xp_logs | Cecilia and Shan

Waaaaaay backdated to September the 15th. Immediately after this chat with Angelo, Cecilia tracks Shan down to apologize for this post. On a roll with the whole 'productive and social' schtick, she even winds up with a ~~date~~ escort for the HeliX formal without so much as a stumble. Scary!

Logic said she'd be here. Shan was the librarian, and thus, the first place to try and find her would be the library, logically, right? And Cecilia was all about the logic, on her good days at least. So, with that in mind, she'd come to the library to try and hunt the librarian down, peeking up and down the stacks and checking the likely places, in hopes of finding her before she lost her nerve. This wasn't something she wanted to do over text - e-mail did not equate to real, genuine sincerity, in her mind.

Shan heard Cecilia before she saw her -- footsteps in the very quiet library were a dead giveaway, if the giveaway was "someone's here!". She stuck one last book into the shelf (admiring her new system of organisation as she did) and turned, stepping out of the little nook she'd been working on for the last hour or so. She spotted Cecilia and lifted a hand in greeting. "Hey, Cecilia. Can I help you?" Her voice was the same as ever, but she hoped she didn't look distant; after that mess on the journals, she'd spent a good hour pacing the grounds and working not to intervene, and although she'd worked most of the irritation away -- none of these people would ever intentionally hurt her children, she knew that -- she was still having to check her reactions as they came.

Ah-ha. There she was. Cecilia re-aimed herself to approach, now that she knew where Shan was, casting a quick look around for any possible audience. "Quite possibly," she replied, offering an only slightly-nervous smile as she lifted a hand to return the wave. Whether or not she could tell the woman had been upset was moot, in her mind - someone didn't need to tell you they were upset to warrant it being addressed. "I wanted to apologize, actually."

Shan raised her eyebrows, clearly surprised; she couldn't think of anything Cecilia needed to apologise to her for. "What for?" she asked, tilting her head to one side.

"My little commentary on the journal system the other day," Cecilia shrugged, stuffing her hands into her pockets and trying to find something suitably fascinating to look at. Even in a library, it was proving difficult. Damned social awkwardness. "My joy for being snarky at people I dislike often blinds me to the feelings of the people I do like, and since you've got the munchkins here.. well. Yeah." She coughed quietly, hoping she didn't look as awkward as she was sure she must. "I'm sorry."

Whatever ice was left over in Shan's heart from that day melted, and she shook her head. "It's all right," she said, shrugging with a slight smile. "I do feel quite strongly about the situation due to the kids, yes." She didn't disclaim the statement, try to moderate it. "But I think the situation would have been better without any of the public discussion, to be honest. There was no need for most of the things said on all sides."

The floor. The floor would do, she could study that for hours. "That's what I figured, just picked a rather bass-ackward way of snarking at people for it. I've mentioned I'm not good with people before, right?" Cecilia chanced a brief look up, to flash a still-nervous smile, before her gaze quickly re-rooted itself to the floor underfoot. "I'm not very good at just keeping my mouth shut when I likely should. That's probably something I should work on, huh?"

Shan smiled. "Well," she said gently, "that depends on whether you like yourself when you keep your mouth shut or not, doesn't it?"

"And that depends on the situation," Cecilia replied wryly, grinning down at the floor. "Or, well, the people involved, I suppose. I don't like looking like an ass to people whose opinions I actually care about."

"Who does? It's not the most comfortable feeling in the world -- but it passes always, of course. You know," Shan added with a grin, "I'm sure the carpet appreciates the conversation, but I'm confident I'm not -that- scary to look at."

Cecilia paused for a moment, then coughed sheepishly and looked at Shan, rather than the floor. Nope - couldn't argue the better view. "Only scary when I'm still half-expecting to be scolded," she chuckled, rubbing the nape of her neck. "But if no scolding is forthcoming.. maybe I could con you into doing me a favor..?"

"I don't scold those over the age of fifteen," Shan said lightly. "It tends to be less effective than you'd think. What's the favour?"

"Bear with me," Cecilia mused wryly. "This isn't something I've done before, in any sense of the word." She took a moment to draw in a breath, straighten her posture, and flashed a grin. "I need a date. Or, well, escort, to the HeliX thing? Madelyn won't let me just stay home, and I'll be damned if I'm going to this thing alone."

Shan blinked, then appeared to consider the concept. "Well," she said, after a moment, with a smile, "if you don't mind that I don't really know what goes on at those kinds of parties, I wouldn't mind going with someone who won't expect me to dance. Because I can't. At all."

Cecilia looked extremely relieved, clamping a hand to her chest. "Oh, thank God, neither can I! And I don't know what goes on at these things, either, but the woman is mad. Mad, I tell you." She grinned cheerfully. "You're a brave woman, to be willing to help me survive such an ordeal."

"I know, it's a talent of mine," Shan laughed. "But so long as we stick to one another, I think we'll be safe."

"Or at least not bored out of our skulls," Cecilia agreed brightly. "Heaven forbid I go out on a Saturday night and actually have fun. The world might cease to exist."

"It might," Shan agreed gravely. "You know, I think that's a distinct possibility. Such a pity."

"Depends on if there's another world after this one, but then we run the risk of discussing philosophy or religion," Cecilia mused. "I'll settle for the two of us going out and enjoying ourselves. Much, much safer."

Shan grinned. "Good choice. We might even make it through the evening alive if we're really careful."

"Alive is good," Cecilia agreed. "We'll aim for alive, and if we have fun on top of that, all the better."

Shan laughed. "Sounds like a good plan. I approve," she said.