i_speak_softly | Luceti Appointments

[That slight turn isn't very encouraging, but it's better than talking at the back of Don's head. Maybe. Robert's still not sure with this one.]

... If... if I s-said something wrong... [Think, Robert. It is not as if he can inform you of what, presently.] ... I... I do not mean to harm. Perhaps that... matters l-little, though. [He knits his fingers, wrings them gently together; doesn't know where to put them after so just keeps his hands in his lap.] ... I admit that... communication has never been my s-strong suit, even without your... present condition...

[And, well, there's that unspoken part, that not-put-into-words discomfort with something like this - something his Terran prejudices tell him is something that needs to be fixed. A problem. A detriment.]

[It's not about communication. It's about Robert's failure to understand what Don does and doesn't need, even after all his research.]

[Don feels trapped and helpless: he can't do anything useful, and yet he can't leave.]

[The problem with this is that, even after all of Robert's research, he still doesn't know Don's exact limitations - and it's so difficult for him to understand them from Don. What is the alternative, then? Presuming anything might be just as bad. Or would it?

Either way, Robert is basically just as helpless. Realizing that whatever he said didn't seem to do much, he sighs slightly and glances away.]

... I am sorry...

[It's quiet; he doesn't really know what else to say, having been defeated by the barrier of silence and indecipherability that has erected itself between them.]

[You're trying, he knows. And if he doesn't swallow his feelings and make amends, he'll regret it later.]

[Gathering his willpower, Don turns around, picks up the book, and puts it back in Robert's hands.]

Please. All the... things.

[Robert takes the book, but with an uncertain air. Should he really do this if it upsets Don?]

... I do not want to make you... u-upset, Don... I just... w-want to help...

[He glances down at the book again. What he wouldn't give to be able to make this something Don could do without struggling.]

... B-But... if you truly wish for me to continue... I will.

[Don nods, then looks at the floor between them. Nothing to see right now...]

[Robert nods himself, and opens the book again.

Though he's hesitant at first, halting when he reads, he calms down eventually and settles back into that rhythm - though not without frequent glancing over at Don to see if Don's alright still or not.

After he winds down to the end of the first chapter of the book, he seeks out Don's hand in a reconciliatory fashion, trying to take it. It's up to Don, though, whether he allows that.]

[Don is nonresponsive at first, merely glancing at Robert's hand as it slides into his own, but after a moment he gives it a reassuring squeeze. He's still here.]

[... Good. Robert smiles a little at him, wobbly-edged but genuine nonetheless.]

... Sh-shall I continue...?

[Shakes his head. The first chapter was about all the sitting still he could tolerate right now.]

Later?

Of course... [Reclosing the book - though on a nicer note this time - Robert places it next to him once more.]

... Was there something else you... would r-rather be doing? [And is his presence required for it?]

[Don looks at Robert speculatively, then glances towards the mats at one end of the room.]

[Cautiously:] Will you... show me what you do?

[... What Robert does? He's not certain what Don means, though the glance mat-ward is a clue.]

Er... do you mean the... exercises that Leonardo teaches me, or... [Is it something else?]

[Don nods, surprised and gratified that Robert understood.]

Only if you want it...

[Even he can guess things right sometimes.]

... Ah, I... I do not mind.

[Though he looks a little shy, Robert nevertheless approaches the mat before pausing in front of it.]

... Er, my... my sword techniques... those are best practised with the actual weapon in question, but... training swords are acceptable for the p-purpose of demonstration...

[Anything you want to use is fine with him. Don sits up into seiza, showing respect for the display he's about to observe.]

[In that case, he'll use a training sword. Robert takes one of the smooth, polished-wood swords down from the weapons rack and steps back onto the mat.

As if his body has been programmed, he closes his eyes and sweeps into a respectful bow - it looks a little odd when he does it still, but that's because it's a Turtle's bow on a human's body.

Then he begins to move. As he works through the phases of a common warm-up kata, he brandishes the sword with an odd sort of lanky grace. It's the kind of precise movement that comes from repeating the same actions over and over, but it looks strange on somebody like him.]

[It does look strange - Don recognizes the telltale signs of someone who learned from a teacher of a different species than themselves - and there are several points that could use correction, but when Robert is done Don merely claps. That's not usually good form in a situation like this, but it's the best he can manage right now.]

[That's okay, Robert doesn't mind. He offers a slightly-awkward smile in Don's direction - this still is odd for him, even months later.]

Ah - you... approve?

[Nods emphatically. Even with his normal powers of speech it would be difficult to describe how much he appreciates this, in several senses of the word.]

[Though Robert is smiling still, his expression clouds a little when he looks down at the wooden sword in his hands.]

... I am glad that... that you do. I never expected to be... p-proficient at such a thing, but...

[Trailing off, he shifts his grip on the sword into one more befitting of a combat stance.]

... I suppose we have... both come quite a ways, here...

[Don tilts his head. Does Robert know what he's communicating with that gesture?]

[Not quite. But it becomes clear in a second when he starts another kata, of his own volition.

This time, though, he isn't silent while he does so. Though his gaze is fixed at a middle distance, he speaks as though conversing normally with someone even as he goes through the motions of the kata.]

... To think, that... a year ago, I would never even have handled such a weapon as this... [He half-steps, pivots, and swings the sword downward at a nonexistent opponent.] ... Much less... learn to utilize it...

[And then he stops.]

... This place has... ch-changed me irrevocably, in... in some ways. But I do not... regret it... especially not if it makes you happy.

Edited 2012-08-15 01:49 (UTC)

[Robert, talking about the philosophical implications of martial arts training while practicing katas is one of the most attractive things Don has ever seen you do. The ninja stares openly, memorizing this moment and willing it to continue.]

[It's a good thing Robert doesn't mind the fact he's being stared at openly. In fact, it's... kind of nice. From anybody else it might be unnerving, but if Don is this interested...]

... Quite some time ago, you told me that... th-that there was much of your life I still had... yet to understand...

... [Though a ninja would be able to see it coming easily, Robert steps into one of the relatively-quick strikes Leo has taught him.]

... I... w-wonder if I might not have come any closer to... to understanding this part of your life. Of your... family's life.

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