That's... unfair. [To him. She lowers her hands, slowly.] You do deserve an answer. I'm not unhappy or anything... to some extent I'm honoured. [But why her?] I'm mostly surprised. You never gave this impression before...
[Even as she says it, this feels somewhat suspicious. Is that just her being too wary? (Of what? Him? This world, full of dreams and magic and strange emotional changes driving people to think or act?) Maybe her self-esteem is just that bad. Why wouldn't he fall for her, right? She's a fine woman.
...Not Somnus, though. Not so suddenly, with how firmly his priorities lie elsewhere.]
Actually, I... I think I won't answer. Leave it with me for a little while. If you still feel this way later, you can ask me again.
[Cowardly? Maybe. But it's an offered way out. The more she thinks about it, the more she thinks this isn't like him at all. So either she's misjudged him and she can let him down gently when he brings it up again - but with a proper explanation of why, that he hasn't earned it yet - or he doesn't bring it up and she'll know he wasn't in his right mind. Either way, the escape is as much for him as it is for her.
Or maybe he'll message her later and tell her it was all nonsense, and she can deal with it then. Who knows. Regardless, it feels wrong to reject him right now if there's something messing with him.]
no subject
[Even as she says it, this feels somewhat suspicious. Is that just her being too wary? (Of what? Him? This world, full of dreams and magic and strange emotional changes driving people to think or act?) Maybe her self-esteem is just that bad. Why wouldn't he fall for her, right? She's a fine woman.
...Not Somnus, though. Not so suddenly, with how firmly his priorities lie elsewhere.]
Actually, I... I think I won't answer. Leave it with me for a little while. If you still feel this way later, you can ask me again.
[Cowardly? Maybe. But it's an offered way out. The more she thinks about it, the more she thinks this isn't like him at all. So either she's misjudged him and she can let him down gently when he brings it up again - but with a proper explanation of why, that he hasn't earned it yet - or he doesn't bring it up and she'll know he wasn't in his right mind. Either way, the escape is as much for him as it is for her.
Or maybe he'll message her later and tell her it was all nonsense, and she can deal with it then. Who knows. Regardless, it feels wrong to reject him right now if there's something messing with him.]