[ Forbidden to speak falsehoods? That gets the most incredulous side-eye. How can anyone live like that? That's absurd. (Scanlan would die.) He's annoyingly persistent (takes one to know one, really), and she begins to scoff at his insistence that misleading her would serve no purpose.
Save that something gives her pause, amidst the turmoil within.
The problem with being perceptive, with having learned how to read people from the earliest of ages (at your mother's knee; in your father's stifling court; in bustling towns where no one but your brother is on your side), is that you can see to the heart of things - even when you really don't want to give that heart a chance.
Lan Xichen is being truthful, in this moment. In the very least, he is genuine in his confusion and genuine in his concern. She has no reason to doubt him.
But if she's honest with herself, she's not ready to hear what he has to say. ]
Fine. I believe you aren't lying. [said, tightly wound] Now, please excuse me.
no subject
Save that something gives her pause, amidst the turmoil within.
The problem with being perceptive, with having learned how to read people from the earliest of ages (at your mother's knee; in your father's stifling court; in bustling towns where no one but your brother is on your side), is that you can see to the heart of things - even when you really don't want to give that heart a chance.
Lan Xichen is being truthful, in this moment. In the very least, he is genuine in his confusion and genuine in his concern. She has no reason to doubt him.
But if she's honest with herself, she's not ready to hear what he has to say. ]
Fine. I believe you aren't lying. [said, tightly wound] Now, please excuse me.