Private Finished A Mother and Son Talk

Shale made his way gradually to the diner his mom had asked him to meet her at about twenty minutes after class got out. He had his bandana over his eyes still as he was still fairly close to blind at this point, but had gotten fairly good at navigating the areas near the academy simply by memory at this point. He was cautious as he made his way in, of course, being double sure of where he was going with his cane.

Finally arriving, he stepped inside and inhaled slowly, silently cursing the fact that he wasn't able to try any of this food. He called out to Celeste, and after hearing her voice reply made his way over to their table, giving her a quick hug. "Heya mom...so, um, what's up?" He wasn't one hundred percent sure what she had wanted him to come here to talk about; but his naturally paranoid mind of course was drifting to it being something possibly negative. "Everything is fine, right?"

Shale smiled gently at his mom's question about school, giving a small shrug and leaning back in his seat. "Oh, uh...it wasn't too bad. I had trouble with science as usual. Biology is just super weird to me. It's just way different than what I'm used to." He dug in his bag and pulled out a container of marble sticks, crunching on them with a content sigh.

Oh...anything bothering him? Well, obviously there were bound to be a few normal discomforts going on, but nothing that was too terrible to deal with on his own. Especially when one of those things involved his mom. "I mean, like...well, I like my classes and all, mostly. People seem pretty nice here, mostly. As far as anything bothering me, I mean...nah, it's fine. It's dumb..."

Shale gave a slight nod at his mom's question, nibbling on his marble some more and taking a sip from the water glass on the table. "Mhmm. The main confusing one is the digestive system; it's pretty odd compared to mine. Well, for humans at least. I haven't gotten into other species' biology yet, I think those are special courses." He cringed a little when she asked him to explain what he was talking about, and he let out a light sigh as he continued eating.

"It's really not...that big of a deal. I'm just little paranoid, you know...about you, and, uh..." Roldan. He didn't want to finish the sentence, but that's what was on his mind. He'd settled down significantly since he'd come over to the house the other day, but it was still nagging at him a little. It wasn't that he was necessarily against the idea of his mom dating, but more that he wasn't positive how he should be feeling.

Shale grudgingly nodded in confirmation that the issue he was alluding to was that of her and Roldan, and he chewed a bit faster on his marble treat. His brow furrowed deeply, and he went to rub at his left temple with two fingers as he considered the proper words to convey his feelings. "...Why? I mean, I don't know exactly why. I kind of wish it was just some kind of vague unease, because I could ignore that. I guess I've just...learned to be paranoid, and not to get too attached to things that are important to me. Even though I understand it made no sense, I couldn't help feeling like you'd start paying more attention to him than me, or Azure, or Ebvion. At first."

He paused, tipping back his water glass and sighing after he downed it, setting it back down on the table with a dull clink. "When I first saw him coming over, with the flowers, and kissing your hand and all that, I was a little freaked out, sure. My first reaction was that fear, and even though I got over it for the most part, I was...I feel guilty for feeling like that to begin with. I feel judgemental, and rude, and just gross. My first response should've been happiness, for you and all of us.."

Shale lowered his head slightly, rhythmically rapping his fingers across the table and listening to his mom speak. Her words were gentle, soothing, and even somewhat disarming; he could tell from her tone then she believed what she was telling him. Even so, he needed a fair couple of minutes to collect his thoughts, letting what she said digest and settle a bit. His expression had softened, only a little, but noticeably nonetheless.

Finally, he gave a light, shaky sigh and laid down the marble sticks he'd been nibbling on, turning back up towards Celeste. ". . .I know you wouldn't bring somebody bad around us, I do know that. I'm still doing my best to fight off all kinds of fears that I've built up, just...I'm familiar with losing the people I care about. That's why my first reaction is to be so protective, even if it seems like a lot...I love you, and Ebviony, and Azure." He swallowed back the lump in his throat, just a little bit shivery; a small, shiny trail of moisture started creeping down his cheek from under his bandana. "...That being said...I trust you, mom. More than anybody, I trust you, and I want you to be happy."