[By degrees, Byleth straightened up from his defeated slump and regained some level of composure. His anxiety wasn't as clearly written across his face, though his body was still as tightly coiled as a pressurised spring, and his hand moved slightly - as if to rest on the pommel of a sword no longer there. He let his hand drop when he realised.]
Thank you. [For briefly jolting him out of his funk.] I was lost in thought, and...
[He stopped, because what little he knew of Hayame - and what he had covertly observed - told him she wouldn't tolerate pointless small talk. They were passing acquaintances at most. He let the rest of his words die out into a quiet, barely there hum.
...and didn't know how to proceed from here. He was socially awkward on a good day. When stressed and sleep-deprived? The part of his brain where he had memorised inoffensive conversation prompts and generic answers wasn't firing. His mind was just blank, and it made the pause after his unfinished sentence kind of. awkward.]
no subject
[By degrees, Byleth straightened up from his defeated slump and regained some level of composure. His anxiety wasn't as clearly written across his face, though his body was still as tightly coiled as a pressurised spring, and his hand moved slightly - as if to rest on the pommel of a sword no longer there. He let his hand drop when he realised.]
Thank you. [For briefly jolting him out of his funk.] I was lost in thought, and...
[He stopped, because what little he knew of Hayame - and what he had covertly observed - told him she wouldn't tolerate pointless small talk. They were passing acquaintances at most. He let the rest of his words die out into a quiet, barely there hum.
...and didn't know how to proceed from here. He was socially awkward on a good day. When stressed and sleep-deprived? The part of his brain where he had memorised inoffensive conversation prompts and generic answers wasn't firing. His mind was just blank, and it made the pause after his unfinished sentence kind of. awkward.]