[ Hide takes the irritated swatting at her spider appendages with good humour, though she does make a point to lean forward and jab him in the chest with just a touch more gusto than necessary. That's a silent "sass me again and see what happens" warning, all right. ]
I could settle for taking your tongue as collateral. No doubt your future hosts would thank me for it.
[ After all, he has "nothing" he wants taken from him, which is very different from having nothing at all to contribute period. There's a difference!
Buuuuuuuuuuuut if there's really no physical objects worth taking on his person, she can compromise. The next question gets posed in the same casual tone as before - though there's a certain sharpness in Hide's eyes, as if planning on weighing his words very carefully indeed. A relaxed chat could escalate from 0-100 with little to no warning if she finds the answer unsatisfactory. After all, each of those spider legs has silently come to rest on particularly vulnerable parts of Eustace's body. ]
Tell me, why did you come here? Nobody wanders so far off the beaten path unless they're searching for something.
Addled by his gem though he is, there's enough sense rattling around in his head that he takes her jab for the warning it is. His body stills its annoyed twitching, though the put-out expression on his face stays right where it is. He has a lot of personal wishes he'd like to see fulfilled but a death wish isn't one of them. ]
I don't make myself a guest often enough for anyone to thank you for it.
[ Something something lone wolf something something.
It's true enough in any case; he's not a man that particularly enjoys company save for in a few select cases, but none of the people involved in those scenarios are present here in the city. Which leaves him back at square one, alone and broody 99% of the time.
Which is partial explanation for why he's out here, away from the main hustle and bustle of the city. He looks at her best he can, eyes still partly lidded. ]
You don't get the urge to go out and explore? To find someplace where you belong better than the place you are currently?
[ That's maybe a bit more truthful of an answer than he'd like, but blame that on his gem too. ]
[ ...ah. So that's how it is? It's subtle, but his open honesty takes the wind out of her sails much more effectively than if he had put up a fight from the start; each of those Tsuchigumo legs silently recoil back into the dark, neatly draping over her shoulders like a spindly shawl. The answering silence deepens almost to the point of awkwardness before she finally recites: ]
In the groves of young broad-leaved bamboo Dewdrops on the leaf-tips Resemble jewels; Through mountains with no rocks I feel as if I travel...
[ Translation: yes, she certainly does know what he's talking about. Which is probably what she meant by the spontaneous poetry (thanks Saigyo), but being cryptic has always been her lot instead of outright agreement. At least his admission has driven home the point that Eustace is clearly a harmless lost soul and not the common thief she'd taken him as. How embarrassing. ]
Here or there, it's all the same. There is no "better" home if you don't know what you're looking for in the first place.
[ The sudden outburst of poetry after ever increasing silence throws him off-guard, and leaves him no more enlightened than before. He's not really a man deeply appreciative of the fine arts and thus most of the imagery embedded in her words drifts in one ear and back out the other. He supposes he can appreciate the sentiment behind her words, even if he's more appreciative of the way the pointy ends of her limbs stop jabbing into the softer parts of his body.
He still feels uneasy in his skin and not altogether convinced that the worst of the threat posed by this spiderlike creature is gone, but she hasn't seen fit to injure him yet. His hold on her leg loosens ever so slightly, an annoyed sigh escaping his lips. ]
I know what I'm looking for. It's just not here. [ That's the problem when the place where he belongs is tied to a person and ship thousands of miles away. ] I'll have to figure out something else in the meantime.
[ So he doesn't wander into someone's home, apparently, and get his limbs ripped off as punishment. ]
[ Neither approval nor disapproval, really, but conceding he has a point in her own way. It's not her place to decide such a thing for him.
Since it seems he's calmed down and Hide herself has no motivation to keep interrogating him over this clusterfuck of a misunderstanding, she gently pulls the leg he's still loosely grasping out of his hand, using it to start delicately manipulating the silk strands wrapped around him. It'd be easier to simply rip the threads off, but something tells her Eustace would be mildly inconvenienced if half of his clothing came off with them.
Hang in there, buddy. She'll get him untangled in due time. ]
That honour belongs to a far more eminent wordsmith than myself.
[ Don't let the disinterested tone fool you. She's got stacks and stacks of the stuff jealously hidden away like a dragon's hoard - doubly so with new and unprecedented access to a technologically advanced culture. Not that she'll ever admit it out loud of course. Some hobbies aren't meant to be shared off the cuff with just anyone. ]
If there's one good thing about this place, it's the size of the libraries.
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no subject
That's a silent "sass me again and see what happens" warning, all right. ]
I could settle for taking your tongue as collateral. No doubt your future hosts would thank me for it.
[ After all, he has "nothing" he wants taken from him, which is very different from having nothing at all to contribute period. There's a difference!
Buuuuuuuuuuuut if there's really no physical objects worth taking on his person, she can compromise. The next question gets posed in the same casual tone as before - though there's a certain sharpness in Hide's eyes, as if planning on weighing his words very carefully indeed.
A relaxed chat could escalate from 0-100 with little to no warning if she finds the answer unsatisfactory. After all, each of those spider legs has silently come to rest on particularly vulnerable parts of Eustace's body. ]
Tell me, why did you come here? Nobody wanders so far off the beaten path unless they're searching for something.
no subject
Addled by his gem though he is, there's enough sense rattling around in his head that he takes her jab for the warning it is. His body stills its annoyed twitching, though the put-out expression on his face stays right where it is. He has a lot of personal wishes he'd like to see fulfilled but a death wish isn't one of them. ]
I don't make myself a guest often enough for anyone to thank you for it.
[ Something something lone wolf something something.
It's true enough in any case; he's not a man that particularly enjoys company save for in a few select cases, but none of the people involved in those scenarios are present here in the city. Which leaves him back at square one, alone and broody 99% of the time.
Which is partial explanation for why he's out here, away from the main hustle and bustle of the city. He looks at her best he can, eyes still partly lidded. ]
You don't get the urge to go out and explore? To find someplace where you belong better than the place you are currently?
[ That's maybe a bit more truthful of an answer than he'd like, but blame that on his gem too. ]
no subject
It's subtle, but his open honesty takes the wind out of her sails much more effectively than if he had put up a fight from the start; each of those Tsuchigumo legs silently recoil back into the dark, neatly draping over her shoulders like a spindly shawl.
The answering silence deepens almost to the point of awkwardness before she finally recites: ]
[ Translation: yes, she certainly does know what he's talking about. Which is probably what she meant by the spontaneous poetry (thanks Saigyo), but being cryptic has always been her lot instead of outright agreement.
At least his admission has driven home the point that Eustace is clearly a harmless lost soul and not the common thief she'd taken him as. How embarrassing. ]
Here or there, it's all the same. There is no "better" home if you don't know what you're looking for in the first place.
no subject
He still feels uneasy in his skin and not altogether convinced that the worst of the threat posed by this spiderlike creature is gone, but she hasn't seen fit to injure him yet. His hold on her leg loosens ever so slightly, an annoyed sigh escaping his lips. ]
I know what I'm looking for. It's just not here. [ That's the problem when the place where he belongs is tied to a person and ship thousands of miles away. ] I'll have to figure out something else in the meantime.
[ So he doesn't wander into someone's home, apparently, and get his limbs ripped off as punishment. ]
Did you write that? The poem.
no subject
[ Neither approval nor disapproval, really, but conceding he has a point in her own way. It's not her place to decide such a thing for him.
Since it seems he's calmed down and Hide herself has no motivation to keep interrogating him over this clusterfuck of a misunderstanding, she gently pulls the leg he's still loosely grasping out of his hand, using it to start delicately manipulating the silk strands wrapped around him. It'd be easier to simply rip the threads off, but something tells her Eustace would be mildly inconvenienced if half of his clothing came off with them.
Hang in there, buddy. She'll get him untangled in due time. ]
That honour belongs to a far more eminent wordsmith than myself.
[ Don't let the disinterested tone fool you. She's got stacks and stacks of the stuff jealously hidden away like a dragon's hoard - doubly so with new and unprecedented access to a technologically advanced culture.
Not that she'll ever admit it out loud of course. Some hobbies aren't meant to be shared off the cuff with just anyone. ]
If there's one good thing about this place, it's the size of the libraries.