The girl may notice his figure shimmer - a trick of the shadows, or something more? - may notice that suddenly, suddenly this stranger doesn't seem to have his feet quite on the ground. It's an almost-instinctual trick, and though something about the sensation gnaws at the Outsider (it doesn't feel right, doesn't feel right, feels a little too much, yes, like a minor effort, something that's not quite a part of himself anymore), he doesn't linger in worry. After all, it must be nothing. Must be an aftereffect of crossing whatever span to reach this place. It's not worth a moment's further thought.
No, better to focus on the girl who's wary but who hides most of her surprise. Who chooses retort rather than fear or wonderment. Accustomed as he is to reading people to their depths - the Void opens each and every person in so many ways, draws their insides out for observation - it doesn't take much to notice her itch toward defense. Doesn't take much to notice she's been preoccupied with something, the tenor of her being shifting from some clouded realm of thought into the present.
(Still, for all the clarity with which he sees her, there's something... Smudged, almost. Something not quite open to him. And in the back of his mind, there's a ticking, a tension that suggests something's changed, even in the way he sees people. Maybe, slightly. Maybe.)
He doesn't move toward her. Not yet.
"Isn't that curious." Strange that he should be here. Strange that she should accept his presence with such seeming calm. "Yes, it's been a remarkable journey."
There's a moment's quiet, and then. "You're escaping something."
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The girl may notice his figure shimmer - a trick of the shadows, or something more? - may notice that suddenly, suddenly this stranger doesn't seem to have his feet quite on the ground. It's an almost-instinctual trick, and though something about the sensation gnaws at the Outsider (it doesn't feel right, doesn't feel right, feels a little too much, yes, like a minor effort, something that's not quite a part of himself anymore), he doesn't linger in worry. After all, it must be nothing. Must be an aftereffect of crossing whatever span to reach this place. It's not worth a moment's further thought.
No, better to focus on the girl who's wary but who hides most of her surprise. Who chooses retort rather than fear or wonderment. Accustomed as he is to reading people to their depths - the Void opens each and every person in so many ways, draws their insides out for observation - it doesn't take much to notice her itch toward defense. Doesn't take much to notice she's been preoccupied with something, the tenor of her being shifting from some clouded realm of thought into the present.
(Still, for all the clarity with which he sees her, there's something... Smudged, almost. Something not quite open to him. And in the back of his mind, there's a ticking, a tension that suggests something's changed, even in the way he sees people. Maybe, slightly. Maybe.)
He doesn't move toward her. Not yet.
"Isn't that curious." Strange that he should be here. Strange that she should accept his presence with such seeming calm. "Yes, it's been a remarkable journey."
There's a moment's quiet, and then. "You're escaping something."