tomorrow's shadows (fated_wren) wrote in rrinitiative, @ 2012-11-19 06:09:00 |
|
|||
Entry tags: | day eight, kyle, kyle and wren, wren |
let's see what the cards say
Characters: Kyle and Wren
Setting: her room, afternoon
Kyle woke in the afternoon, and felt better for the sleep and his talk with Adam. Less like the world was ending. Not to say he was suddenly okay, far from it. But he felt more able to cope with the little things, now that he wasn’t locked inside his own head.
He had showered, shaved and changed. Made his bed. Rearranged a few things. Until he had made himself make the decision and he left his room. He had walked quickly, actively trying to avoid people. He didn’t want to deal with people, not randomly. He wasn’t prepared for it and he liked the tentative feeling that he was doing better - he didn’t want anything to happen to upset that.
It took him a little while to track down Wren’s new room, but he did, and he knocked, turning to face away, looking over the farm area. It felt different over in this block.
Wren glanced up from her computer, staring at the words between herself and Chester. Sighing slightly to herself, she shut it off, and drew in a deep breath, letting it out slowly. The only person she was expecting was Kyle, and she needed to be on top of her game for him. She needed to stop feeling thrown, stop feeling so swept up in the storm.
She needed to find the eye of it, for just long enough to do this.
Walking towards the door, she focused there, and by the time she opened it, she was feeling calmer. She tapped into the part of herself that was The Prophet at the Order. The girl who had nothing else to do but be there for everyone else, and provide whatever guidance she could. The girl who didn’t have feelings, or bad days, or days where she just cried. She was there and she was going to do her job, to the best of her ability. "Hi." she greeted. "It's good to see you."
"Hi," Kyle said, offering her a little smile. She had been worried about him before, and he wanted to put her at ease somewhat. Especially with what Adam had told him about the fact that she had been having a difficult time lately. At least he didn't look the total wreck he had earlier.
"Come in." she said, stepping back so he could walk inside. "How are you doing? Adam came by, yes?" she asked. He'd left her room to go there, so she had to assume he'd gone to talk to him. She hoped Adam had been a help to him, though he did look at least slightly less upset than she would have imagined he did when he'd written his journal questions.
Kyle headed inside, looking around the room a little, before glancing back to Wren. "Yeah, Adam came round. We talked, which helped," he admitted. "And then I got some sleep. Which really helped."
When he glanced around, Wren was a little more aware of the fact that she had nothing in there. Well. The only thing she did have on display was the painting he'd given her. Everything else that she'd normally had out was shoved into the wardrobe where she couldn't see it. "I'm glad that at least something's been helping." she told him genuinely. "And, maybe this will help too. Do you want to tell me what's going on? Or do you want me to just go in blind, and see what the cards say?" she asked. It was clear she had no preference. "Either way, I'll say that I would like to know what's going on, but I understand that it probably isn't my business, and you don't know me that well yet."
"Can we just see what the cards say? And then maybe talk about things afterwards?" Kyle suggested. That way he wouldn't be able to second guess himself as to whether she had manipulated the results to fit what she thought he would want to hear about specifics or not. He was nervous about this whole thing - clearly lacking his usual confidence - but he wanted to do this and Kyle had always been good at forcing himself forward with decisions he made, whether he liked them or not.
Kyle lowered himself to the floor, mirroring her position across from her. He took the cards and shuffled them, looking down at them with an expression of concentration and letting thoughts of everything surface and rush through him. he fumbled the cards a little, but managed not to drop them. Patting them back into shape, he offered them back to her.
"Cut them three times, then hand them back." she told him. She eyed the Strength card, the figure with the slash over it's eyes, it's hands pulling apart savage jaws.
Kyle did just that and offered her the cards again. He knew he was being quiet, but that felt right to him at that moment.
Laying the spread out quickly with no hesitation as she turned the cards, Wren fully immersed herself in the reading. It wasn’t as difficult as she’d thought it would be, her inner doubts not surfacing in the slightest as she focused. As each card was addressed, she pointed to it so he would be able to follow her visually.
“The first card we have is the Two of Swords. That’s what covers you. It represents the influences working in your life right now.” Wren explained. “This card has a few different things involved. It involves looking at things honestly, unblinking, even in the face of danger. It also represents dualities.” she said, looking back up at him. “Sharp differences between people. It can have a general feel of precariousness.”
Pointing to the card that crossed that, she continued. “The Seven of Pentacles is representing what crosses you, so, sources of strife, forces working against you. This one’s telling me about massive re-evaluation. Indecision, fear, delay...” She frowned, looking back at him. “Flaws.”
Kyle tried to keep up with her on that. "So... Am I meant to be being honest in the face of danger, or do you mean I am being honest in the face of danger?" he asked her, not sure about that. He was trying to be. Sometimes he felt like that was what his overreactions were - unflinching, even cutting honesty bursting out all over.
He noted how she frowned as she called him flawed and he sucked in a breath. Flawed. He felt a little sick. If his results came back positive, he would certainly be flawed. And currently there was plenty of fear. And re-evaluation. The only thing he didn't feel guilty of was delay.
"It isn't a direction either way. It's merely something that's happening in your life, influencing things. It could be you, it could be the people around you. It isn't an instruction." Wren explained. "You're supposed to take it and apply it to your life. I don't know what's happening, I'm just reading the guidance offered up. You need to take a look, and see if you can find it." she said. When he pulled in a breath, she paused, watching him for a long moment. She read a lot on his features, something she was naturally good at either way. "The flaws, is that distressing you?" she asked. "It's what's working against you. Causing issues. Flaws come in a lot of shades. Flawed thinking, damages in truths...this whole institution could be considered one large set of flaws." she added. “I usually dislike when it comes up, because it’s always so subjective. But I hope you can find the correct meaning in the myriad of possibilities.”
"Oh, I know what it is," Kyle breathed, but then made him correct himself. "Or what it could be. What I hope it isn't." He didn't add anything more though, and he took her explanation about how this should work. He had to mould this to fit himself. So far, he could see ways to do that easily enough.
Wren opened her mouth, but then shut it, not asking further as she continued the reading. She didn’t want to get sidetracked, that wasn’t her role. She looked at the next card. “The High Priestess.” she said. “Representing your short term past.” Internally, she got a bittersweet pang. It was the card for Leandro’s room. “This one is all about inner enlightenment. Stillness, wisdom, intuition. A sense of knowing things which might not be easily explained. Growth. It could represent a person, though don’t let the ‘priestess’ thing fool you, it doesn’t have to be female. But it all leads towards these things coming into your life recently.”
Kyle frowned a little at that. The possibilities there for him were less obvious, so he didn't say anything, instead just kept listening.
“The next one is what crowns you. It’s your immediate future, what could bring an end to an old way of thinking. A change. It’s The Hermit, reversed. There are two influences here. One means an influence of immaturity, of foolishness. The other, more involvement with others, reversing a retreat. Becoming more active in the world around you.” Wren told him.
Kyle actually barked a laugh at that one. "Yeah, well - considering the last day or so, that's won't be hard. Have been doing the hermit thing." And he hadn't exactly been reacting perfectly maturely - though his intentions he felt had been adult. he had been trying to do the best thing, he just recognised that he hadn't gone about it in the best way.
Wren nodded, understanding what he meant there, or at least, partially. “The next card is Temperance. This card represents your past influencing your current circumstances. It’s what’s behind you, but still relevant. This one represents adaptation, balance, experience, dreams, actualization, self control. Containment. This is another card with a whole host of influences within a concept.”
Kyle nodded. "Balance. Self-control - I'd like to think that's - that's how I would want things to go," he said, picking the points out there which called to him. Balance had always been something which was important to him, something he strove for. That idea influenced a lot of his larger decisions. An effort to maintain his own sense of balance in the world. His own sense of fairness. And to do that meant he had to have a large amount of self-control, because often maintaining that sense of balance meant that he had to force himself to make decisions and take paths that weren't always the kindest to him, or that he would otherwise have taken. He had to do things he really didn't like.
"The next card is The Chariot, and its placement means it's telling us what's still on the path to come." she told him. "This card represents power, great force of character, triumph, opportunity. Exploration." She gave a light smile there. It wasn't a bad card to have talking about things yet to come.
Kyle looked taken aback. "Oh. that's - that sounds... Really positive," he said, sounding as surprised as he suddenly looked. He almost wanted to ask if she was sure that card was for him, the question on the tip of his tongue.
She didn't need him to voice it. "That's what it says." she told him, a small nod along with the affirmation. "You're a rare one. Most people do the double take when bad things come up." she told him. "That's usually when people give me that 'are you sure?' look."
Kyle paused for a second, then shrugged, lightly. "Right now, I'm not all that convinced there's going to be that much to look forward to," he told her, his voice subdued. "So - I was kind of hoping for something positive, but I guess I didn't really expect it," he confessed.
Nodding, she accepted that. “I understand.” she told him. “Well, maybe there’s some light shining your way in your future.” she added. “Now we’ve got your inner concerns, fears...” Wren said, pointing to the next card. “And for this, we’ve got the Seven of Swords, reversed.” She drew in a breath. “This is the one that gives me the most pause.” she told him. “The Seven of Swords in general has to do with instability. The reverse of it, that’s...counsel, instruction, individuality, rewarded efforts, clearing obstacles.” She looked back up to him. “You were just surprised anything good came up...deep down are you afraid of success? Of overcoming?” she asked, though it was clear it was a question meant for him to answer for himself, not for her.
Kyle considered that. "I - I don't think so. I mean, I would like to be successful." he smiled a little. "One day, I'd like to be able to make a living from my art. I always thought that I was good enough to do that. And I know things are different now, and life didn't turn out the way I expected, but I'd still like that one day." of course, arguably he had gotten in the way of his own success. His life could have simply carried on as it had before, with absolutely no repercussions. Kyle himself was the reason that he was in jail. It hadn't had to have been like that. But he knew that, whilst he wanted to be successful, he was not so ambitious that he would chase his dreams, ignoring what he considered to be the right thing to do. He had to make amends for the things he had done, and if his dreams were sacrificed to that end, then that was part of his penance. of course, that all felt hollow right now. It seemed that that one choice just kept taking from him. First his dreams, then his dignity. Now, possibly, his life. His gaze dropped to the Chariot and stayed there, trying to cling onto the positive.
“I’m more talking right now, smaller scale. Right here, right now.” Wren said. “But you can take that how you will.” she added. “Moving ahead... The Knight of Cups, reversed is here representing outside influences, friends and society.” she told him. “This one’s basis is in a lot of emotion.” she continued. “It’s a swirling mass of it, along with an introverted slant...something dreamlike, or less grounded in firm reality. It can also represent demands made on you, maybe by a specific individual that fits the other qualities mentioned. It can include rivalry, too. Either directly involving you, or people close to you. Either way it would affect you.”
"Oh yeah - that one fits. All of that, pretty much," Kyle said, definitely. He thought of the way Leandro had reacted, of the promises he had tried to make, of the way that Kyle had been feeling that he was trying to attach himself to an idea of him, not thinking about the reality of what he was doing. He thought of Adam, and the way he didn't like Leandro. Of some of the reasons that Kyle suspected were behind that. Of Meg and all her issues. Of Becka and her calls on Adam. Everything seemed to be about emotion right now. There were moments when Kyle felt like he was at the centre of a maelstrom.
Wren gave him a look that had a note of sympathy to it. “I wish you the best, in that.” she told him quietly. She very much meant it. Then she looked back to the cards. “Second to last, there’s your hopes and ideals. The King of Pentacles is here, and this one is generally a person. The card, not the position. But in this case, who it’s talking about is someone very important, with a lot of substance. Someone successful, who loves life, someone vibrant. Someone protective of what’s theirs, someone calm and wise. Beyond an individual--who by the way could even represent you so don’t assume it’s automatically someone else--it means industry, prosperity, harvest, abundance...” she trailed off.
Kyle quirked a smile. "That all sounds good," he said, quietly, reflectively. He didn't want to think too deeply on it. He would just hold onto the idea that whatever it meant, if sounded nice to him. To think too much on it right now - to think too much on anything beyond 'that's a nice idea' and to let it do more than make that warm fuzzy blossom of hope form in his chest felt like asking for trouble. He did like the idea though and he knew he could fit it to something or someone if he allowed himself to.
“Finally, we have the end result of it all, and this particular outcome has to do with whatever it was you were really concentrating on when you were shuffling, so it applies there.” she told him, knowing a lot of people thought it meant the end of their life or something. “The Five of Swords, reversed.” she said, tapping the card lightly with her index finger, before she looked back up to him. “There’s a double edge to this card.” she told him. “Right here what we have is speaking up, defending yourself. Refusal to accept defeat.” Wren paused a heartbeat. “Which of course means you’re going to find yourself in a position where you have to. That’s the rub.” She sat back slightly. “But you won’t stand idly by.”
Kyle's face crumpled, that flower of hope abruptly extinguished. "Oh," he said, swallowing past a sudden lump in his throat. All of a sudden this felt like it had been a really stupid idea.
Wren looked at him, feeling pained. "Standing up for yourself means you're going to be strong enough to do it." she told him lightly. You've got a few things in your way, but you're going to get through it. And in standing up for yourself, refusing to accept defeat...people who don't give up usually find themselves where they want to be." she said. "Don't give up now, or think this was a bad outcome. It isn't. It's just...slightly rockier than smooth sailing. But I would imagine each and every one of us has a rocky path ahead."
Looking down, she gathered her cards. “You can also not believe in any of this. Most people don’t. You yourself said that it could all just be random. It probably is. I apologize.” She’d never done that before, even thought that what she saw in the cards might not be true and she’d definitely never apologized for how someone was responding to it. But things were different now. She shouldn’t have agreed.
Kyle stared at the card. "I'm waiting for the result of an HIV test," he said, almost too quiet to hear. "Refusal to accept defeat, not giving up. I... That would be something I'd have to face if I'm positive." He said nothing about whether he believed it or not, or whether he should. Right now, it didn't feel random. Right now, it felt like crushing reality.
Wren looked at him, and a little bit of the twist in her stomach eased. "Kyle, I don't believe it has to do with the result. I told someone recently that all of this? It's a guide, not an answer sheet. Standing up for yourself isn't something you can do against a virus. Yes, it has to do with refusing to accept defeat, but this...this is personal. This is you and people, I believe. If I've ever had sickness come up in the cards? There are cards for that." she looked at the deck. "You got Temperance. That would have been reversed. It wasn't."
It took him a moment or two, but he raised his eyes to meet hers. "Really?" he asked, tentatively, as though he wasn't sure whether to believe that or not.
"I wouldn't lie to you." Wren told him, making firm eye contact when she did so. "It wouldn't help anything if I did. I'm not saying I know what the outcome of your test is going to be--I can just very much tell you that your last card didn't have to do with it. It isn't telling you that."
"O-okay." He bit his bottom lip lightly and considered this. He wasn't sure what to think now, feeling lost once again. He didn't like this - he hated the uncertainty, the not knowing. If he just knew what the result was, he would be able to deal with it. But, the waiting, that horrible feeling of being in limbo. That was what he was finding so hard to deal with right at this minute.
Setting her cards aside once she'd wrapped them, Wren focused on Kyle. "Would you share with me what's going on?" she asked. "What you wrote there...things must be looking very dark to you." she told him. "I've always been a good listener."
He hesitated before deciding to share some things with her. Maybe not it all, not when he knew she wasn't having the best of times right now. "I've been realising that... Who I am and the way I act and live my life is maybe not so great for the people around me," he explained. "And I thought I knew that, and I thought that I was taking steps to not be that way anymore. Then I realised that I wasn't, because I just don't see what's going on and what I'm doing or not doing until it's too late." He frowned. "Okay - that sounded really cryptic, even to me. Try again. I don't think about the dangers in life. About the bad things, or the reasons why doing certain things is a bad idea. I always used to just live my life doing what I wanted, for my own reasons. For fun, mostly. And because I lived my life like that, a good friend of mine died. It was my fault. So, I decided that things had to change. I stepped up. I'm paying for what I did wrong, and I'm trying to change my life so that nothing like that can happen again.
"Only, apparently I still don't think. Even with the efforts I've been making. It still didn't even occur to me that I should have gotten myself tested. Not until I was fooling around, and the other guy stopped it first. He'd thought about it. So, thank god, nothing happened. But it had never even occurred to me. And I realised that this is going to keep happening. Because I just don't see it. I just don't think."
Listening, Wren let him get through it all before she said anything. Even then, she was quiet for a few long moments. "You're getting your test now." Wren told him. "Changing an outlook, the way you live your life is difficult. It's not something that'll happen overnight. Also, it doesn't necessarily mean that things will definitely happen to people around you. Everyone's an adult here, for instance. Everyone needs to make their own choices, think through everything themselves. The other guy stopped you. So, I understand it's significant that you hadn't thought of it, but no one got too far with things. It isn't all resting on your shoulders. Sure, you can be careful. But nothing's ever foolproof, people get hurt all the time, people do things that hurt others and sometimes they don't even realize it. Living your life like you do might mean there are some risks, but there always will be. Even ones you don't see coming, or ones that aren't anything to do with you."
"But, that's the thing. I don't want to live my life the way that I do. I don't want there to be risks. I don't want people to get hurt," he told her. "But... It feels like, when I'm happy. When I feel like me... That's what's happening."
"It's impossible to live without risks." Wren told him. "That's...something you'll need to really understand. There is no situation that's without any risk. As someone who lived her whole life away from the entire rest of the world...look where I wound up. I'm here. With you. With everyone. There's risk." She drew in a breath and let it out slowly. "What else has happened that you're worried about this? How often is this happening, if you feel like it's every time you're happy?"
Kyle shook his head. "No. Nothing like that. Or - I don't know. It's not like this is happening all the time or anything, it's just - someone died because of me. That's serious. That's not something I can just write off as an 'oh well'. I have to make sure that that doesn't happen again."
"How did they die?" Wren asked, thinking that was also important. She didn't in any way negate the seriousness of what he was talking about, she just thought his view on the scale of it was skewed.
"Drug overdose," he said, quietly, not meeting her eyes. He didn't particularly want to get into specifics. People never understood when he got into specifics, and he really didn't want to have to lie to her.
"Did you make them do drugs?" she asked.
"I'd been his dealer," Kyle admitted, still not meeting her eyes.
"People make their own choices, Kyle." Wren told him, voice light. "I can understand feeling guilty, I can understand why it would haunt you. But people make their own choices. You making it easier for him to make those choices means you facilitated something--but it doesn't mean you living your life means you are causing people risk. That's also very specific. Don't hand people drugs anymore. I'm sure just from the look on your face that you never would again. And judging from what else you've told me today, you also won't go initiating sex with people without either protection or knowing more of the full scope of things. You strike me as a smart person, Kyle. Someone who can learn from his mistakes. Someone who clearly hasn't forgotten them."
He looked up then. "So, what? I just go through life making more and more different mistakes, but that's okay, because I'm only going to make them once?" he sniped.
Wren didn't react to Kyle's being snippy. "No. Nothing makes it okay. But this won't either. You don't stop living your life and trying to be happy because you've made mistakes along the way." she told him. "It does no one any good." She watched his eyes. "Do you know what I saw, today?" she asked, though didn't wait for him to answer. "I saw people reaching out for you, because it was so clear something was wrong. I saw Adam, who is going through a lot himself, drop everything, because he wanted to go make sure you were okay. Because you're his friend. You're a person who deserves friends, and a life that isn't...muffled, just because you've made mistakes--something everyone does. Don't forget them, but don't think that cutting yourself off, or going too far back in the opposite direction is going to do anything but exactly what you don't want to happen. You don't want people to get hurt. Well...don't cut people off, and don't stop being you. It's pain that's just as real as the kind you're worried about inflicting in the first place."
Kyle took a moment to centre himself, so he didn't snap again. "I don't want to lock myself away. I know I said that to Adam this morning, but I really don't want to. I - I wasn't in a good place then. But talking with Adam really helped. I'm still worried about everything. And god, I'm still scared. But it really helped. He's a good friend." He paused, before admitting, "I think it's been a very long time since I've had one of those."
I know how you feel. Wren thought, but didn't say. Because this wasn't about her, this was about Kyle. So, she snapped her thoughts off at the stem with that. "I'm glad that idea is no longer an issue." she told him genuinely. "About everything else, though...everyone makes mistakes, everyone has to deal with risk. I don't think it's just you. I don't think it can be just you. You're in a world full of other people who are just as fallible as you are. You might need to remember to take that into account."
Kyle actually quirked an amused smile at that. "Now you're sounding like Adam," he told her, fondly. "He keeps telling me that I need to remember that I don't have to be perfect."
"I'm not sure 'perfect' is a real thing." Wren told him, giving the ghost of a smile. But it was nice to see Kyle smiling. And the tone he used when he spoke of Adam was a good one to hear. "So, I suppose I agree with Adam." she said. “And the cards say you’ve got good things coming.”
"And right now I'm clinging onto that like you wouldn't believe," Kyle admitted. "Thank you - for the cards. It's not something I've known anything about before I met you. But from what I've seen - well, things seem to fit. I really appreciate you taking time for me - Adam mentioned you'd had some stuffs going on lately yourself, so thanks."
It crossed her mind, when he worded things the way he did, if the appearance of The High Priestess in his reading represented her. It was possible. "You're welcome." she said. "I hope that it's been positive for you. That it helped." She really did. Her insecurities were starting to leak back in, but she was good at covering. You didn't let people who wanted guidance from you think that you were insecure. It wasn't helpful for them.
"Right now? Yes, it did. I feel like I've been being pulled in two different directions," he admitted. "Everything about what I've done and what I almost did and what that means about me on one hand. And on the other, this overwhelming black pit of doom that's there in my future if I'm positive. And I know that's an overdramatic image, but the not knowing - it's really scary. And I feel so helpless, about it all. Because I'm feeling like there's nothing I can do about any of it. So. Yes. The reading helped." Even if it didn't actually mean anything at all, it had given him some structure. Some hope. Some way to deal with that feeling of helplessness.
The overwhelming black pit of doom Wren understood. Also, she understood not knowing. When she'd been at the commune, before the police arrived, she'd been a sea of bodies. Everything was still. And she didn't have a next move. She froze, not knowing what was going to happen to her, what would go on next. About all she could manage was getting to her next breath. After she'd been arrested, it was still there, not knowing where she would go, what would happen to her there. Now, it haunted her, because she knew she wasn't fit for the outside world, and she didn't know what was going to happen to her if she graduated the program. She bit it all back, however, ignored it, and focused on Kyle.
"I'm glad it helped." she told him. She looked down at her cards, and wrapped them carefully back up, wondering if she then offered them to him if he would lose his confidence in her reading. She didn't want to do that to him.
Kyle wanted to ask her if she was okay, because he was aware through Adam that she had issues going on, and it felt wrong to come here and entirely focus on himself, but he didn't quite know how to ask. It wasn't as if he knew Wren all that well. When he had brought up the fact that he knew there was something going on earlier, she hadn't acknowledged it at all, so it felt as if it would be prying now to push the matter. Instead, he took a slightly different tack. "Is there something I can do for you, in return for the reading?" he asked her.
She gave him a light smile, misinterpreting things. "I never expect anything in return for my readings. It's...it's not how I do things." she told him first, because the concept bothered her. "Just be okay, and don't be too hard on yourself." she said. "...and keep Adam around in your life. I think he needs a good friend too." she added, since Kyle had mentioned that it had been too long since he'd had one. The same went for Adam, Wren knew. With Adam's talk of Jeffery, and how all that had gone, she was well aware.
"I didn't mean any offence," Kyle assured her. "I just don't think that people should be expected to do things just because. Like you said, people dropped things for me - you included. I would like to be able to show my appreciation for that. But - I'll leave it with, if you ever need anything. Or I can do anything, or help you with anything. Just let me know, okay?"
"My choice." Wren told him, giving another light smile. She hadn't been 'expected' to do anything. She'd been asked, and she'd agreed. "But I'll let you know. I appreciate the offer." she added. It was then that she realized something. She knew she likely would not go to Kyle if she did need something, because she knew he was going through a hard time. She'd done a reading for him, she'd delved in. And that had always been the biggest difference with Chester. She'd never done a reading for him. She'd never taken that role. She'd not had to be someone who shut down everything she might be going through to help him through things.
She just didn't know what that meant now. Maybe nothing.
"Let me know if you'd like another." she added. "And, if you could...I am concerned about your health. When you find out, when you get time, could you let me know if you're alright?"
"If I'm okay, I'll let you know," Kyle confirmed. "And, if I'm not okay - I'm going to be making an announcement about that," he added, determinedly. He had been thinking about that. As much as he would have preferred to keep things private, it was the responsible thing to warn people of the dangers. If he got hurt, injured - they needed to know.
She nodded. "I appreciate it." she told him. "And I wish you the best." she told him. Though, she did imagine the cards would have said something if he was sick. That thought was immediately accompanied by a harsh mental slapdown. You don't believe, it's all stupid. she told herself, but she was still working on rewiring herself. Obviously, it hadn't taken yet.
Kyle took that as his cue to leave and he unfolded himself from the floor and smoothly stood. "Thanks - you too," he told her. He had a lot to think about now, but at least maybe it would be in a more productive way.