[Thanks to Viktor's usual habits—long delays, replies at odd hours, sometimes never responding at all—the pause of a few minutes before his answer appears perfectly ordinary. As ordinary as this invitation. People make such arrangements all the time, and worse exchanges—uncomfortably personal, humiliating exchanges—over these sending crystals, before the ears of one and all, just like this. Compared to what he's heard, this barely registers on the meter. The idea of seeing people he sees all the time anyway should not be so challenging.
It's the context that moves the needle. It's the stupid cheesy meat circle. It's that his own time is short, eroding from both ends; it wouldn't be fair of him to encourage this. Who does 'we' include? Idiot. He shouldn't have asked, now it seems like—
no subject
It's the context that moves the needle. It's the stupid cheesy meat circle. It's that his own time is short, eroding from both ends; it wouldn't be fair of him to encourage this. Who does 'we' include? Idiot. He shouldn't have asked, now it seems like—
Just—]
I'll... see if I can make the time.