07-19-2016, 04:14 PM
Rituals, Mr. Nihm explained, were a way of garnering attention. Attention was precisely what he'd gained from Margot when he'd begun to explain the heart and function of Ritual and how it spread across the world. She was staring raptly at him, hanging on his words while she hovered in place standing somewhere within polite distance of the desk that he sat behind, having abandoned the hunt for somewhere to settle and sit. He could tell that she was marking them, but it was difficult to put a tag on exactly what was being marked in particular.
He spoke of the rituals as though they were very real. As though they would put people in touch with actual Otherworldly things, and demanded to know whether they were enterprising little 'upstarts' (though she was convinced that what he really meant to call them was 'shits') seeking to perform Rituals themselves.
The deep interest and focus had done something to peel back the anxiousness that Margot carried up to that point. Her hands weren't smoothing clothes or folding intentionally out of the way and still, but rested steady at her sides. She sounded more grounded and certain in her answer than she had in her explanation of what they wanted to know.
"Anybody planning to be stupid isn't doing much planning at all." She blinked big hazel eyes at him, intent, but rest assured that when she continued from there that gaze would break and roam once more, over the walls and the books and the artifacts and the spaces between them. Exploring, noticing, observing something beyond the physical appearance of clutter and knowledge alone.
"It's not practical application that we're after. It's insight and puzzle pieces and missing threads that'd help connect the dots. The Mohawks tried to appease their gods with sacrifice, by paying them back what was taken by the Europeans with European life itself. But why didn't other peoples across this part of the continent?" She nodded her head next to William, in indication. "So his thesis works, so he isn't accused of harboring crazy conspiracies."
She paused, then added almost to clarify, sounding semi-apologetic (probably for her lack of insightful knowledge on the subject, thanks all-nighter for impacting her studies) and simple, matter-of-fact both at once. "I'm the safety second."
He spoke of the rituals as though they were very real. As though they would put people in touch with actual Otherworldly things, and demanded to know whether they were enterprising little 'upstarts' (though she was convinced that what he really meant to call them was 'shits') seeking to perform Rituals themselves.
The deep interest and focus had done something to peel back the anxiousness that Margot carried up to that point. Her hands weren't smoothing clothes or folding intentionally out of the way and still, but rested steady at her sides. She sounded more grounded and certain in her answer than she had in her explanation of what they wanted to know.
"Anybody planning to be stupid isn't doing much planning at all." She blinked big hazel eyes at him, intent, but rest assured that when she continued from there that gaze would break and roam once more, over the walls and the books and the artifacts and the spaces between them. Exploring, noticing, observing something beyond the physical appearance of clutter and knowledge alone.
"It's not practical application that we're after. It's insight and puzzle pieces and missing threads that'd help connect the dots. The Mohawks tried to appease their gods with sacrifice, by paying them back what was taken by the Europeans with European life itself. But why didn't other peoples across this part of the continent?" She nodded her head next to William, in indication. "So his thesis works, so he isn't accused of harboring crazy conspiracies."
She paused, then added almost to clarify, sounding semi-apologetic (probably for her lack of insightful knowledge on the subject, thanks all-nighter for impacting her studies) and simple, matter-of-fact both at once. "I'm the safety second."