Who: Daniel & Kris Where: the study When: around noon, following this
Following his impromptu departure from breakfast, Kris wandered the first floor. He was in no hurry to return to his lodgings on the third for several reasons, the least of which being the stairs issue. From the kitchen he found the living room; again, the luxurious quality of the building's furnishings struck him as incredibly odd, but he still let himself enjoy them for a few moments, trying to place their makers and date of manufacturing. This was a slow process that allowed him to move carefully through the room, eventually peeking outside to see the snow still coming down hard. If it weren't for his disability, that alone would make venturing away from the house difficult; it bothered him to ask for so much help, but he'd clearly need to ask for more clothes the longer he was stuck here.
He turned his feet and his cane toward the hall, venturing past two bedrooms and finally into the study. Shelves lined with numerous volumes widened his eyes in pleased surprise, and he took his time in selecting something. His free hand eventually landed on The Poetics of Space, which he freed from its place and relocated to a nearby brown leather chair. Kris sank thankfully into its plush comfort, ready to let the rest of the world fade away as he focused on the printed words before him.
There was a brief period of beautiful silence, broken only by the sound of pages softly turning and a gentle wind outside. Then footsteps sounded in the hallway: a strong, certain cadence already familiar to those on the lower levels of the house. Daniel stuck his head only briefly into the study, then nearly walked past before he saw its current occupant. He quickly backed up, brow arched over glittering black eyes, a smile already on his lips.
"Hey, man. I thought you'd bailed on us, headed up to your room already or something…" He strode into the room, his hands in his pockets, bent sideways at the waist to peer at the book in Kris's hand. "Glad you came down for breakfast. Jack really does know what he's doing in a kitchen, doesn't he."
Kris' first response was a tight press of his lips and a much-aggrieved sigh that he did his best to not allow a sound to accompany. He didn't understand this other man's need to follow him around like a lost puppy. If there was some misplaced need to help the German out due to the cane he was forced to carry about, hopefully he would soon learn to leave well enough alone. Brows climbing his forehead in irritation, Kris pointedly turned another page and did not acknowledge the other man's presence with anything more than a simple 'mhm.'
Daniel straightened up. He cast a glance around the room, giving a low, approving whistle as he took in the massive shelves stacked tight with books. "I see why you got distracted," he said. He moved closer to the thickly-cushioned sofa. After a moment's thought he plopped down alongside Kris, jostling them both with the motion.
"Listen, did I do something at breakfast that pissed you off? I know I come on a little strong sometimes, but don't tell me you don't think this dude doesn't deserve what I'm talking about. You heard what Jack said about him."
As it became clear Kris wouldn't be alleviated of Daniel's presence anytime soon, he fought to keep his eyes from rolling toward the ceiling and instead used one finger to mark his place in his book as he closed it.
"I don't disagree that what the man did was absolutely horrible, but he's been incarcerated. The last time I checked," he replied, turning to glance at Daniel from the corner of his eye, still unwilling to offer the man his full gaze, "that was how the justice system worked. Just because we're trapped here doesn't mean we need to turn into animals."
"Your first assumption is that the justice system actually works as it should," Daniel said. "Your second one is that the guy's at all remorseful and not just biding his time. Given what he's already done and the fact that he's locked up at all, I'm skeptical as hell about that. Your third is that I was going to go down there and act proactively, rather than just trying to plan to defend myself if need be." He shrugged as he sat back, settling languidly against the cushions. "That said, if I go down there and the dude makes me change my mind about him, so be it. I'll argue as hard for letting him out as I did for taking a pointed stick down there to poke him with. You know. Should the need arise."
Even with his gaze turned demurely toward the floor, Kris still looked as though Daniel had slapped him. There was less hurt than irritation in his face, however, and his eyes trailed up from the floor to a bookcase across the room, as though he were begging some unseen entity to free him from what was transpiring.
"Did you ever consider," his reply came slowly, turning to finally look Daniel fully in the face, "that you may be the one being assumptious?" He moved his arms, situating the book in his lap as he turned his body to a more comfortable position. "I could list the ways that your premises are flimsy at best, but I'm not sure that's going to be a productive use of my time. Was there a particular reason why you followed me in here?" He shrugged, frowning. "To further instruct me about how I'm wrong thus far? Are you appointing yourself my personal conscience?"
Fingers rose to pinch the bridge of his nose, and his next sentence muttered under his breath in Deutsch. Has the testing already started?
"Well I don't know what that last bit was," Daniel said, "but the rest... that's the most you've said all morning. I'm so proud." A bright, broad smile cracked across his face. "Anyway, I didn't follow you. I was checking out the house, saw you in here, and… well, I figured I owe you an apology. I should've introduced myself a little better than that. Made a better first impression. So I'm sorry."
"Mhm," Kris replied, hand falling back to his lap as he regarded Daniel with another judgemental gaze. He felt slightly guilty about assuming that the other man had followed him in here purposefully, but he couldn't entirely shake his irritation. "Alright. Apology accepted. May you continue on in your day guilt free." If that was to be the extent of their interaction, Kris figured he could live with that. He looked back down to his book, opening it to the last page he'd been reading.
But of course nothing could be that simple. Daniel raised his arms to rest along the back of the sofa. Once again he leaned toward Kris, peeking at the page now open on his lap. For a few blissful moments he held his tongue. And then: "That looks dry as a bone," he said. "What's it about? Is that the only kind of books they've got in here? Or are you just naturally drawn to this kinda thing?"
"If that will make you go away faster, yes," Kris replied, this time edging on true hostility. "To your last question." He looked up at Daniel again. "Are you just naturally drawn to people who clearly don't wish to be interrupted?"
Daniel's brows rose in a single swift motion. He laughed aloud, unabashed. "Damn, dude. You've got all the time in the world to hole up somewhere with a book. Don't you want to get to know each other a little better? We're new, everyone else here already has this shit kinda figured out… I thought you'd be game to stick together, with both of us being pretty out of our depth here." He pressed his hands to his knees, shifting his weight to the edge of the sofa. "But that's cool. I get it. You know how to find me when you feel like being sociable."
If anyone was going to feel guilt, it was Kris in that moment as the emotion dropped on him with a leaden weight. He closed the book permanently, holding it tightly in one hand as frustration passed yet a third sigh through his lips.
"I suppose this is my turn to apologize, then," he finally offered, looking up at Daniel. "It being only day one, it's difficult to realize that I'm well and truly trapped here. I... In instances where I feel uncomfortable, books have always been a way to assert some manner of control. Escape, as it were." He closed his mouth, tensing his jaw before shrugging.
"Besides, I'm not much of a conversationalist. You were getting along better with Jack, he has answers, knows people. I don't have much to offer in any way that might be helpful."
"Apology accepted," Daniel said. "I'm not looking for helpful. Well I am, but that's not all I want. I'm looking for solidarity. I just need somebody who fuckin' gets it. Obviously you do. And obviously you'll tell me when you think I'm full of shit, which I don't always like but I'm told I need. So." He spread his hands, inviting comment even as he talked over the opportunity. "You got here the same time I did. You're as unhappy about it as I am. So I say we stick together at least for now. Yeah?"
After a beat, Kris nodded. The first traces of a smile crept over his face. "It's good that you showed yourself capable of an argument that wasn't entirely off putting. And I would appreciate the camaraderie, if we're truly stuck here as everyone else has said." He fell silent, a slight awkwardness settling into the room. He glanced down at his book, and then back up to the shelves.
"So...now what? Are you off to explore more of the house?"
"I hadn't really made up my mind," Daniel admitted. His smile matched Kris's; the hard line of his narrow shoulders eased as the conversation did. "There's not much more down here, I guess, other than a bedroom or two. That formal dining room is ridiculous. I saw something about a theater, though, so I might check that out. Why? You got somethin' in mind?"
The other man shook his head. "No. I thought I might stay here and read before attempting the stairs back to my room. I haven't seen an elevator, so my movement will be...ah, limited." Kris frowned briefly in the direction of his cane before looking back to Daniel. "But don't let me stop you. Which floor is the theater on?"
"Yours, I think. I saw some people planning a movie night there. Anything to make shit feel a little more tolerable, I guess." Daniel rose from the couch, his eyes flitting from cane to man and back again. "If you wanna join me I'm in no rush. Not trying to push you or anything, just…" He shrugged, awkward and unsure for the first time since his arrival.
Kris sighed. His leg felt better for the sitting, and now that things were somewhat smoothed over, he had to admit to a certain amount of curiosity about the place they were trapped in. Putting the book on the chair's arm, he pushed himself to the edge of the seating and grabbed his cane to carefully bring himself to standing. He crossed the room, feeling every bit an old man that he shouldn't have, intent on putting the book back where he'd found it.
"All right," he acquiesced, waving a hand at Daniel so he'd head toward the door. "Lead the way."
Daniel grinned. He nodded vigorously, a spring in his step as he turned and left the room. He curbed his long strides, lingering in the hallways, studying the decor as he passed to allow time for Kris to catch up. He called no attention to this, intent upon mitigating the other man's self consciousness as best he could. At last he seemed comfortable with silence, content to simply be in someone else's presence as they explored their new surroundings.