[Fin] Sights That I'm Seeing Are Priceless [Cally]

[Bee]

She eyed the Corvie critically; her response organized itself in half a second, her words precise, her tone mild. "I humbly submit that her fit has less to do with my 'unsavory mannerisms' and more to do with her own weakness of character." Honestly, the bawling was just sad.

The allegations of sociopathy she would not abide. Her personality was anything but antisocial. Were not her causes noble, her goals in life peaceful? She was not an aggressive or rule-breaking person; she felt for others. The suggestion that she might need to be kept away from the rest of society was as insulting as it was jaw-droppingly insane. "I think it's a terrible stretch to assume my lack of sympathy for her failure indicates a lack of empathy in general. Additionally, I find it quite irresponsible of you to make such a diagnosis based on such limited evidence."

[Callypso]

Iso wrinkled her nose in distaste. Either this woman was completely mad, as she had speculated earlier, or she was simply heartless. Normally the doctor found the conduct of others to be inconsequential, but this glider had involved her through personal insult. It was glaringly obvious that her aggression had caused the server’s outburst, yet the Esterberry could not (or would not) correlate the incidents as pertaining to her own actions. What was the source of this fallible logic?

Interesting that this supposed “weakness of character” would display itself only after your arrival. There have been other cantankerous patrons this morning, just none so abusive.

It was irrefutable fact. The Corvie had completed her purchase several minutes before the Esterberry’s appearance, which provided ample opportunity to witness the impatience and fussiness of the other customers. The barista had handled the affair quite well… until she had shown up at the counter.

No, your impression is much mistaken. Her condition is clearly linked to your assault.

The ferret was also unimpressed with the glider’s attempt to disprove her theory, though she supposed that one as unbalanced as the woman before her should probably not be expected to process the current events with much accuracy…

Ordinarily, I might agree that there has been insufficient research for that sort of diagnosis, however, your actions to date and further inquiries into the cause of your behavior have proven otherwise. One who takes pleasure in terrorizing her neighbors, whether or not the attack is solicited, is indicative of antisocial or dissociative tendencies. What other possibilities could there be for such indiscriminate malevolence?

[Bee]

Why was this woman so dead-set on diagnosing her as some kind of monster? She was really running out of patience; the stimulation she usually felt from an engaging argument had popped up and then vanished again within seconds. Phaedra liked to think she had a certain sense for when debates clearly were not going to go anywhere (here she thought bitterly about a couple of her literature classes, and a couple of the students in them that she had despised), and rather felt that this was going to be just such an incident.

Her coffee was going to get cold. And that made her a sad little Phaedra indeed.

“I am not claiming,” she said, as calmly as she could, “that my criticism did not set her off; I am saying that her ludicrously overblown weeping is a product of her own poor emotional fortitude. My malevolence, as you hyperbolically label it, was hardly indiscriminate, and I should thank you for not insinuating that I go around terrorizing people.”

[Callypso]

Iso was vexed. Not only did this woman not to seem to understand what the ferret had been trying to convey, but Iso was beginning to wonder why it felt so important in the first place. Iso did not like self-reflection. A doctor had no use for self-doubt and endless speculation. It wasted time and made her quite irate. This Esterberry was nettling her sensibilities (if Iso had any to begin with). This conversation was a strong reminder of why she generally disliked social interaction – more often than not it was awkward and the longer one spoke, the greater the risk for miscommunication and misunderstanding. Recently, however, Iso had felt drawn to the outside world, and thus other Cards – but she didn’t like to think about that, either. Iso felt a strong desire to just leave the Esterberry alone with her inane logic, but another tug within suggested she ought to finish what she started. Correction: what this woman had started.

She wrinkled her nose as she searched for a way to accurately describe her thoughts.

I am… relieved… that you’ve come to the realization that your actions have caused our server… grief. However, I fear that there is a still some disconnect. She struggled for words again. Still, I find that it was rather unnecessary to lecture her so and then to insult me without provocation.

Iso looked visibly flustered now. Though she would never admit it, she had neither the social skill set nor proper empathy to create rapport with this Card. She could piece together the barista’s afflictions and opined that the glider was self-important, yet she could not address either in a way that would be mutually beneficial.

The coffee was beginning to leave a bad taste in her mouth, and it had nothing to do with its preparation.

[Bee]

Phaedra was pondering some sort of rebuttal concerning conspicuous amounts of needles and something poetic about the base nature of man with perhaps some kind of fruit-related metaphor, but before this sentence could be effectively strung together and issued from her mouth in a glorious stream of linguistic brilliance, something rather broke her mood.

A large, bellicose fellow was suddenly standing rather unnervingly close, though for a moment Phaedra was too transfixed by his overbite to process this. She was not sure where he came from. Had he been somewhere in the cafe?

"The both of ya ought to be run out of town! The lot of you are nuts. If the both of you don’t vacate—” He made a furious gesture that might have been strangulation—“I’ll remove you.”

"This nice woman and I were just having an academic discussion," Phaedra said, politely. “No nuisance intended.”

[Callypso]

Iso’s narrowed eyes mirrored the glider’s own. It was inconceivable how the woman would attempt to evade the scenario the ferret had laid before her. The doctor had described the facts as they were (neglecting to note that it was her own opinion) and presented them to her adversary. One thing the Corvie knew could easily apply to most social situations: you could not argue with facts. She continued glaring. The two were locked in a vicious battle of wits, the atmosphere tensing significantly with each moment that passed –

Which was then disrupted by an oafish voice threatening physical violence.

Her head swiveled toward the voice, which consequently, sounded rather unintelligent if Iso was any judge. The ferret’s nose wrinkled in disgust. For once, Iso visibly recoiled, angered and shocked by the man’s pompous – mercenary, even!- vocalization. His behavior, socially inept as she was, had been completely uncalled for. Really. Iso had no patience for the unnecessary and crude, and making such a scene when she and the Esterberry were having only a simple disagreement.

Beg pardon, sir but our mild debate requires no need for such vulgarity. Unless you are the proprietor of this establishment, kindly move on about your business. Her sentence coincided perfectly with the glider’s and Iso’s attention was drawn back toward the woman with whom she had previously been arguing with. Even this woman hadn’t been so inconsiderate as to interrupt another’s conversation.

Really, some Cards, she addressed to the bespectacled mustelid, tone civil, though she was clearly disgruntled by the boorish man’s menacing.