devoutish | IC contact for wethelost

[ The refusal of his offer earns Alfie a long look, K noting the state of his hands, before reaching for his own cup. ] Thanks. I'll ask him, but I don't expect he'll accept the help either.

[ :c These two. ]

It's not meant as an insult to you, mind.

[He says, as he takes a seat in an armchair.]

We're self-sufficient sorts, that's all.

I know. I'm not insulted. [ He's concerned. Caring about someone's well-being but being unable to help them in any appreciable way is an all too familiar frustration. ] If you change your mind. [ He tilts his head. Let him know. ]

Mm. You'll continue to visit as a friend, I hope?

[ That gets a slight look of surprise. ] If this is an invitation to.

Sure, yeah. You're a friend by now, aren't you? You're welcome here.

[ Achievement unlocked: Friendship! ]

I wasn't going to presume is all. Of course I'll visit. [ A small smile as he sips the tea. Then, in Yiddish: ] So I really am in the private club.

Yeah, indeed you are.

[He replies in turn, a smile twitching at the corners of his mouth. It's small and tired, but a smile all the same.]

Where's that accent from? It sounds funny to my ear.

[Still clearly understandable, but.]

[ It's strange to think he has an accent, but he supposes he must, especially to someone from an earlier century of an alternate Earth. Who sounds like he's from a version of London, to boot. ]

Los Angeles. Probably a bit different dialect than yours. I can understand yours fine though.

A different place and many years' difference in time, yes. But I'm happy to hear that Yiddish is still around in the future. People of my generation complain that not enough of the kids are speaking it.

Not at all widely spoken, that I've noticed. But still around as a full language. Is Royce the only one you've taught it to?

Yes. It was something we started back in Norfinbury.

[ So much comes back to Norfinbury. The mention of it has K momentarily glancing toward Alfie's hands, again. ]

And he taught you Elvish in turn. [ He assumes. ] It would be interesting to learn it. But... I think maybe that's something between just the two of you. [ Something special, that he doesn't want to intrude upon, in other words. ]

Yeah, a bit. But it's a language, isn't it. They're meant to be shared and spoken.

[So while he does consider it something special that they share, he also wouldn't be offended by Royce sharing it with others, too.]

Sure. Better than being forgotten.

[ He isn't sure he wants to take that as "permission" to learn Elvish too, but at least he won't feel bad if he picks up a few words here and there in the language. It isn't as though Alfie would ever have a reason to feel threatened by his friendship with Royce, anyway.

Which brings him to something he's been wondering for sometime now. ]

You're both very close. [ It isn't a smarmy "wink wink, nudge nudge" statement, more tentatively curious and leading up to something else. ]

Yeah.

[He inclines his head at K, an unspoken go on.]

Yeah, we are. We've been through a great many things together.

[ Not one to dance around a subject, K will just get right to it. ]

Royce mentioned Mr. Navarro's a former romantic interest... Former because of things with Renart. I've gotten the distinct impression you don't care for either of them. [ People in the Meadous seem to lead such ridiculously complicated love lives and it's probably a fool's errand trying to make sense of them, but. ]

I feel like I'm missing something. Where do you fit in the equation?

I've had my troubles with them. Yes. But they weren't born of jealousy, if that's what you're curious about.

I didn't think it was jealousy. Mr. Navarro's Shadow said something about a "lesson" he taught you ruining his friendship with Royce. Sounds like you have your reasons.

[ He tilts his head. ] And getting a straight answer from Monty and Renart about anything can sometimes be difficult. [ Hence why Alfie's the only one he's asked directly about this. ]

Mr. Navarro needs to learn to take responsibility for his own actions, particularly when they're poorly thought-out.

[He takes a long sip of his tea.]

But I'll be honest, mate; I'm not sure why you'd need a straight answer. It's nothing to do with you, is it?

[He doesn't sound hostile or annoyed, though.]

[ Because K's been attempting to befriend all of the involved parties and the hinted at drama and strained relations but lack of clarity on anything can make navigating things hard sometimes. But. ]

You're right, it isn't. [ And that'll be that; he'll drop the subject. ] I've been active- [ He seems to catch himself, amending: ] Alive for a little over a year. There's a lot I still don't understand about people in general. I meant no offense.

Mm.

[Alfie considers him, scratching idly at his beard.]

No offense taken, mate. It's a better reason than wanting to insert yourself to investigate and sort things out for us.

[Watson.]

I'm not much of a gossip when it comes to my own business, that's all, and most of it's in the past. We're not going head to head with each other, at the moment.

I'd rather not insert myself like that, no. [ As he now realises he probably seemed like he was trying to do. Oops. It's hard knowing where boundaries lie sometimes. So many of his attempts at understanding people and learning about personhood have been dead ends; even his closest friend has been oddly reluctant to discuss personhood with him, so K's mostly stopped asking.

Now he'll awkwardly sip his tea and stare at the floor. ]

But that's good if things have settled, at least.

Yeah.

[Alfie sets down his tea, lacing his fingers together and resting his hands on the table.]

And there's no need to act as if you've been scolded, mate; I told you, I'm not angry.

[ That gets a small smile. ] It's just embarrassing to think I may've given you that impression. [ That's all. Emotions are weird, okay. ] In my homeworld, interacting with people was like trying to navigate a minefield. I'm still getting used to people not being like that here.

[ An explanation for why ducking his head and generally trying to make himself appear as non-threatening as possible is still his reflexive reaction to stressful situations. Including feeling mild embarrassment, apparently.

Sorry Alfie. Androids are also weird. ]

IC contact for wethelost

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