AUDIENCE FOR: Rupert

[guestservices]

Comments

[guestservices]

We're getting close to "I'm really not supposed to talk about myself because you're the guest here, Rupert" territory.

[agleam]

Why's your boss so against that, exactly?

[guestservices]

Because you're the guests he wants to be entertained by, not us? We're not the stars of the show here.

[agleam]

Wow, I'm honored.

[deadpan, before he continues]

I don't get why that means we can't get to know each other.

[guestservices]

[their fox ears droop a little and their tail swishes. swish, swish.]

Because it's boring for him to hear stuff he already knows about me.

[agleam]

Sure, but there's stuff I talk about with others that he's already heard, and there's no rule against that.

[...]

But I don't want to get you in trouble, either.

[guestservices]

[sighs]

We're just going to go in circles at this rate. Let's talk about something else!

[agleam]

...Okay. What do you want to talk about?

[guestservices]

Pretty much anything other than that would be good.

[agleam]

[...]

Did you have a good week, apart from yesterday and today?

[guestservices]

It could have been worse.

...did you? Apart from yesterday, today, and uh... where you woke up...

[agleam]

Mm... The middle of the week was pretty nice. I mean, the games and everything. It's always nice to get to know people better.

[guestservices]

I definitely prefer to get along with people when I can! It's... hard sometimes, though.

[agleam]

[he tilts his head.]

Hard? How so?

[guestservices]

[their ear twitches]

It - takes effort, sometimes, to be nice. Because "nice" isn't always how I feel.

[agleam]

[after a second, he gives them a smile.]

You kind of remind me of a friend I had back in the school, honestly. I can't say she was always nice, but I liked talking to her anyways.

[guestservices]

...you know, some people would call that "bad taste".

[agleam]

[he makes a face]

No, not at all. She was a really good friend.

[guestservices]

You really think someone is a good friend if they're mean to you...?

[agleam]

She could be pretty nice! As long as you didn't make her angry.

[said with a laugh]

[guestservices]

...it sounds like you're speaking from experience?

[agleam]

Yeah. I had some tough stuff to deal with back at the school, and she tried to help me with a lot of it when it got hard.

[guestservices]

...

[huh.]

Well... I guess if that's how you see it, that's how you see it!

[agleam]

Is there another way I should see it?

[guestservices]

I'd have a hard time thinking well of someone if they were mean to me often, even if they were nice sometimes, too! In fact, that just seems exhausting to deal with.