A Heavy Decision {Finished}

[Kari Muffin]

What a fantastic and amazing epiphany Theofilus had. It all made sense now, why she asked those questions towards the beginning of their conversation. Now he felt the slightest bit more comfortable around her, that last bit of paranoia slipping away.

Her parents were obviously sensitive about their ranks, which meant they put pressure on her. He could only imagine how awful that could feel when you had no desire but to be yourself. He had to thank the stars for his parents and their "lack of ambition."

"Ambition is a lofty goal. I'm sure you can't find it in a day," He smiled. "To be honest it could take years to find your calling."

That did bring up a another topic, did such a sheltered girl have a place to stay the night? He couldn't imagine such a girl wandering around the streets with no where to go.

"Here's another question: Where do you plan on staying?" He had to ask. She could always stay in the nice inn that he was staying in for the remainder of his business deals. "I only ask because you don't seem to know anyone here... or like it all that much." He really hoped he was wrong.

( *hug for you* I hope you aren't subjected to that typhoon. )

[seraaches]

(( lol i think it'll be okay.... apparently it'll hit us later.... lol ^^; ))

A lofty goal? Kelasia tilted her head thoughtfully. She wasn't certain if she agreed, but Theofilus sounded so certain about ambition that she reluctantly believed him. But years? She didn't really have years to spend searching for her ambition. Well, actually she -did- have years, she just didn't want to spend years looking for it. She wanted to find it, get settled in, so hopefully
she could find time for her books again. She gave a small sigh, feeling depressed again.

"Staying?" Kelasia echoed softly. "I thought I might be able to find something... here?" Obviously she not only didn't have anywhere here to stay, she also didn't know anyone in the city much less have friends among the city dwellers. "Is.... is that not okay?" Pale blue eyes showed her deep concern and worry; she didn't want to do something wrong and the thought that she might have -already- messed up, worried her terribly. She turned her upset gaze to the handsome bird beside her.

[Kari Muffin]

( >_> *wishes you the best of luck and all that* weather is one of the things that freaks me out. Oh the joy of tornadoes )

She was, in a word, adorable. He figured she had no one to stay with, so he might as well offer her a place and put it on the business' tab. Mirko was supposed to come with him in the first place so it was planned in the budget, he could easily get away with it. "You can stay where I'm staying, since it's not a good idea to sleep on the streets."

That was settled. But he was still left with a question. "What is your passion? I mean, what do you love to do above everything else?"

Perhaps that would solve her quest for ambition? Perhaps not. He was sure that everyone had something they were good at, or at least liked to do. She would at least have some sort of goal then. Hopefully she didn't misread his question as something else entirely. He was always worried about that.

"I'm not boring you am I?" he asked, since she seemed a bit dejected and worried earlier. She was certainly hard to read.

[seraaches]

(( tornadoes scare me, too.... ^^;;; i can handle earthquakes and typhoons, but not thunderstorms . xD ))

"Can I really?" Kelasia asked in surprise; it was entirely different for someone to just offer her aid, especially if she actually needed it. Her mother was convinced that she had to do -everything- on her own or she would never be a success. Thus far, however, Kelasia managed to disprove that: no matter how much on her own she worked, she was still a failure at everything. "That's... that's incredibly kind. I'm afraid that's too kind..." She hesitated slightly, trying to remember his name exactly. "Theophiles."

Her tail twitched at his next question and she tilted her head thoughtfully. It was a long moment before she offered shyly, "I really like books and looking things up. There's so much knowledge in books! People write about everything; it's amazing!" Her excitement and interest came through and she surprised herself with her own passion.

So she swiftly flushed and looked away again, pouncing swiftly on his next question just so she wouldn't embarrass herself further. "No, no, you're not boring at all..." Another hesitation. "Theophelis. I'm certain I'm the one boring you..." And, actually, she really -was- certain of that; she bored everyone. That's wot her mother told her, at least.

[Kari Muffin]

Obviously Theofilus came off as a stalker or something. Otherwise she would have never used the dreaded words "too kind." It was like being hit in the face with a brick--but at least he wasn't knocked out. He recovered when he heard her struggling with his name. At least she tried, he usually got "Um... hey you" most of the time.

"Theofilus," he hastily corrected. But he perked to her enthusiasm. She did have something she had a passion for. Books were definitely a good start. So many people forgot about knowledge because they were busy with work. Theo was guilty of that.

"Books you say? Well that's fantastic! You could find plenty of jobs that involve books! You're off to a great start before you've even begun your journey." His feathers fluffed a bit, in a happy sort of way. She would be fine, that was a comfort at least.

"If you're having trouble with my name you can call me Theo," he said while choking back a gag. Theo was one of the nicknames he didn't appreciate, but was the easiest for people to remember. He got used to it, he admitted, but he still shuddered every once in a while because of his childhood. Stupid stupid youth.

[seraaches]

It wasn't that there was anything wrong with Theo, but entirely that Kelasia had absolutely no self-confidence; his suggestion was too kind because she literally didn't deserve even his attention.

"Theofilus," she dutifully repeated back to him before repeating his name a few more times under her breath, trying to get it to stick this time. "Theofilus, Theofilus." She was still muttering it softly as she thought about wot he said about books.

"I don't know about a great start," she said hesitantly, interrupting her mantra for the moment. "But if you say it's a start...." Evidently her entire self-worth and decisions were based on wot other people told her they should be. Little surprise her confidence was so low.

Even in her distractedness, Kelasia could see his distaste at the nickname. "No, no, if you don't mind, I'd like to call you.... Theofilus." She blinked then smiled at him with almost a hint of pride that she had gotten right.... At least she was pretty certain she had.

[Kari Muffin]

He blinked, this girl didn't seem to have all that much self confidence. It just lessened as he continued to speak with her. It made him self aware of all of his moments. He needed to stop think for a moment.

"Thank you for calling me Theofilus, I do appreciate it," he said quietly, "Kelasia, I'm simply giving you advice. You don't actually have to listen to it. If you read, you can easily do secretary jobs and it won't be a problem." He shrugged.

"All right, do you have any more questions? Or do you want to pause for drinks?" he grinned. "It might be nice for a break, you know, since my throat is getting parched, I don't know about yours. Perhaps we could talk about the books you like?" He wanted to help her as much he could. At least helping one person would make him a better person perhaps? No, it was just nice to help.

For once he had met a cute innocent girl that had nothing more on her mind than books. It was a rare event in this day and age, at least in his job.

[seraaches]

Ironically, from Kelasia's point of view, her confidence had been oddly high throughout their conversation; Theo didn't talk down to her, didn't belittle her, answered her questions, and seemed to genuinely care about her responses. It was so unusual, that she subconsciously shifted any realization about it away. She just wasn't ready to deal with that yet.

The skunk gave an uneasy shrug when he told her she didn't have to listen to his advice; that went against everything she'd been taught through her life. Wot others thought defined -everything- and she needed to pay attention to wot others wanted so that she could make them happy. But secretarial jobs sounded as though it could be interesting.

"I always have questions," she offered softly, almost sardonically. "But a drink would be nice." Actually, if he wanted to take a break, she would never say or do anything to prevent that. Of course, she didn't know where anything was or wot places might be good, so he would have to lead. Then again, he would have had to lead the way whether or now she did know where anything was; she certainly wouldn't take the initiative.

"Uhm, do you read, too?" she asked softly, afraid of upsetting him.

[Kari Muffin]

He didn't know much of this area, just recommendations from his coworkers and friends. There was a nice place in sight that looked quaint and ready for business. Weather that was a good thing or not, he wasn't sure.

Theofilus was caught off guard by her question. Did he read? Of course he read! "Yes, I read, Kelasia. I don't have reading glasses for show," he snorted. "I haven't been able to read in a while though, I've been quite busy." He rolled his eyes. If it weren't for his partner he would have plenty of time for reading causally. In the near future he would probably have less time for reading his favorite novels. He had to return that one to the library....

"Right! Drinks!" He tried to stay focused. He didn't want any more awkward silences for the day. Theofilus quickly looked around, his eyes ending up on the shop he had previously spied.

He pointed to the said quaint shop with a now active waitress ready for the simple prospect of customers. "How about we go there?"

( OOC: I hope you're not bored by this. >_> I feel like a bad RPer. )

[seraaches]

(( lol Not in the least bit bored; you are so NOT bad RPer.. xD;; i'm still trying to find Kel's character so any RP is a good RP.. xD; i love Theo's reactions here.. x3 ))

His snort caught her off guard and she flushed and dropped her head at having asked wot was evidently a very stupid question. That's exactly wot her mother had always warned her about but she had just blurted it out without thought anyway. And, worse still, it sounded as though she had offended the bird. She should have really thought about the glasses he wore before she'd said anything.

The last thing she wanted to do was alienate Theofilus in any way: he really was the first one to act as a real friend to her and not simply take advantage of her shy and self-effacing demeanour. Now, more than ever, she didn't want to say or do anything that would push him away and now she subconsciously obsessed over how to not upset him further. Though she would love to ask about his preferred reading choices. Oh, and more about his business, especially since he just mentioned being busy. Probably because of his partner's upcoming nuptials and thus double the work load, but wot if it was more? Was there a busy season for his business? Wot did he ship the most? The questions just kept coming though she didn't dare voice them now.

"Wherever you want to go," the skunk answered softly. "I have no preference." Which really was true.