"Good," he said with a slight nod of his head. "I'll be glad to see you well." He chose to believe it was a selfless preference, rather than a desire to be rid of his sense of guilt. But would his guilt truly dissipate with the healing of her injuries? It was doubtful. "I have been well, yes, thank you," he said automatically, because it did not even occur to him to actually tell her about his week. Political trivialities and tedium, the busywork of the library and things explicable but nonetheless difficult to explain.
Arjun tried to minimize the amount of time he spent speaking to people as much as possible, and pretending to do and feel nothing was generally the easiest way to accomplish that.
He was slightly startled when her skin met his, gentle and fleeting though the touch was. He recovered quickly, but still found himself holding his forearms inside his sleeves, formal and distant. The habit was born mostly of a desire to keep his hands warm, a habit shared by any number of the natives for whom the shaking of hands was a foreign gesture. There was a certain intimacy about it as a result, but he didn't expect her to know that, nor did he plan to explain it.
"I hadn't considered that," he said, chagrined. "There may be better books to read as your first," he admitted. He had chosen them based on her stated preferences, but also based on their relative lightness, nothing to make her overtax her mind or emotions. It seemed like a person's first book ought to be more meaningful than that, though it made no sense the think so. The first book most people read was something in large print with bright colors and small words, less than a trifle.
"I will stay as long as I can," he said, though this was not specific. Cautiously he sat in the chair beside her bed, his legs slightly too long for it and his spine straight, hands still hidden in his sleeves. "Don't let me interrupt your rest," he added. "I don't want to overexert you."
Arjun tried to minimize the amount of time he spent speaking to people as much as possible, and pretending to do and feel nothing was generally the easiest way to accomplish that.
He was slightly startled when her skin met his, gentle and fleeting though the touch was. He recovered quickly, but still found himself holding his forearms inside his sleeves, formal and distant. The habit was born mostly of a desire to keep his hands warm, a habit shared by any number of the natives for whom the shaking of hands was a foreign gesture. There was a certain intimacy about it as a result, but he didn't expect her to know that, nor did he plan to explain it.
"I hadn't considered that," he said, chagrined. "There may be better books to read as your first," he admitted. He had chosen them based on her stated preferences, but also based on their relative lightness, nothing to make her overtax her mind or emotions. It seemed like a person's first book ought to be more meaningful than that, though it made no sense the think so. The first book most people read was something in large print with bright colors and small words, less than a trifle.
"I will stay as long as I can," he said, though this was not specific. Cautiously he sat in the chair beside her bed, his legs slightly too long for it and his spine straight, hands still hidden in his sleeves. "Don't let me interrupt your rest," he added. "I don't want to overexert you."
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Guest of the King [Closed] - by tindome - 11-08-2014, 12:09 AM
Guest of the King [Closed] - by Hobo_Bob - 11-08-2014, 03:17 AM
Guest of the King [Closed] - by tindome - 11-10-2014, 06:25 PM
Guest of the King [Closed] - by Hobo_Bob - 11-10-2014, 11:28 PM
Guest of the King [Closed] - by tindome - 11-12-2014, 02:04 AM
Guest of the King [Closed] - by Hobo_Bob - 11-13-2014, 02:34 AM
Guest of the King [Closed] - by tindome - 11-15-2014, 08:48 PM
Guest of the King [Closed] - by Hobo_Bob - 11-16-2014, 01:55 AM
Guest of the King [Closed] - by tindome - 11-21-2014, 11:46 PM
Guest of the King [Closed] - by Hobo_Bob - 11-22-2014, 07:04 PM
Guest of the King [Closed] - by tindome - 11-26-2014, 03:15 AM
Guest of the King [Closed] - by Hobo_Bob - 11-26-2014, 09:10 PM
Guest of the King [Closed] - by tindome - 11-27-2014, 11:39 PM
Guest of the King [Closed] - by Hobo_Bob - 11-28-2014, 02:26 AM
Guest of the King [Closed] - by tindome - 11-30-2014, 02:57 AM
Guest of the King [Closed] - by Hobo_Bob - 11-30-2014, 07:09 PM
Guest of the King [Closed] - by tindome - 12-06-2014, 06:19 PM
Guest of the King [Closed] - by Hobo_Bob - 12-10-2014, 03:25 AM
Guest of the King [Closed] - by tindome - 12-28-2014, 08:27 AM
Guest of the King [Closed] - by Hobo_Bob - 01-04-2015, 05:56 AM
Guest of the King [Closed] - by tindome - 01-15-2015, 02:32 PM
Guest of the King [Closed] - by Hobo_Bob - 01-24-2015, 05:20 AM
Guest of the King [Closed] - by tindome - 01-27-2015, 12:03 PM
Guest of the King [Closed] - by Hobo_Bob - 02-05-2015, 03:09 AM
Guest of the King [Closed] - by tindome - 02-18-2015, 03:42 PM
Guest of the King [Closed] - by Hobo_Bob - 02-23-2015, 11:41 PM
Guest of the King [Closed] - by tindome - 03-28-2015, 11:45 PM
Guest of the King [Closed] - by Hobo_Bob - 04-05-2015, 01:59 AM
Guest of the King [Closed] - by tindome - 07-05-2015, 01:51 AM
Guest of the King [Closed] - by Hobo_Bob - 08-13-2015, 04:10 PM
RE: Guest of the King [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-06-2015, 10:34 PM
RE: Guest of the King [Closed] - by Hobo_Bob - 12-05-2015, 08:25 PM
RE: Guest of the King [Closed] - by Tindome - 01-17-2016, 08:00 AM
RE: Guest of the King [Closed] - by Hobo_Bob - 03-10-2016, 08:45 PM
RE: Guest of the King [Closed] - by Tindome - 06-27-2016, 03:06 PM