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"Yeah. I mean, I don't really mind, he pretty much just lets me and Crowley do whatever we want." Which was great. Einstein was pretty sure if she wanted to do her Paradox experiments in the basement, Truce wouldn't even argue. Or, if he did, she could convince him to let her do it with a firm 'it's happening'.
She waved her hand somewhat dismissively. "I'm fine, I was just, uh, surprised. I've never had anyone say that to me before." Or make that much sense.
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Pepper blinked, then rolled her eyes. "It's almost like most people find unapologetic confidence off putting. Which is weird. I mean. I'm pretty fascinated by people like that. Women more so then men -" She tilted her head, thinking about it. "Probably because they face more things that try to tear that confidence down, depending on circumstance. It's strength of character when they don't apologize for it."
Which was ironic, sometimes. "Even I'll admit that it's hard to resist the urge to apologize for knowing your stuff and making everyone else around you know it."
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Einstein shrugged slowly. "No one likes it when someone else tries to take charge over them, especially if they have some sort of ego thing, where they have to be the best person in the room." Says the Mage who, well...duh. "Apologizing for being smarter than the other person just seems...like a waste of time, really."
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Pepper let out a short bark of laughter, and nodded. "Well, as long as you don't care too much about how they think of you. I worry about that too much." She took a sip of her tea again then, held a finger up, "Mhh, thing is, someone has to prompt things to progress, to get people to start on things. They almost never do it on their own. Not unless they have the confidence and snse of purpose that makes them one of the ones doing the prodding."
Pepper paused, then looked back tot he counter for a moment. "Hey, would you like a snack?"
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"Well, I mean, sometimes I care." A memory of when she got elected Councilor came to mind. Nobody liked her - which hadn't been surprising - and they'd made it known. She'd even had to apologize to someone, although she'd made sure to only apologize for what she was actually sorry for. "You need someone to lead the conversation and the work, to get the end result, yes." Nobody at the last Libertine meeting had got that. They'd all assumed any direction at all was a ridiculous idea, and the meeting had suffered for it.
"Sure, but they really don't have all that much in the way of snacks here. It's mostly a breakfast-lunch place." Maybe it had been a poorer choice to pick a place like that in the afternoon, but it had been one of the better choices. "A half-turkey-sandwich would probably do good for a snack though."
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Pepper nodded with Einsteins words, smiling just a little because she could tell that Einstein really got the need to lead others - even if it is annoying to be on the receiving end of that guidance sometimes.
"Do they sell them in halves? I'm good with splitting if they don't, but you'd have to take the cheese from my half." Pepper said it casually, and leaned back into her seat a bit more.
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Einstein shrugged a little. "I...don't know, I've never asked. I assume they would. If you want, we can just get one without cheese, it's just a snack." Cheese? "Why can't you have cheese, by the way? Allergies?" Maybe she hadn't learned enough Life to leave behind little Fallen worries like allergies and disease. Einstein hadn't either, really. Though she intended to, someday.
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Pepper nodded to the first part, then let out a sharp amused huff. "Nothing as nasty as that, thankfully. Just lactose intolerance, it makes me a bit prone to indigestion and cramping if I eat small amounts of most milk products. An actual glass of milk or icecream will make me puke, though. and I don't have issues with cheddar or butter unless I eat alot of it or am already stressed out. And when I was in highschool I found out that even using Lactaid if I had too much milk stuff I'd get ulcers. So I just got into the habit of avoiding things that made me feel like shit. Which turned out fine, since I got my lactose intolerance from Mama anyway... Food was a safe thing for us to bond over. Besides her stoking my early onset of firebrand tendencies." Or hellion, if you asked her Uncle B.
Still, she shrugged, then added, "It's the kind of thing the Ladder encourages it's members to surpass via magic. You know, stuff holding you back is part of the Lie, etc. I haven't really wanted to tackle that yet, though."
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"Ohhhh." Lactose intolerance. Einstein had always found it fun to find out about, in her biology class, back when she was a Sleeper. It got kinda boring after she Awakened, but it was still one of the more interesting parts of what she'd learned. An example of the Lie twisting itself. "Then, yeah, we can get one without cheese." She got up real quick and made a quick trip to the counter to recover a turkey sandwich, no cheese, then returned and dropped it on the table. As per the norm, it was already neatly cut in two.
She dropped herself back in her chair, grabbing her half in one hand and talking before she took a bite. "Yeah, I can understand that. It gets a little frustrating, like when you have to...well, eat, and drink, and sleep. And breathe. When I was in the Aether it felt...you know, kinda dumb. Kinda unimportant, next to all that...uh..." Power seemed like too small a word. It seemed like she'd need a whole new word. Or set of words.
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Pepper smiled as Einstein returned with the sandwich and picked up her half, lifting it slightly like a toast. She had a hard time not smiling too much as the obrimos talked either.
"So, why'd you join the Free Council?"
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