[He presses his lips together into a tight line as he steps inside, his gaze shifting to remain fixed on her as he passes.]
Can't say I'm a huge fan of that bein' a trend. Be nice to have a change of pace.
[It feels strange to say anything about it so casually— he knows how watching it had made him feel, but he hasn't experienced the same thing for himself. He imagines Hilda has to have some pretty complicated feelings about the whole thing, but of course, it's exactly like her to downplay it and try to shrug things off.]
You guys did really swing for the fences on that one, though.
[The dramatics had helped to make it all less real, at least in theory.]
[Balthus ought to know by now that Hilda is a master at dishonesty when it comes to things like feelings and vulnerability, superceded only by the likes of a certain half-Almyran archer. She's not lying when she says that making things big and dramatic takes the edge off, but there's still a part of her that's a bit freaked out by the fact that she keeps dying like this in dreams. Dying, after all, is something she fears more than anything else.
She's also playing it cool regarding her complicated feelings about the man who's come to check in on her. But that's another issue entirely.]
His name's Dohalim. He definitely is one of those sensitive types, you know? The kind who really cares about art and expression and all of that stuff. But without being all stuffy and weird. He's charming about it.
[Don't think Hilda doesn't pick up on that edge, Balthus. She responds to it by crossing her arms and giving him a Look.]
Yes, charming.
[Why is he acting so weird about it? It's not like she and Balthus are a thing or anything. They just had one night of emotional intimacy where they kissed and cuddled and shared a bed. That doesn't mean anything!
Or so she's telling herself, anyway.]
I think it'd be nice to see him again. See how we get along without all the dreamscape stuff. Maybe go out for a nice dinner or something.
[She's somewhat intentionally obfuscating her motives in asking Dohalim out to dinner. Really, it's not likely to be anything more than 'let's get to know each other as friends and also sorry about the dying thing in the dream, that was wild.' But she's irritated that he's acting weird, so he gets to think that this is a ~date~ because that would clearly bother him. Even though it shouldn't.]
[Maybe they're not a thing, but they're not not a thing, either! It's confusing. Either way, he doesn't seem all that impressed by her repeating the word again, even though he knows exactly how he'd sounded. Should he apologize?
Nah.]
You're gonna go to dinner with him?
[That could mean anything; people go to dinner all the time without being involved. Hell, he and Hilda have dinner several times a week, and they're not... necessarily together in any way, but it still rubs him a little bit raw.]
I mean, sure, have a great time, I guess. He seemed like he's probably a million years older than you, though.
[Pot, kettle, black. Damn, why is this bothering him so much?]
[Oh my goddess, is he jealous?! Hilda just gapes at him for several moments before she responds. What is there to even be jealous of? They aren't a thing, so he doesn't get a say on what she does with whom.]
Who even cares that he's older than me? You're older than me, and we do stuff together all the time.
[Easy as it is to forget sometimes, given how he behaves.]
I'm an adult and I can see whoever I like, Baltie.
[He definitely doesn't give the age gap between them much thought these days— it was one thing when they were growing up and she was noticeably much younger than Holst and himself, but these days, that line is a lot blurrier. They're both adults, and he doesn't think about it much more than that, for the most part.
Age doesn't mean a whole lot— until someone else enters the picture, apparently.]
I didn't say you couldn't, just— seems weird, that's all. I mean, do you even know anything real about him?
[Hilda doesn't even try to hide the way she rolls her eyes at him.]
Of course not. That's why I'd like to go to dinner and see what he's actually like.
[It's not that complicated??? Although she definitely made it a little more complicated by insinuating things that aren't actually true. Like that she's maybe into him.]
And yes, he technically killed me back in the dream. But I killed him back, and neither of us are actually dead-dead, so it balances out.
He opens his mouth to argue that point, but immediately closes it a moment later. Alright, yeah. That reason for going to dinner tracks, at least. That's what people do. Why, then, is he even more bothered by it than he'd been a few moments ago?
Weird.]
I don't think that's how that works! I mean, you're not dead-dead, but you were still dead for a little while there.
[And given some of the nightmares she'd been involved in not so long ago... really, there's more than petty jealousy at play here.]
That's really why I came over. I was worried about you, you know?
[With that, Hilda deflates. He's not here to pick a fight, and she knows it. He's looking out for her--not a single mention of 'Holst would want me to' to boot.
She sighs softly.]
I know, I know. And... thanks. Really. I'm okay. Like I said, getting the warning ahead of time and knowing it was just a "play" made this a lot less traumatizing.
[After the last time she died, that much is a huge mercy and has made the difference between accepting the situation as it was and another round of trauma.]
Just... don't hold that against Dohalim, okay? His hands were tied just like mine where.
[Holst definitely would want him to— but she's right. Holst isn't the reason he's here today, just like he didn't come here to argue. He's here because of her, even if he struggles to articular or understand exactly why.
That part is a work in progress, but he can still be here.]
... right.
[He exhales slowly; his shoulders sink as he lets go of some of his ire. It was a rough deal for everyone involved, wasn't it?]
I just got...
[Jealous? No way, he's not saying that.]
Guess I'm kind of overprotective sometimes. That's my job.
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Can't say I'm a huge fan of that bein' a trend. Be nice to have a change of pace.
[It feels strange to say anything about it so casually— he knows how watching it had made him feel, but he hasn't experienced the same thing for himself. He imagines Hilda has to have some pretty complicated feelings about the whole thing, but of course, it's exactly like her to downplay it and try to shrug things off.]
You guys did really swing for the fences on that one, though.
[The dramatics had helped to make it all less real, at least in theory.]
... sweet, huh. Who was that guy, anyway?
no subject
She's also playing it cool regarding her complicated feelings about the man who's come to check in on her. But that's another issue entirely.]
His name's Dohalim. He definitely is one of those sensitive types, you know? The kind who really cares about art and expression and all of that stuff. But without being all stuffy and weird. He's charming about it.
I'm glad I got paired with him.
no subject
Everyone but them, probably, both of them being experts at ignoring their own feelings for very different reasons.]
Charming.
[He does make an effort not to let himself become hostile, but there's a definite edge to his voice.]
So, uh— you think you're gonna see him again after all the dream stuff?
[Like, do you like him?]
no subject
Yes, charming.
[Why is he acting so weird about it? It's not like she and Balthus are a thing or anything. They just had one night of emotional intimacy where they kissed and cuddled and shared a bed. That doesn't mean anything!
Or so she's telling herself, anyway.]
I think it'd be nice to see him again. See how we get along without all the dreamscape stuff. Maybe go out for a nice dinner or something.
[She's somewhat intentionally obfuscating her motives in asking Dohalim out to dinner. Really, it's not likely to be anything more than 'let's get to know each other as friends and also sorry about the dying thing in the dream, that was wild.' But she's irritated that he's acting weird, so he gets to think that this is a ~date~ because that would clearly bother him. Even though it shouldn't.]
no subject
Nah.]
You're gonna go to dinner with him?
[That could mean anything; people go to dinner all the time without being involved. Hell, he and Hilda have dinner several times a week, and they're not... necessarily together in any way, but it still rubs him a little bit raw.]
I mean, sure, have a great time, I guess. He seemed like he's probably a million years older than you, though.
[Pot, kettle, black. Damn, why is this bothering him so much?]
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Who even cares that he's older than me? You're older than me, and we do stuff together all the time.
[Easy as it is to forget sometimes, given how he behaves.]
I'm an adult and I can see whoever I like, Baltie.
no subject
Age doesn't mean a whole lot— until someone else enters the picture, apparently.]
I didn't say you couldn't, just— seems weird, that's all. I mean, do you even know anything real about him?
[He's not jealous. Definitely not.]
Also, didn't he technically kill you?
no subject
Of course not. That's why I'd like to go to dinner and see what he's actually like.
[It's not that complicated??? Although she definitely made it a little more complicated by insinuating things that aren't actually true. Like that she's maybe into him.]
And yes, he technically killed me back in the dream. But I killed him back, and neither of us are actually dead-dead, so it balances out.
no subject
He opens his mouth to argue that point, but immediately closes it a moment later. Alright, yeah. That reason for going to dinner tracks, at least. That's what people do. Why, then, is he even more bothered by it than he'd been a few moments ago?
Weird.]
I don't think that's how that works! I mean, you're not dead-dead, but you were still dead for a little while there.
[And given some of the nightmares she'd been involved in not so long ago... really, there's more than petty jealousy at play here.]
That's really why I came over. I was worried about you, you know?
[It's kind of a big deal.]
no subject
She sighs softly.]
I know, I know. And... thanks. Really. I'm okay. Like I said, getting the warning ahead of time and knowing it was just a "play" made this a lot less traumatizing.
[After the last time she died, that much is a huge mercy and has made the difference between accepting the situation as it was and another round of trauma.]
Just... don't hold that against Dohalim, okay? His hands were tied just like mine where.
no subject
That part is a work in progress, but he can still be here.]
... right.
[He exhales slowly; his shoulders sink as he lets go of some of his ire. It was a rough deal for everyone involved, wasn't it?]
I just got...
[Jealous? No way, he's not saying that.]
Guess I'm kind of overprotective sometimes. That's my job.