log: adrian and ren
Ren turned, taken slightly off guard by the comment. Most of his teen years he had kept to himself. He hadn't known what to do, or how to be the sort of person that was 'charming', at all. And it had also, furthermore, made things more complicated then. He hadn't learned the fine art of keeping everyone to the side on the magical things. But it didn't seem like flattery, which meant it must seem true from Adrian's perspective.
"I took theater at University," he responded slowly. "I suppose one picks up confidence." For a moment he almost told Adrian about his Grandfather who had been, so far as anyone could say, extremely charming and a talented actor as well. Ren had hoped to follow in his footsteps.
He turned back to wash things in the sink. "I'm supposed to be a sociable barista, I can play that role." And that was really what it came down to wasn't it? He'd figured out along the way, somehow, how to put on one mask or another. Most of the time it was barista and bookseller, and fortunately all that reading had given him a wide variety of things to share with other people and that made it easier to play these roles without thinking much about it. He rinsed off several pieces and sat them to the side, turning back around and leaning up against the sink, even though that risked him getting the back of his black jeans wet.
"I read everything," he said earnestly, half caught between role and truth. "Biography, history, literature, philosophy, mysteries," and books on magic as well. Although those had come from his Uncle and had been caught in a secret compartment in his trunk most of the time. "I read a lot of European history, British Literature in particular, although a pretty hearty share of 19th century American literature as well. But I think I liked the plays best. All of Shakespeare, and then I worked my way through Ibsen and Miller," he looked over at Adrian. "Only one friend?"