[ Based on past experiences, including a very recent one, Hilda doesn't expect anything to come from her silent question. There are times when her asking anything, quietly or aloud, has come up with a deft sidestep that is actually quite clumsy in hindsight as the years have gone on. Time has made her better at understanding when Claude is trying to skirt around an issue that he doesn't want to talk about of which the list is long and many. Early on she wondered if she should bother asking at all before doing so anyway; eventually, at least before arriving here, she had gotten to the point where she had become impervious to his non-answers because in those moments she would have much rather stayed by his side in whatever finite capacity he needed than be cast aside prematurely for pushing too hard.
It's easy to fall back on hold habits. She steels herself from the hurt, from the jealous voice that wants to tell her falsities designed to fill her with doubt when - he answers.
That alone is enough to shock her which is then promptly followed up by her bewilderment towards the truths that he proceeds to tell her. ]
Brothers?
[ She would have known if there had been other Riegan's running around - Holst would have mentioned them, would have probably attended the Academy with them. But the matter of brothers, and a potentially cruel set of them at that, is momentarily set aside for something else. Her eyes that have been steadily widening blink confusedly as she pushes herself back slightly to look at him. Before she can stop herself she blurts out - ]
What do you mean your name is Khalid? [ Immediately she winces at her mildly incredulous tone, colour rising to her cheeks in shame. ] I didn't mean to sound like that. What I meant was -
[ She didn't even know what she meant by that and she lapses into embarrassed silence again as she tries to wrangle her words into something that makes sense. But all she can think about, not for the first time, how awful her family's relationship with the Almyran's had been and the things she's said carelessly in passing about his people. She can't even begin to try and wrangle the other feelings slowly making themselves known to her after the shock. ]
no subject
It's easy to fall back on hold habits. She steels herself from the hurt, from the jealous voice that wants to tell her falsities designed to fill her with doubt when - he answers.
That alone is enough to shock her which is then promptly followed up by her bewilderment towards the truths that he proceeds to tell her. ]
Brothers?
[ She would have known if there had been other Riegan's running around - Holst would have mentioned them, would have probably attended the Academy with them. But the matter of brothers, and a potentially cruel set of them at that, is momentarily set aside for something else. Her eyes that have been steadily widening blink confusedly as she pushes herself back slightly to look at him. Before she can stop herself she blurts out - ]
What do you mean your name is Khalid? [ Immediately she winces at her mildly incredulous tone, colour rising to her cheeks in shame. ] I didn't mean to sound like that. What I meant was -
[ She didn't even know what she meant by that and she lapses into embarrassed silence again as she tries to wrangle her words into something that makes sense. But all she can think about, not for the first time, how awful her family's relationship with the Almyran's had been and the things she's said carelessly in passing about his people. She can't even begin to try and wrangle the other feelings slowly making themselves known to her after the shock. ]
Is Claude not your name at all?