it. one did not simply sit down at another person's table uninvited. then again, the world had ended, and if society insisted on collapsing, it seemed only fair to borrow a few liberties from its remains.
even so, he left an empty seat between them before settling into the chair. "you don't mind, do you?" the question came after the fact, polite enough to acknowledge the possibility that he might.
“you're remarkably quiet out there, i've noticed that.” cassian had spent most of his life around animals, reading them, handling them, learning the subtle differences between nervousness and confidence, between caution and outright fear. his profession had demanded a certain awareness of movement, of space, of things left unsaid. finding someone who moved with the same sort of quiet precision had been unexpected.
"most people make far more noise than they realise."