Checking in (tag Killian) on Crotalus Commons

Selina Skies

October 20, 2020 6:47 PM

Checking in (tag Killian) by Selina Skies

Selina glanced once again at her project, wondering whether she should ask for help. Grayson would probably be the most logical, and she was sure he would find it interesting as a practical consideration but... But her reasons for doing it were personal. She was quite sure he wouldn't ask, but there was something to be said for the labour of love involved in doing it all by herself.

She was summoned away, however, by the ward that indicated someone was knocking on her office door. She tucked the device back into its cabinet, even though she didn't expect she would be inviting whoever it was into her private quarters. She made her way back through to her office and opened the door, finding Killian on the other side. She had sent him a note requesting a chat, and listed several times she was available.

"Hello," she greeted him, her mouth moving into a smile even if it didn't really reach her eyes. "Come in. Tea? Do you ever take coffee?" she asked.

"I just wanted to check in," she began, once he was settled with his drink of choice. "I'm not sure I exactly want to hear every detail of your summer. Sorry, that sounds rude... John said you went the private route, in the end. That means it's better for him not to ask what you found, and even if I'm not bound by the same rules he is, I prefer not to know secrets that could place my husband in an awkward position. But how you feel about whatever you found - how things are going for you... That's allowed to be my concern."

13 Selina Skies Checking in (tag Killian) 26 1 5

Killian Row

October 21, 2020 6:42 PM

She started it. by Killian Row

Killian felt a bit like he was going to the principal's office, and spent most of the walk there reminding himself that he was a grown-ass man who could do grown-ass man things. Like have a thing with his boss' daughter without it being weird. He and Ema had talked some about what he could or would or might say, as the topic of summer was bound to come up upon his return to Sonora, but it was different in the theoretical. It was also different without Ema standing in front of him, because he'd mostly still been flirting and now he wasn't and it was hard. He'd even thought about telling Selina, but he thought that it'd be best to wait. For one, he wanted to have the chance to go from a thing to A Thing with Ema before risking being turned into a matchbox, and for two, he thought that maybe it would be better not to be turned into a matchbox if one of them decided this thing wasn't what they wanted after all. He'd make a poor guidance counselor if the best he could do was light fires. With help.

Since he was being all professional and totally not feeling like a child, Killian had brought with him a folder with some information about recent work projects, goals for the year, and all of that sort of stuff, as well as some paper and a pencil in case he needed to take notes. It was definitely not to give him something to do with his hands or a place to look away. He shifted the folder to his other hand as he approached Selina's door and knocked. When she greeted him, he had a lurching sensation in his feeling, worrying suddenly that she wasn't okay. She became Selina then, not just Ema's mom - the figure of dark transformative powers she'd been in his mind - and he couldn't help being afraid something else bad had happened. Was Felipe okay? Was John?

"Tea," he agreed with a small smile of his own as he anime in and got settled. "I'll have coffee every now and again, usually to make other people comfortable. I've found that teenagers like fitting in and they talk more if they aren't the only one drinking sour bean water," he added, raising an eyebrow to gauge the humor in the room. "I'm sure yours is great, of course, but I'll have tea if you don't mind," he added a little more politely, although still with his characteristic mischievous smile.

His nerves had died down significantly but did spike when Selina explained solemnly that she didn't want to hear the details of his summer, dying down some as she continued. He probably wouldn't have jumped in anyway, but he was glad he'd had his lips on his cup nonetheless. Unfortunately, the new topic was one he wanted to think about even less, and he just focused on controlling his eyebrows - keep them from scowling - and controlling his hand - keep it from shaking - as Selina finished.

Placing the cup back down, Killian took a breath. "Yes," he agreed, "Although I think things stayed mostly above ground if that helps at all. As it turns out, details were not hard to come by if you looked in the right places, and my family and I would not have thought to look there." His voice was hard, much harder than Selina had probably ever heard it otherwise, but not mean. Lorcan's voice got mean when it got hard, but Killian's only got dark. He took another breath. Selina wanted to know how he was doing. Selina wanted to know how he was doing. How he was doing. How was he doing? Selina wanted to know: how was he doing?

"Lorcan and I were able to speak," he said quietly, his eyes unfocusing as they replayed the memory instead of the scene in front of them, skipping the worst parts of the time he'd spent in Las Vegas. "I am well enough to do my job," he assured her, shaking his head and blinking to force himself out of that. "But . . . I am not too well."

OOC: Information about conversation and discussions with Ema approved by Ema's author.

22 Killian Row She started it. 1450 0 5

Selina Skies

October 21, 2020 9:26 PM

Who did? by Selina Skies

The phrase 'sour bean water' pulled a genuine, surprised laugh from Selina.

"Alright then," she agreed, working to suppress the laugh and arch her eyebrows at him instead. "One infinitely superior bitter leaf water coming right up," she stated. There was a playful challenge in her voice as she said it. A tone that was probably somewhat familiar to Killian, as was the way she laughed. Even if he hadn't heard them specifically from Selina before.

Beyond that, though, there was not much to be lighthearted about. Killian seemed to want to dive inside his own teacup instead of look her in the eyes, and it sounded... well, she hadn't honestly expected there to be any positive outcome here. From the limited details Killian could give her, it sounded like it could be worse but that was never a helpful thing to say, especially when the state of things as they were was 'bad enough.'

"Thank you for telling me that," she said softly. She wasn't sure it was everyone who was able to admit to not being okay, herself included in that... She should probably take a leaf out of Killian's book sometime and try admitting it once in a while. Not right now though. Even though 'you and me both' had floated through her mind. She half wanted to treat him like a peer and lean on him in return, and half wanted to go round there and mother hen him. He looked like he could do with a hug.

"I think I already used my main go to strategy," she sighed, nodding at the cup of tea. She nudged a tin of cookies in his general direction, pretty sure this wasn't the kind of thing that was fixed quite so easily but it was what she had. "But is there anything I can do to help?" she asked.

13 Selina Skies Who did? 26 0 5

Killian Row

October 22, 2020 7:09 PM

Who did what now? by Killian Row

Nope. Nope nope nope Selina and Ema did not look that much alike or act alike and that was a thing Killian was going to hold steadfastly to. For one, at no point in a relationship with any woman had he ever found the phrase you look like your mother to be the right choice, and for two, he just . . . he couldn't do it. "Superior indeed," he said with a grin.

"Thank you for giving me the space to," he said a little more kindly, grateful for the sort of boss that really genuinely seemed to care how he was doing. He thought that Selina was probably fairly traditional, but there was none of the sort of toxic masculinity that Killian's own father tended towards, wherein men should not allow any sort of outward display of negative emotions.

He smiled a little more at her admission that she'd basically run out of strategies at this point, and he sat back some in his seat. One eyebrow came up at Selina. "You have to know what comes next," he told her, amused. "I've done my emotion sharing; you've helped just by listening. Sooo I think that makes it your turn. Would you like to talk about why you look less cheery than I might expect the Deputy Headmistress to do at the start of a new school year?" He cocked his head. "Guidance counselor," he reminded her. "I can't not notice. You don't have to tell me . . . but I'm here if you want to."

22 Killian Row Who did what now? 1450 0 5

Selina Skies

October 22, 2020 7:29 PM

Who's 'she,' the cat's mother? by Selina Skies

“Any time,” Selina said, the small words given the weight of being genuinely meant. Killian, it seemed, was not in the mood to share further, or be hugged or get to the verge of tears this time around. She had to hope that meant that he was doing better than last time, rather than just doing a better job of bottling it all up. Hopefully the offer of an open door whenever he needed it was enough, along with the tea and a cookie.

She gave him a slightly wary look as he turned the tables, not sure that was at all called for.

“My feelings aren’t to do with picking my courses or getting into the right university, guidance counselor,” she pointed out, sounding a little more harsh than she meant to. “You’re quite terrible at knowing your own limitations, aren’t you?” she added with an almost affectionate sigh at him. She hovered between wanting to warn him about that, not wanting him to take the weight of solving the students’ personal woes onto his shoulders but she didn’t. Firstly because they were all responsible for all of them. It didn’t matter whether it wasn’t their official job description, they all needed to be the ear that was willing to listen, or the eyes that took the time to notice. She had failed to be those things last year, and she didn’t want to convince the staff that none of that was their responsibility. Luckily, she was also pretty sure that Killian would ignore her and go on wanting to rescue everyone no matter what she said. “It’s good that you notice these things,” she assured him.

“It’s nothing current,” she assured him, “Just been going over some old memories.” She hovered between wanting to tell him more, more for the sake of not pushing him out than due to a real desire to let him in, and feeling that it just didn’t matter. “It seems a lot less important than what you’re going through, given that that’s happening now,” she added, trying to explain that the reason she was turning the tables back on him was not because he wasn’t welcome to ask but because his issues seemed like they should matter more. “It feels like Christmas was dominated by this stuff, and now summer too. I just hate the thought of you never catching a break. Did you manage any downtime?” she asked.

13 Selina Skies Who's 'she,' the cat's mother? 26 Selina Skies 0 5

Killian Row

October 22, 2020 7:48 PM

Lovely mama cat. Lovely nice mama cat who does not eat potatoes. by Killian Row

Killian hesitated, thoughts of matchbox design returning to mind for an entirely different reason when Selina more or less told him off, but she seemed to relent and he relaxed. More than that, he thought it was fair to assume that he was doing a good job, so he softened his expression a little and looked at her as closely and as kindly as he could. "I thought you might be more comfortable with Mr. Row than with Killian," he said very softly. "I promise not to give you any pamphlets though."

Old memories. That stung. Or perhaps it was something else, because Killian's chest tightened coldly as he slammed down a locking door on a memory that threatened once again to rise back up. This was not the time for that. "It's not really happening now," he said. "There's nothing I can do about Lorcan or . . . any of it. I can't fix the past," he said quietly, eyes once again threatening to replay the wrong thoughts. "All that's left now is to figure out how to talk to Bonabelle and my parents, and they're all tougher than nails. I watched my mom slap a devil's snare once. I think everything will be as fine as it can be," he promised with a small smile, although less of a sincere one in this case.

The squirmy feeling returned though when Selina asked about his down time this summer. He was sort of glad that Ema had kept her boundaries to pancakes, because he wasn't sure how much squirmy he could handle if it had been more than that. Just pancakes. And fingers on his skin. And hands in his hair. And cuddling in swimsuits and not that much pajamas because it was too warm for more than that with two people. NOPE, pancakes.

"The barbeque you hosted was good for me," he smiled, although he probably shouldn't have because then he thought of just how that all turned out and smiled a bit more sheepishly than he meant to. Not wanting her to pursue that thought too much, he snapped his fingers as if remembering something. He sort of was; he was remembering that he needed to talk about something else right friggin' now. Except nothing came to mind. "Jean-Loup!" he blurted. "I guess that's a little work related, but he's settling into school in Canada now. His internship here did a lot of good for him. That was definitely a high point of summer, just knowing that we did good here for somebody. That's not always something you get to know for sure." It started as a hard Abort! Abort! topic change, but his tone was sincere by the time he finished. Whatever else was true of his summer, knowing Jean-Loup was hopefully settling and hopefully happy and at the very least was definitely having new opportunities was very satisfying. "How about yourself? And . . . we can still talk about whatever is on your mind," he promised.

22 Killian Row Lovely mama cat. Lovely nice mama cat who does not eat potatoes. 1450 Killian Row 0 5

Selina Skies

October 22, 2020 8:44 PM

Who me? Why would you ever be afraid of me? by Selina Skies

“I think I’d prefer Killian,” Selina assured him, “I assume that’s who I watched the Quidditch match with last year and… everything else,” she added. In her mind, she had been calling on someone she had found to be reliable and, potentially, a friend. Not someone who knew how to throw down brochures. She was fairly sure that nothing about Killian’s job had qualified him for having her fall apart on him last year, but the kind of good human he was had done.

“Sometimes you can’t fix the present either,” Selina informed him gently. It sounded from how he was talking like he was starting to know that, so she hoped this wasn’t too unwarranted. She had, over her lifetime, got better at listening first, fixing second, but it didn’t mean she’d ever learnt to stop jumping in with the second one altogether. “My utterly unsolicited advice for the day,” she acknowledged the place she was taking this conversation, “is that it’s okay sometimes to stop hoping it will get better. People talk about hope like it’s this wonderful, powerful feeling. Like it’s exclusively a positive. But sometimes it can stop you being able to make your peace with things as they are, or attending to the things that are here and now and need your attention. It isn’t the same as giving up, not entirely. Just that sometimes, when you let yourself come to a stop, you start to look around and give your time to the things that are actually within your control. That works a lot better than blind hope or chasing an imaginary future.”

She nodded, a slight smile at the image of his mother slapping a devil’s snare (though she hoped she hadn’t applied the same kind of discipline to Killian).

“We’ve got you if it’s not,” she answered, when he said he thought things would be as fine as they could be. “Bonabelle too.”

The barbecue came up. Bold move. She wondered how badly Killian really didn’t want to talk about his feelings to be stumbling that blindly into a topic that was potentially a little dicey. It wasn’t like she’d had so many guests that she couldn’t notice when two of them disappeared simultaneously. And when one of them was Charlie… He seemed to realise it too and quickly backed away from that, talking about Jean-Loup instead.

“I’m glad,” she stated, deliberately not ending that sentence with the words ‘that you were able to relax some’ because that definitely sounded loaded in the current conversation. “I’m not sure that checking in on him strictly counts as taking a day off, though I suppose he isn’t your professional responsibility any more,” she teased, “I’m happy to hear he’s doing well.”

She hesitated, weighing up the two topics he had proposed.

“My brother is on my mind too,” she admitted cautiously. “But he often is,” she shrugged. “My daughter’s always telling me I shouldn’t act like he’s a secret or a taboo… I don’t think that about him. It’s just hard to draw the line of where it feels like talking about his business to other people. So, I don’t much.

“Summer’s a much easier topic though, for me anyway,” she added, acknowledging that it might not be so much so for Killian, utterly unaware of the additional ways in which that was true. “Ema, my youngest, came home. I don’t know if I mentioned that she lives in Laos? You’ve probably noticed the clocks at our house though,” she added, referencing the three clocks that hung on the wall of the living room, labelled with people. She supposed that had potentially come up in Killian’s conversation with Ema too. It had not escaped her notice that he had talked to her. Briefly. However, it was hard to bring that up without bringing them back around to the barbecue, and the situation which had cut off his and Ema’s interaction. “It’s always nice to see her, but hard to keep her,” she sighed. “She spent about a week with us and then disappeared off to some middle of nowhere lake house.”

13 Selina Skies Who me? Why would you ever be afraid of me? 26 0 5

Killian Row

October 22, 2020 9:10 PM

To be fair, you are a very powerful and scary lady even in . . . uh. Other circumstances. by Killian Row

OOC: Mention of alcoholism. BIC:

Killian grinned, remembering the Quidditch game fondly. "I'm a terrible flier, but I do love to watch a good game," he admitted. He wondered how irrevocably the Pitch was ruined for her.

He tried not to pout as she gave him advice that he thoroughly didn't want to acknowledge was true, and he eventually settled on a sad, lips-pressed-together sort of expression. "I know you're right," he began cautiously, "but I think I need to slam in a few more tries before I get there. I promise to come tell you you were right though if it doesn't go well," he added with a wry smile. "Bonabelle is strong," he said. "She should never have had to be but she is. Tough as nails. I worry that she's going to grow up cold. Of course, then she went and made friends with Valentine Duell, so I'm a little less worried," he added with a laugh, thinking of the Teppenpaw's vivaciousness.

He dipped his head with a smile, acknowledging that Jean-Loup maybe counted as work and also just to be grateful that she hadn't pursued the barbeque topic any further. He did really want to ask which daughter was telling her not to worry about Selina's brother, especially since Ema hadn't mentioned any such thing even after he'd mentioned his own brother, but that was definitely not a thing that was appropriate to ask just then. "It's easier sometimes not to say anything," he acknowledged, remembering a hard conversation with Ellie where the line between comfort and by the way your classmate's dad is an alcoholic was not so neatly drawn.

Killian paused then, taking another sip and giving space to the room in case Selina wanted to fill it up. When she'd had the opportunity to either speak or not as she pleased, the conversation turned and-- well, Killian was getting familiar with the squirmy feeling now. "I'm not sure," he admitted, not remembering Selina ever mentioning that Ema lived in Laos but also not wanting to rule it off the table entirely. "I did see the clocks," he admitted with a smile. "That's a sweet way to feel a little closer to people." He wondered how fast she'd noticed if he changed one of his own clocks to Laos time. What time was it in Laos right now anyway?

The words nice to see her, hard to keep her made Killian's stomach drop some, and he hoped desperately that was true only of Ema's mother-daughter relationship. "She seems adventurous," he acknowledged with a smirk, raising an eyebrow at Selina. It was the sort of expression he would have challenged her with at any point, not just now because he really wanted to know more about this dynamic. At the same time, he really really didn't want Selina to tell him anything that Ema didn't want him to know. He did not almost comment on the lake house because he was much too hyperaware of himself to make such a mistake, but he did sort of appreciate the reason to think about such things. "That sounds nice," he said instead, making it a question since Selina didn't sound entirely happy about it. "I grew up very near a lake myself. It's the sort of place that you can watch the stars in the sky or on the surface of the water. Makes you dream funny things if you're out too long, but it's nice," he said. "Nice to see her for a week at least? Family can be hard to get together. Did you get to see your other daughter at all?"

22 Killian Row To be fair, you are a very powerful and scary lady even in . . . uh. Other circumstances. 1450 0 5

Selina Skies

October 23, 2020 3:29 AM

You're a good friend by Selina Skies

"You can come to me after all of them. Not just if you come around to my way of thinking," Selina corrected him gently, pretty sure he knew that and would do so, but it never hurt to reinforce the message.

"She's doing very well," she confirmed regarding Bonabelle. Of course, she more had her grades to go off than anything else, but she did seem to have settled socially at least. She certainly had a firm friend, and seemed to have found that more easily than some.

"Yes, not quite sure where she got that from," Selina smiled when Killian called Ema 'adventurous.' "Other than the fact there's always one.

"Hmm, that sounds more like advice to keep her away from them than anything else," she joked, when Killian said lakes were good for inspiring strange dreams. "I think she has enough of those already. "But yes, it was nice to have her for a week. And yes, it seems like she had a lovely time there. She came by afterwards to collect her things and say goodbye, and she seemed very happy." She tried not to feel offended by that - she could understand the lure of beautiful scenery, and that it didn't mean Ema had been happier being away from them, even if it was easy to feel that way sometimes. "And she seemed sad to say goodbye," she added. Something that perhaps should have been a given, and Ema did always hug and get that moment of sorrow in her eyes, and Selina knew she didn't love saying goodbye or being away. Just none of it was enough to get her to stay.

"Oh, Krissalyn lives just down the road and we meet up every time I go off campus," she laughed, when he asked if she saw much of her other daughter. "She has my granddaughter, so she can't keep me away. Krissalyn's easy," she stated casually, not really thinking what that implied about Ema - or at least not worrying about it.

13 Selina Skies You're a good friend 26 0 5

Killian Row

October 23, 2020 2:35 PM

I was hoping you might think of me as such. by Killian Row

Killian smiled a little sheepishly. "Thank you," he said, sincerely grateful for her openness.

Selina's reassurance about Bonabelle brought him audible relief in the form of a sigh and he relaxed notably into his chair. Whatever else was true, he just wanted her to be okay through all of this. Lorcan had done enough damage without hurting his little girl anymore.

He grinned, wondering whether that made him or Lorcan the adventurous one in his family. It was nice, for a moment, to just think of the Lorcan he'd once known and the brothers they'd once been. He let the comment slide without adding these thoughts, as he wasn't sure it was likely to help at all. Besides, they were talking about Ema again and that was a much more fun subject.

"I have found that resting dreams sometimes keep you in one place," he said, looking at his hands. He certainly was thinking of Ema, but not in any way that might be a comment on Selina's printing or worries. On the contrary, he was wondering why he suddenly found that he wanted so badly to find a reason for Ema to stay. To be a reason for Ema to stay. "The little wonders that give us sleeping dreams give us adventure, without ever having to go anywhere. Although," he added, glancing up at her with a small, sad smile. "My mother said dreams are like books - easy to read into, easy to get lost in, and hard to be sure how they'll end until they do. I think it was meant to keep nightmares at bay when I was younger and going off to Hogwarts, but it didn't help much," he admitted.

Ema had seemed happy. Sad to be leaving home, and happy. Killian would think more about that later, when it was safe to do so with whatever expression came to him. "You sound like you love your daughter very much," he acknowledged kindly, wondering if Ema knew that.

He laughed along with her at the fact that Krissalyn lived so close. With a granddaughter. With family. His mind was having a rough go of it today and he settled for the truth, smiling at her. "That sounds really nice," he said. "I know my parents were excited to find out they were grandparents, even if they found out a bit late. They'd be thrilled to see Bonny that often," he grinned, suspecting Bonny would not be quite so happy with the arrangement. "And I'm sure your granddaughter is as spoiled as Bonny is when she goes home, even if she doesn't know it."

22 Killian Row I was hoping you might think of me as such. 1450 0 5

Selina Skies

October 24, 2020 9:49 PM

Yes, nice, trusted friend by Selina Skies

"Very poetic," Selina smiled, as Killian shared his thoughts on dreams. "Your mother sounds like an interesting lady," she added, enough warmth in her voice to show this was meant as a compliment and not a veiled insult. It was strange, thinking of people within their families outside of Sonora, and of being children. Things she knew they all had, and had been, but which didn't necessarily come up in day to day life, especially when work dominated their conversations. It was a part of their lives that rarely overlapped. Usually, it was only with big events like weddings. And, judging by his behaviour at the barbecue, you didn't need to be Giselle Duell to guess that wasn't on the cards any time soon for Killian. It was strangely sweet imagining him as a scared little boy. He didn't seem the type, looking at him now.

"Yes," she stated, when Killian commented that she must love her daughter a lot, with a tone which simultaneously implied that that was an exceedingly obvious statement, and one that Killian was a bit of an idiot for making, but also that she was fond enough of said idiot to overlook that.

"He kept her from them," she stated quietly, the realisation dropping and finding itself voiced out loud before she could stop herself. She opened her mouth as if to say something else, but closed it again, though with a very severe frown on her face that suggested a new and separate reason to hex Lorcan's sorry backside had just been added to her mental inventory.

"Well, that's nice. That they have each other now..." she added, still clearly trying to regain her footing in the conversation. It was frustrating, being so angry at someone who was so thoroughly absent. Selina was not sure that raging at people was a constructive solution but it felt so disarming to have it taken so totally off the table. It was, she imagined, just the tip of what Killian was feeling. There was a kind of hollowness to it, a... powerlessness. All the ill thoughts in the world she could have about Lorcan couldn't touch him, even though he deserved all this scorn and more, and that pushed her right back round to angry again. It was enough of an injustice that she could understand where the fuel was coming from that spurred Killian on to say he'd make a few more tries...

"Yes, though Araminta's getting old enough for too much spoiling not to be advisable," she stated, though the usual animation with which she spoke about her granddaughter was absent. Instead, she searched Killian's eyes to see if they made a mirror, and whether she was right about what it must be like being him right now.

13 Selina Skies Yes, nice, trusted friend 26 0 5

Killian Row

October 27, 2020 10:23 PM

Would you think that if you knew? by Killian Row

"Interesting is a good word," he grinned, appreciating the chance to be a brat of a son for a moment. He was pretty sure that he had done his part in giving his mother a fair number of heart attacks over the years, if not as much as Lorcan had done. In any case, she was a lovely, kind woman, with her own set of opinions that she kindly kept to herself when it was most appropriate. Killian could appreciate that.

His smile was maybe a little too fond and a little too sheepish when Selina's tone slipped into one that was familiar. He thought that Ema probably used it a little differently, but they both seemed to care a great deal about the lovable moron they were acquainted with. He wondered idly whether it was safe to say that Selina cared more about him. It was sort of nice to think that knowing him better meant caring more about him, and he had the urge to wrap Selina up in a big hug.

Unfortunately, the tone of the conversation changed as Lorcan was discussed, and Selina sounded downright dangerous as she acknowledged the crimes against family Killian's brother had committed. "Yes," he replied in a quiet voice, keeping hard eye contact. "That won't be forgotten no matter what happens next," he said, the coldness in his tone directed at an absent brother, son, and father.

"It's nice she has Sonora too. I think that has made the transition easier because she was expecting to be away from family a bit anyway. I'm going to see if she wants to go to London for part of the winter break, I think," he said, deciding that in the moment. "I'm not sure if it would be better or worse for her to see the familiar, but I'll let her decide. Give her some options."

He smiled a little dryly at the thought of being too old to spoil. "I think it may be quantity of previous spoilage and not age," he decided, not sure whether Bonabelle would ever outgrow the need to be doted on. He took a slow, deep breath and ran his hand through his hair. "You're worrying about me," he said, recognizing the look in her eyes. It was not one he'd seen that much in Ema's, but he liked to think that maybe they'd look as kind. The comparisons were making him feel better and, to his surprise, helping him differentiate. For all that Ema certainly did look like her mother, she also was very different. It was nice to have his relationship with Selina revisited and solidified as its own thing, separate from the other Thing. "Probably also about Bonabelle, but you look like you're worried about me right now," he said with a small smile to show his gratitude.

22 Killian Row Would you think that if you knew? 1450 0 5