[ it's strange to actually look at nick. she never really did before- that had simply been a feature of who she'd been. now that the choice of not being around people had been taken from her, she saw her time with others a little differently.

little ticks she hadn't seen before, or hadn't even looked at. he seemed more immediate to her now than he ever had before. her head tilted slightly as he spoke, almost dog-like, as though it helped her to listen better. her eyes shift away slightly as he spoke about alex. she'd never thought to be uncomfortable on the matter- perhaps she isn't. she simply isn't used to ... people she knows knowing other people. particularly with the roles the two of them have played in her life.

I visit Alexander a fair deal. [ she didn't look back yet, eyes trained on some small, insignificant thing on the carpet. ] We... share echoes. [ and there's something very odd about the way she says it. too simplistic, maybe, not much feeling behind it. ] It would feel strange not to. To visit, I mean.

It'd be too reckless to agree to it if you knew. [ looking back to him, her voice is almost disapproving, as though challenging him on the matter ] ...have they changed you in any way? No claws or anything?