Welcome to Gaia! ::

Hvergelmir couldn't imagine what it must be like to live in an apartment building with a bunch of other senshi and knights. Probably pretty chummy, she realized. He probably had a lot of friends and they were probably all really close. She felt, suddenly, how very much he must have been taking pity on her through all this. Here she was, happy to finally have someone like her to talk to for once, and all the while he probably had conversations like this all the time, with people he had real bonds of friendship with. She was just a kid to him, awkwardly clinging to the hem of his skirt like she had with Camelot, and he was charitably indulging her.

It made her want to run away and hide somewhere. It was a miserable feeling, sometimes, remembering that other people didn't just have lives that went on when you weren't looking, they often had lives that were fuller and more fulfilling than yours. It was a reminder to her about how much she didn't like about herself.

"I shouldn't stay too much longer," she lied, grateful that he wasn't still using his magic on her to compel the truth. "My folks will expect me for dinner eventually, anyway."

But she had to wrap up the conversation, now -- she had to stick it out a little bit longer so he wouldn't notice her suddenly wrapping the conversation up and getting worried about it. He hadn't done anything wrong -- and nobody liked overly needy people who got unjustifiably upset about things.

"Your wonder sounds beautiful," she said, trying to picture it in her mind and focus on that. Lanterns everywhere, climbing up the side of a mountain -- glowing in the darkness like black-and-white posters of London fog at night. Below, a hamlet in a valley where another knight kept their watch. Who was Mistral, she wondered? "Mine's little, and I'm working on cleaning it up for now -- but right now it still looks like scientific proof that dust bunnies also breed according to the Fibonacci sequence, if you get me."

Hvergelmir smiled, relieved to be able to make an escape from the conversation. She didn't think she could stand to presume on his time much longer, knowing she was being indulged, thinking about how great his life probably was compared to hers. She wanted to go home and eat macaroni and cheese and maybe take a nap and try again to make friends with Babylon some other time, when she had more to offer than just questions and insecurity. Maybe get him a present. She'd think of something.

She stood. "I'd like that," she said encouragingly. "I'd like to see them both -- it sounds fun."

That, and seeing Babylon, the wonder, was a chance to do a little bit of investigating. She could see for herself just how spectacular it was, and get a chance to decide if her island would be worth showing to him at some point, or of it would just look piddling in comparison to an entire city, freshly restored to its glory. She liked her island, but she didn't want to look like a kid again. She wanted to look worthwhile. Respectable, maybe.

"Okay," she said, rising to her feet, "I guess I should be off. Listen, thank you for everything -- you don't know how much I appreciate the help. I'll see you on the rafting trip, right?"