Teatime

[Cassandra Reeding]

Cassandra listens and she can't help but feel that Gerrit doesn't quite get what she means. Has she... has she not grown? Is she repeating a pattern again that suggests she's the same as she's ever been? That puts a knot in her stomach, because she's always been sure that while she hasn't moved on from pain, she's been using it as her strength. Has that been wrong?


"Of course I still consider you a friend. You're one of my closest friends even if we don't communicate well all the time," Or most of the time. She still cared.


Cassandra then shakes her head, "No. Now I get it. At least, I think I get it. You've been going through pains I'm familiar with and then some that I don't know about, but can assume they've been difficult, but we've gone about our changes in very different ways. And I don't disagree with your assessment that our experiences with Sorrow help us survive in the long run." She tries to think for a moment, "Maybe our biggest difference is that I rely on Hope. I'm a paranoid person who is finding herself relying on fate perhaps too much, but ultimately, I rely on Hope to keep going. I don't think it's bad, to be clear, that we have this difference. We all find our own way to survive our traumas and the banality of the mundane world that we've made home."

And then she can't help the next thing that comes from her mouth, "Do you think I'm weak?" It's something she asks herself quite a bit. Does reaching out for help and seeking others really make one weak? Just because I don't like to do things alone, doesn't make me any weaker or stronger... does it?

[Gerrit]

Weak? Gerrit thought he remembered something, the times he had been called weak by his father a lifetime ago. It had always been used as an insult, an attempt at emasculating him. He usually tried to see the best in people, to not judge them by what they were lacking. Did't he? "I don't think you are." The words came out slowly, carefully. "You are radiant and uplifting. You cultivate relationships and thrive in companionship. That's a good thing."


She said it herself - they each get brought closer to their fairy-tale, one way or another. "If you were weak, I don't think you would have returned." Gerrit stopped and took a breath. What were they trying to do here? What were they supposed to do here? He was pretty sure they still were friends, despite everything that has happened. They've circled their issues again, delved a bit deeper into the intricacies of their way of coping. Should they be offering comfort to each other or find another way to move forward? "So what should we do now? I there anything I can do to help you?" It might have sounded awkward, but how else could a cursed Ogre extend the olive branch?

[Cassandra Reeding]

Cassandra wasn't sure what she was expecting when she asked Gerrit if he found her to be weak. Maybe part of her was expecting a cold truth. It is certainly what Black-Eyed Susan would have called her now. She nods though, perhaps hearing it from him offered a relief.


"I don't think today was for fixing or even helping in a specific sense. I think today we just needed communication. Real, unbridled communication. Understanding each other. I feel like we haven't had that in a long time. Or maybe I'm just feeling that way." She then smiles a little bit, "Maybe next time we should actually go out and do something. Not like go out for drinks, but something similar. Some place with a good vibe where we can act a little silly. Like we did at the Winter Ball. I miss that." She tripped and fell on her butt, all worried that John didn't see her and her feelings. Gerrit cheered her up and they danced up a little storm. It made her laugh and smile. It would be nice to do something like that again, even for a little bit. "Any ideas?" They may be cursed, but they can't stop living.


"Oh! That reminds me!" She pulls out her phone and starts typing something.

Playlist for Gerrit.

"You once told me you wouldn't mind a purview of what I love of classical music. Some simpler tunes. I put together some orchestral pieces, choral, and solo voice. Sorry it took me so long to get it to you. It's been like a full year."

[Gerrit]

There was little change in Gerrit's face when Cassandra stated her goals for their meeting. Did he tell her so much more today than he had told her before? Apparently. And yes, he maybe understood her better now. It was just hard to get as excited about everything as she would have liked. Like going out and doing something 'fun' - he was not really in the mood for that currently. Still, there was no harm in taking the olive branch. "Yes, we could do that. We'll have to find an opportunity when our schedules match up. And by then we'll probably have some concrete ideas."

He didn't get his mobile phone out when she typed, but he smiled slightly. "Thank you. I guess it's never to late to get an impression of what you like." Even now there was little excitement actually felt. He mostly felt exhausted and painfully numb. "I think I need to be going soon - unless there was something else you wanted to talk about?"

[Cassandra Reeding]

Cassandra nods, "That would be nice. We'll get it figured out." Hopefully. She wants this friendship to work, even though it feels like its freezing.


The Fairest purses her lips a little bit, but tries to smile, "I think that pretty much covers it for now. I don't want to keep you if you have things to attend to." And hopefully by the time Fall rolls around, they can find a way to be more united again. She can only hope. "Thanks for coming over." Somehow, the wonder starts to set in if she's deluding herself again.

She stands then, ready to lead him out to the front door, assuming he's ready.

[Gerrit]

"Thank you for having me." He hadn't expected this meeting to be this exhausting, but his emotions ran much higher today than they had for a long time. It was irritating, it was confusing. Was the curse to blame or has he not dealt with his feelings about Cassandra disappearing properly? But who could blame him - people leaving him and actually coming back was new to him.

Gerrit follows Cassandra to the door. Before he leaves he speaks again, matter-of-factly. "It is going to be all right." And was that what he actually believed or just one of those things he found himself telling Barbara before she broke things off?
The Ogre was too tired to know.

Thanks for the scene!