X didn't particularly need more evidence that something was very wrong here, but just in case he did, that phrase hit him like a solid brick lobbed at his head. Valdis didn't wait for permission. Valdis had never waited for permission. X could feel that from her perspective, a fact settled deeply in her bones and her soul, such a foundation for her chaotic identity that hearing anything counter to it from her lips hurt.
He waited for her to arrive, as patiently as he could manage, watching the sword in the stone and the curious onlookers trying to pull it. Every time was a bad idea. Every time someone touched the hilt with bare skin, they came away groaning in pain, cradling their hands. But more kept trying anyway, and X knew that if an intimate demonstration wasn't enough to dissuade people from trying, he'd hardly be any more successful.
Then Valdis was there, and X hurried over to where she was swiftly taking charge.
"Hi, Valdis," he said, more cautiously than he wanted to. "Thanks for coming."
no subject
X didn't particularly need more evidence that something was very wrong here, but just in case he did, that phrase hit him like a solid brick lobbed at his head. Valdis didn't wait for permission. Valdis had never waited for permission. X could feel that from her perspective, a fact settled deeply in her bones and her soul, such a foundation for her chaotic identity that hearing anything counter to it from her lips hurt.
He waited for her to arrive, as patiently as he could manage, watching the sword in the stone and the curious onlookers trying to pull it. Every time was a bad idea. Every time someone touched the hilt with bare skin, they came away groaning in pain, cradling their hands. But more kept trying anyway, and X knew that if an intimate demonstration wasn't enough to dissuade people from trying, he'd hardly be any more successful.
Then Valdis was there, and X hurried over to where she was swiftly taking charge.
"Hi, Valdis," he said, more cautiously than he wanted to. "Thanks for coming."