Arkin watched her openly now. The line of his lips twisting with a hint of a wry smile as he saw the probability of her next decision waver tediously back and forth. Eyes following the way it twitched and squirmed around her, impacted by a hundred hidden thoughts and something else. A new weight added to her silence as she tried to piece together something and it made Arkin wonder then if she knew the truth. Had Elijah been so cavalier with his past and the black spot that had been their friendship? Or perhaps she knew of him from someone else? A name coming unbidden to him that he treated like a harsh residual effect of a hangover. Suppressing it until it was back into the child-sized red box it had crawled out of. A darkness leaking briefly into the pools of his eyes before she spoke and proved she was her father’s daughter after all.
It wasn’t uncommon for most people to hesitate before the unknown. To be fearful of it and then balk even further at the idea of discovering its truth. Unwilling to find out which of their rationalizations were right if any at all. Finding comfort instead by releasing responsibility to happenstance. Eager to be blissfully unaware even if they tried to pretend not to be. Elijah comfortable in the smaller scope of his five seconds and never pushing to know more outside of necessity in battle. So while he wasn’t ultimately surprised at Felix’s reluctance Arkin was disappointed that her timid nature was stronger than the curiosity that had been plain on her face. Deciding then that she had much farther to go if one day she might fight at his side, but her potential was worth the attention.
“Knowledge does one of two things. It paralyzes or it leads you to a choice. You aren’t afraid of it. More likely you’re afraid of yourself,” Arkin replied with the same honesty. The darkness leaving his eyes as he gave her one more chance; a test. Right hand turning palm up on the table as he said, “Give me your hand.”