❝ Is that so ? There must be a thinner line between the two than you’re letting on. ❞ Or perhaps he’d just walked it too long to really tell the difference, the familiar didn’t know. ( Though he was by no means one to talk. ) He tilted his head. ❝ But how smart you are is something to be proud of, yes ? But I suppose you’re right. Being prideful isn’t good either. Nor is trusting someone out of the blue. ❞ He quirked a brow, lips twitching in amusement. ❝ Which is why you’ll have to forgive me if I decide not to grace that with any sort of response. ❞
↳ ❂ ↰ “I’m gonna opt not to take offense to that, sir.” Not that Kaeto cared what the stranger thought either way, whether it was supposed to be an insult ( and it did indeed sound rather insulting ) or not; after all, he’d learned apathy at a young age, and one conversation wasn’t enough to break through that. Kaeto shrugged. “There are a lot of things that aren’t good that people do anyway. Prying into a stranger’s business is another one of those things.” He also didn’t care whether or not the other revealed anything about himself, so not responding was fine with him.
❝ You’re a hateful little thing, did you know that ?❞ He spoke genuinely, as if it weren’t a slightly— or incredibly— insulting remark. He didn’t know if he liked this human or hated him quite yet. He tilted his head, one eyebrow quirking. ❝ There are plenty of people that are a little smart, you know. That wouldn’t really set you apart from anyone, would it ? Perhaps if you were very smart, that would be a different story. ❞ He would never deny that he was something of a smart ass. He waved a dismissive hand. ❝ No, I can assure you that I can’t see auras. Like I said, it was a feeling. Nothing more, nothing less. ❞
↳ ❂ ↰ “Not hateful, just annoying,” the teen corrected. “There’s a key difference between the two, you see.” Trust him, he could be way more spiteful if he wanted to, and that was how he kept most people at the facility out of his business ( curse the ones who tolerated him regardless, though ). “Even if I was more than a little smart, I’m not arrogant enough to boast about it to every stranger I meet on the street. After all, you’ve done nothing to elicit me to trust you as a confidant.” Kaeto tilted his head. “Feeling or not, still sounds like some psychic thing. If I had to guess, I’d say that between the two of us, you’re the one least like everyone else.”
❝ Playing dumb ? What do you mean ? I asked a simple question. ❞ Even if the other had called him out on his little act, he’d follow through with it until the end. ❝ I think that if I had known, I wouldn’t have asked. ❞ He tilted his head slightly. ❝ It was a feeling. A kind of aura you gave off, I suppose. But perhaps I was mistaken. Maybe there isn’t anything special about you at all ? A typical plain-Jane ?❞ He knew that wasn’t the case, regardless of the other’s words.
↳ ❂ ↰ “You can keep lying to yourself, pal, but we both know the truth.” What a hypocrite, for Kaeto to shame a person for lying, especially when he, at that very moment, in fact, was doing the exact same thing–playing dumb. Such an obnoxious cycle that was. “I mean, I’m a little smart, but that’s all I can think of that’d set me off from other people. Not sure what you mean by aura, unless you’re telling me you can see them or something? Pretty sure that’d make you a psychic of some sort, and that’s far more interesting than anything I can do.”
Bastian decided that the other was not, in fact, precious. He tilted his head, a eyebrow quirking. ❝ What do you mean the wrong street corner ? I meant that it seems like you can do something out of the ordinary. Not human. ❞ The familiar knew exactly what he meant by street corner, but acting ignorant of what he’d meant wasn’t difficult.
↳ ❂ ↰
“There’s really no point in playing dumb, sir.” After all, that was an act Kaeto could see through effortlessly. It might’ve fooled someone else, sure, but that would only prompt most people to explain the comment–not something this guy wanted, probably. “You know exactly what I meant.” And then it was the teen’s turn to play dumb. “I can’t do anything like that. What makes you think I can?”
❝ My, my. What a precious little thing you are. ❞ A mischievous grin spread over his features. Something was different about this one. But he was nothing other than human, that much the familiar could tell. ❝ Tell me what it is you’re hiding from the world, little one. I’d like to know. ❞
↳ ❂ ↰ What a nosy person who’s approached him! Kaeto turned to the stranger with a smile, but his words were anything but kind. “Ah? I’m pretty sure you’ve got the wrong street corner here, pal. You might wanna try a few blocks down.” The other’s greeting had sounded like more of a pick-up line than anything–did he expect a different reaction?
