[The thought makes him feel oddly empty- as if he's already grown accustomed to having her nearby again, and her absence would feel like a loss. The thought surprises him. He suspects it would only upset her- she's already more volatile than she's letting on, judging by the cracking sound from her cup- so he keeps it to himself.]
But it's possible that there's a practical benefit to our continued alliance nonetheless. Thus far, they seem to reward networking and punish isolation. It could be that solitude will be dangerous, especially in your... present state.
[...that's as delicately as he can put it, but he suspects it will still provoke an unpleasant reaction- she's never liked having her limitations pointed out, and having even more strict limits is unlikely to improve her mood.]
no subject
[The thought makes him feel oddly empty- as if he's already grown accustomed to having her nearby again, and her absence would feel like a loss. The thought surprises him. He suspects it would only upset her- she's already more volatile than she's letting on, judging by the cracking sound from her cup- so he keeps it to himself.]
But it's possible that there's a practical benefit to our continued alliance nonetheless. Thus far, they seem to reward networking and punish isolation. It could be that solitude will be dangerous, especially in your... present state.
[...that's as delicately as he can put it, but he suspects it will still provoke an unpleasant reaction- she's never liked having her limitations pointed out, and having even more strict limits is unlikely to improve her mood.]