Really, if any situation gave Mal the right to snoop a little it was a potential roommate situation, but she figured that Bast probably didn’t have too much to hide, and she wasn’t a super sleuth anyway, so she had no idea where to start looking even if the urge struck her. For now, she was willing to take things at face value. So long as no weird issues came up later on, she’d be okay with everything. If they did, she was pretty sure she could defend herself better than most women her age.
“That’s a mom’s job, though. Empty nest syndrome and all that,” she mused, running a hand through her hair and taking a seat. “I think that was the only objection mom had to me moving out. The last of her kids was out on their own now. She took it better than dad, though,” she thought aloud, looking at her hands thoughtfully, then coming out of it. “The youngest has a fun job,” she chuckled a little bit. “Don’t go all super overprotective brother on her, y’know. Trust me, Bast. I have two of those and the whole ‘worrying too much’ thing, as flattering as it is, has a tendency to do little more than tick little sisters off,” she half-smiled, letting him know that she was joking.
“Oh, that’s good,” she smirked in response to his joke. “I took three years of karate and I can hold my own in a hockey scrape, so me warning you was more for your sake than mine,” she teased, smile widening. “I’m also a handy non-lethal weapon, in case of home invasions!” she added.
Ah, yes. The question she should have expected but didn’t want to hear all the same. “Funds,” was all she said at first. Realizing that needed elaboration, she sighed a little bit and raised a shoulder in a defeated shrug. “It’s expensive to live on your own. I’m sure you understand. A waitress’ pay isn’t ideal for flying solo. But a fifty-fifty split, I could totally do.”