F for fanatism - Anna & Edouard
words-from-the-hiveâ:
While it was by no means a surprise to see her disagree with him once again, Edouard was however left wondering why she would make the switch to his family name. Was it an attempt to show her respect, or to put more distance between them? After all, he couldnât be surprised should she fight the natural course of things to avoid ever being friendly to someone who killed her dear beasts and monsters.
And yet, he could tell that she did not expect for him to sit down and listen, for them to have a conversation. What he did not expect, was to wonder if perhaps they could have more of those conversations. It had not taken him long before he realized that he enjoyed the confrontation, even if it only involved words and figures of speech. It was a nice change from the fights he was used to, and he wasnât too used to talking to someone who had arguments and wasnât only motivated by their feelings, their friendships. How tired he was of seeing someone cry and throw a fit over him being a bad person.
There was a part of him who suspected that she only cared to prove him wrong but he had noticed how interested she seemed in debating those issues. If they would probably never agree on this subject, the both of them were willing to discuss it.
Listening to her wouldnât be too complicated. She was a good teacher. Even if he disagreed with her, he had found himself listening to her with interest.
âThat was a joke,â he admitted with amusement. Chewing on his lip, he took the time to examine her question. His religion had nothing and everything to do with it. The texts confirmed what he already knew, but he did not think that God had sent them on this Earth to defeat evil. His grand father, on the other hand, probably would have agreed with this dogma. âI wouldnât believe in a religion that contradicts my beliefs,â he finally replied.
âMaybe, but I am going to protect my species either way.â If they were monsters, then they would be the last monsters standing. He knew that she had a point here, but she wasnât teaching him anything new. Edouard had made his peace long ago with the fact that he had gone too far to ever come back from the places he had been.
âI remember,â he wouldnât have rolled his eyes in front of a teacher. And so he blinked and shook his head.
âAre you going to call me Mr. De la Croix the whole time? Because thatâs not something I can agree with, Anna.â The name felt foreign to his tongue, as if he shouldnât have been using it, but with her permission, he didnât see why he shouldnât have used it. âAlright then. Iâll email you the details,â which meant that it was best if he did a good job keeping her safe.
.
She had thought that having him come into her office would have been brief, and likely resulting in her making him leave, or him becoming frustrated enough that he left on his own. It had not turned out that way, and though she was surprised, Anna couldnât find it in herself to be displeased with the specific turn of events that had unfolded. Edouard had proven himself to be a decent conversationalist after all, and Anna supposed that she shouldnât have been quite as surprised as she had found herself -Â
- after all, she knew he was hardly an idiot, even if the ideas that he held about the world were entirely naĂŻve and shaped by who he was. Though she knew he thought her equally, if not more, naĂŻve than she thought him. That much, however, she was used to. She had a thick enough skin that it usually didnât get to her, even if she occasionally found herself wanting to have someone to talk to more, or wanting to be able to go out somewhere with even just a friend - she had a few of those, but not many, and often went out alone, or got take-out.
Though she didnât think that wondering further about Edouardâs opinions on her was any good, she couldnât help but wonder what his life was like outside of the classroom. She knew he had friends - or at least people he spent time with - sheâd seen them leaving class together, or passing by her office - and so she wondered if they were proper friends, or just the sort he had gained by being wealthy and purportedly charming.
âYou can never be too certain,â she hummed in response to his comment. âI figured a remark on the subject was warranted, though I am relieved that it was a joke after all.â She watched him think about her question, and nodded at his response. âAnd should you find that no religion aligned with them, would you forgo them all, or would you chose the one whose beliefs you can best mold to fit your own?â She knew that she was asking questions that might be thought of as overly personal, but she found that when he started thinking deeply, she couldnât keep her eyes away from him, and that she wanted him to think more, even if his replies did not align with her own beliefs.
âSimply your own, or any others, too?â She raised an eyebrow. âBy your own do you mean humans, or do you mean slayers?â Question after question, though she hardly expected him to reply to them all.
âYou do have a decent memory,â she shrugged again.
âEt pourquoi?â She returned, question for question. âIt is your family name. I could be convinced to call you Edouard, but I only thought that a more formal name would suit you, given how highly you think of yourself.â Perhaps that was a bit too far, and she offered him an apologetic smile. âI will call you whatever you most prefer.â She took note of the fact that he had easily slipped into calling her Anna, but found that she didnât mind. âThat works well for me.â The emailing - and, admittedly, the thought of getting to explore graveyards, too.
