Can we do something?

[Sierra]

<El-Cideon> It's midafternoon when you get back to Erin's house. The sun is out, no clouds in the sky, and it's warm and pleasant outside. Erin disappears to perform whatever mysterious preparations mages need to undergo to work their magic. Rena seems bored cooped up indoors, with nothing obvious to do. Who knows what she'll do if left to her own devices? Actually, you pretty much do know.
<Yomi> "Bored?" Yomi asks, choosing this time for her attack. Approaching Rena is simple enough, and she is somewhat bored herself, which makes it the perfect timing.
<El-Cideon> "Yes." The multitude of books in Erin's house don't seem to register as diversions. "Can we do something?"
<Yomi> "We could," Yomi easily agrees. "Do you have any hobbies?"
<El-Cideon> "Not many. Father listened to a lot of music and I learned to sing a little. I took care of Abdul's plants when nothing else was happening. Exercise is better than sitting around, though." She shrugs. "I haven't been with a man since I began traveling with you. We could do something about that?"
<Yomi> "Ah, really? So it's another hobby for you?"
<El-Cideon> "Why not? It's an enjoyable way to pass the time."
* Yomi smiles at Rena. "I'm afraid that in my country, we need to spend a great deal of time with a person before that happens, usually while engaged by our families."
<El-Cideon> "It doesn't sound very efficient to me."
<Yomi> "I suppose it wouldn't be. But not having rocks thrown at us is a pretty decent upside, right?"
<El-Cideon> "Yes. There are many good reasons to not go home, I think. This is one of them."
* Yomi giggles. "I suppose so!" She is briefly pensive, before saying, "So if this was just one of your hobbies to pass the time and have some fun, does it mean you don't particularly like it above the rest?"
<El-Cideon> She shrugs. "It was more fun than anything else there was to do at home. At least, when the man didn't finish too early. But I usually didn't return to those ones. It was a small town in a little valley, though, and it wasn't long before I'd seen everything there was to see there. Sometimes I'd just go walk in the woods. It was better than lessons."
<Yomi> "What were the lessons?" Yomi asks, curious about them. "Just what was so boring about them?"
<El-Cideon> "It was often not very clear to me why I needed to know anything he was trying to teach me. We lived in a small town; visitors were rare and he didn't want me to go to any cities. Why did I need to know about history or science or philosophy? The rest of the world didn't reach us. He should've taught me something useful. Protecting myself with swords is useful," she says approvingly.
* Yomi purses her lips. "Yes, I'm not certain why I was taught many of the subjects I had to study, either. Yet some could come in unexpectedly useful. Take the Japanese language, for example. It is difficult to master, and can't be that much fun. Yet when you come visit my country, it would prove immensely useful, wouldn't it?"
<El-Cideon> "Yes, this is true. I suppose I should be glad Abdul taught me English while I was held there. It's made travelling with you much easier."
<Yomi> "What we're doing has a lot of relevance to history, too," Yomi idly points out. "Maybe if you'd studied it more, we could've stopped Ivo sooner by anticipating his movements. Just goes to show you never know when something seemingly boring will end up being worthwhile, I guess?"
<El-Cideon> "Are you saying that we missed something important and it was my fault?" Rena says with a frown.
<Yomi> "I never studied it much, so if we're assigning blame, I surely share it equally," Yomi responds with a laugh. "No, Rena, what I'm saying is that there might be reasons to learn things where their usefulness isn't readily seen. Does that make sense?"
<El-Cideon> "Yes. It would just be very convenient if we could tell what mattered in advance. Why are you asking me this? Is there something specific I should be better at?"
<Yomi> "I think..." Yomi says slowly. "I think that you should be the one to decide what you should or shouldn't be better at. But if you ask me for my opinion? There is a saying, those who cannot remember the past are doomed to repeat it. (more)
<Yomi> What I take it to mean is that if we don't learn from things that went wrong in the past and improve ourselves in areas we lack at, the same problems that befell us would recur. Wouldn't it be useful for you to blend in with society? Honesty's important and I want you to keep it around us, but when surrounded by others, a way with words can be as effective a weapon as any sword."
<El-Cideon> Rena shifts a little in her seat. She looks uncomfortable. "That depends on what I need to do. They tried to tell me things like this at the lab. Most of the time I think people are extremely foolish for expecting everyone else to act like them."
<Yomi> "The trick is to know what to say at an appropriate moment, not to think the way other people do. I know it can't be pleasant to think of that laboratory, but think for a moment. If you had fooled them into thinking you weren't worth taking along, or knew well enough to tell that you should flee at the first sight of Ivo's goons, maybe those experiences could have been avoided?
<Yomi> It's too late to talk about it now, perhaps, but what if a similar situation arose? You can fight to defend yourself now, yes, but that would only bring back more people after you in the longer run. If you know enough to deflect suspicion from the onset, it would save you quite a lot of pain and trouble in the future."
<El-Cideon> "I need to be better at lying? Usually I let one of you do the talking. You're better at it."
<Yomi> "A dubious compliment, but appreciated nonetheless!" Yomi exclaims. "I think we should start at being better at recognizing a situation for what it is, and what it calls for. If you could have acted well enough to pass as a high society heiress, I could have posed as your maid and we wouldn't have needed to separate at Cape Town."
<El-Cideon> "So I do need to be better at lying. I suppose Nadia could teach me? I haven't often needed to deceive people to get what I wanted. But I haven't often wanted much, either."
<Yomi> "Even carrying a conversation, making smalltalk, would be good for a start," Yomi assures her. "Lying... is something you need with strangers, to avoid boring or troublesome things, less so to get something you want. At least the way I see it."
<El-Cideon> "Smalltalk? I never bothered. It always seemed like a waste of time to me. I suppose if it prevents bigger problems..." She doesn't sound very enthusiastic.
<Yomi> "That is the true reason for its existence," Yomi affirms, nodding firmly. "I'm sure you can tell the sort of problems it eliminates all on your own." She pats Rena on the shoulder. "Don't look so glum! It's not the only suggestion I had in mind! In fact, I believe that your horizons must be expanded. And you know what that means? More hobbies!"
<El-Cideon> "Like what?" Rena says in a neutral tone (fairly normal for her).
<Yomi> "What about dancing? Did you ever give it a try? It's a fun physical activity that involves music!"
<El-Cideon> Rena shakes her head. "I haven't. There were some seasonal festivals in town where people danced. Father wasn't enthusiastic about my participation, though."
* Yomi shrugs. "He probably didn't even know how to dance. Want to try it? I could teach you!"
<El-Cideon> "I don't think he did." Rena shrugs and stands up. "Right now?"
* Yomi offers Rena her hand. "We're both bored, so it's as good a time as any?"
<El-Cideon> ~