[Athena blinks, slightly thrown by the change in rules. And in “standing.” Eyes narrow, not with any hostility but with… consideration more than anything, liberally tinged with skepticism. Athena could fill an entire page with reasons why “equal” doesn’t make sense here: Red and Boxer are wealthy, powerful, older, from a core world, and one of them’s a Siren. Maybe “CO” isn’t exactly the right term since they aren’t organized in an Atlas-style hierarchy, but Athena had expected that there was at least some ranking system in place.
But… if they really don’t mind her eating first…
She reaches forward for the serving silverware, her eyes flicking from Red to Boxer at first and then focusing in on the actual food. That she doesn’t recognize most of it doesn’t stop her from putting plenty on her plate. She’s just returning a salad fork to its place when Boxer asks his question.]
Sometimes. [Athena colors slightly at his tone.] When we both had food. [If he’d passed her a rations pack while they were on the move without taking one for himself, she took it as implicit permission not to wait up. That said, she doesn’t understand why he’d feel bad about it -- it just seemed like common sense at the time. And yet, judging by both his and Red’s reaction, it’s not.] Does that mean something else here?
["You are a member of our family," Red responds, listening in on Athena's internal monologue. Boxer, who is mostly quiet, puts on a meager smile when she says the word family. "We have different roles, but we are equally important."
The important part is that Athena is now eating with the rest of her pack, much to their relief.]
It doesn't mean anything. Just...out there, you eat when you can when you're hungry. I feel bad that you feel like you had to wait on me for something so important. [A pause.] And all this time I thought you were just a slow eater....
[Another considering look and then:] If you say so. [It might take Athena some time to wrap her head around the concept of being “equally important” as a Vault Hunter and a Siren, but she doesn’t have to fully understand to know that they’ve treated her better than Atlas ever did. Besides, she quite literally has other things on her plate to occupy her at the moment.
While most kids might’ve turned their noses up at so many vegetables, Athena is all too eager to try everything on her plate. She tries things one at a time at first: this red thing, this green thing, this orange thing. Some of the flavors are familiar, but most aren’t, and even the ones that do hold some resemblance to things she’s eaten on Pandora taste better. Clearly, Red and Boxer are never going to have to worry about Athena not eating her vegetables.
She looks up at Red’s question, fork halfway to her mouth.] Yes. [And then keeps eating. Actions speak louder than words, right?]
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"You may eat, Athena."
Across the table, Red smiles at her.
"You are our equal in this house. As far as standing goes, anyway. Please, eat--or else you'll miss out on it when the main course arrives."
Boxer, meanwhile, stares at her with a stupefied look. Hey, he can actually emote now!]
Wait a sec. Did you always wait for me to finish eating when we were on Pandora?
[He feels awful for not noticing if that's the case!!]
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But… if they really don’t mind her eating first…
She reaches forward for the serving silverware, her eyes flicking from Red to Boxer at first and then focusing in on the actual food. That she doesn’t recognize most of it doesn’t stop her from putting plenty on her plate. She’s just returning a salad fork to its place when Boxer asks his question.]
Sometimes. [Athena colors slightly at his tone.] When we both had food. [If he’d passed her a rations pack while they were on the move without taking one for himself, she took it as implicit permission not to wait up. That said, she doesn’t understand why he’d feel bad about it -- it just seemed like common sense at the time. And yet, judging by both his and Red’s reaction, it’s not.] Does that mean something else here?
no subject
The important part is that Athena is now eating with the rest of her pack, much to their relief.]
It doesn't mean anything. Just...out there, you eat when you can when you're hungry. I feel bad that you feel like you had to wait on me for something so important. [A pause.] And all this time I thought you were just a slow eater....
["Do you like it?" Red asks.]
no subject
While most kids might’ve turned their noses up at so many vegetables, Athena is all too eager to try everything on her plate. She tries things one at a time at first: this red thing, this green thing, this orange thing. Some of the flavors are familiar, but most aren’t, and even the ones that do hold some resemblance to things she’s eaten on Pandora taste better. Clearly, Red and Boxer are never going to have to worry about Athena not eating her vegetables.
She looks up at Red’s question, fork halfway to her mouth.] Yes. [And then keeps eating. Actions speak louder than words, right?]