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"Well -- let me use a metaphor here. Say you're describing the path of an object through space," Jordan said. "Is a single source of gravity the only factor that's going to affect that path? Or are there multiple influences that affect the shape of the result? You can think of Robert's behavior, or human behavior in general, as a similar situation. Every action and response has been influenced by a number of factors. Not all of them will be obvious or even visible, but all of them combine to produce the end result."

Her attention had focused in on him, going intent and pointed; she seemed to have forgotten entirely about her coffee now, interested in information over caffeine intake. He understood that. Important as coffee was, knowledge was even more so. She seemed unfamiliar and maybe uncomfortable with the experience of close friendship; maybe her family hadn't been close, maybe she'd been either unable or uninterested in making friendships as a child. Jordan had seen that sometimes. If you didn't learn how to respond to others in a given social situation, it wasn't going to go well, and some people chose to focus their energy on other things.

"I didn't know him before Deus, so I can only make comparisons based on the experience of the past couple of years." He rubbed his thumb thoughtfully over the band of Ferros's ring. "I can tell you that he's friendly towards almost everyone unless antagonized, but he reserves his loyalty and affection for people he feels close to. What you're describing sounds similar to how he greets me and the other members of the group with whom we went through the trials." He hesitated, then went on. "I'll admit some personal bias in the matter, but I'd say that that's pretty significant."

"I'm glad to be able to help." The statement was sincere; Jordan liked to be helpful, even more so when by doing so he could directly or indirectly be useful to people he cared. He sipped his coffee and sputtered a little. It had gone cold while they talked and was now completely unpalatable. He set it down farther away so that he wouldn't absentmindedly drink any more of it. The conversation had gone a long ways towards waking him up, anyway.

He watched Mimsy's face as she processed the comparison and actually jumped a little, clearly startled by the conclusion she came to. If she wasn't used to close friendships, Robert's loud, intense affection was probably overwhelming, and it wouldn't surprise Jordan if Mimsy had reacted by distancing herself somewhat, at least until she could get a better handle on the nature of the friendship. He hoped that this conversation would help her relax a little.

The question surprised him, and he blinked. "Thank you. It's not my place to say who Robert should or shouldn't like," he said. "But no, it doesn't bother me. He's one of my closest friends, and I'm happy when he's got other good friends. I'm not everything to him, and I shouldn't be. He's not the brightest person, but he's a good person, and I want to see him happy." He laughed a little. "Don't tell him I got all sentimental, all right?"

Jordan laughed. "That's an excellent metaphor. It could destabilize it, yes, but it could create a more stable compound as well. It depends on the new variable." That was a pretty good analogy for his relationship, actually. Their bonds were stronger when all three of them were present.

Mimsy looked relieved and pleased. That was good; it seemed that their conversation had reassured her about the new friendship. Jordan hoped that it would help her figure Robert out. As much as anyone ever figured Robert out, anyway. While the big man seemed simple to deal with on the surface, he was more complex than he liked to let anyone know.

"I don't have a problem with that," he agreed. "I don't share particulars of private conversations without permission." It wasn't that this was in any kind of professional capacity; he could hardly claim to be a professional, and he wasn't being consulted as one. But it wasn't polite, and keeping private conversations private was a matter of trust.