be discreet

[msmage]

It's not much later, in Isabella's room, that she asks:

"So... is Alex really a dom?"

Comments

[msmage]

"No, he's really not," she sighs.

[alicornucopia]

Jackson prods his by-now-cold eggs with his fork. "I have to go to class."

[msmage]

"Yeah. And I have to go to work." She gets up and-

-pets him. Not like she was his dom or something, but just a friendly petting.

[alicornucopia]

Jackson's head droops in something that might be relaxation. He doesn't attempt to move until she stops.

[msmage]

She doesn't do it for too long.

"Bye, Jackson."

[alicornucopia]

"Bye."

[msmage]

And then work as usual.

[alicornucopia]

She doesn't wind up in the cafeteria for lunch at the same time as either Isabella or Jackson.

[msmage]

What about the other folks? Roger or Janet, maybe? She doesn't like Victor much but if he's the only one around-

-well she might sit alone in that case, but.

[alicornucopia]

Janet's over there with some people.

[msmage]

Janet's nice, she'll go sit with her.

[alicornucopia]

"Hi," says Janet, but then she goes back to talking about the awful haircut her brother got and how nobody should go to discount barbers.

[msmage]

"Hello yourself," she says, and doesn't strictly comment on the awful haircut, lacking a lot of experience with barbers (her hair's part of the 'shifting, after all), but makes the appropriate noises at the appropriate times.

[alicornucopia]

Then she and Janet's friends will successfully conduct lunchtime smalltalk.

[eclipsi]

At dinner: oh look. It's Isabella.

[msmage]

"Hello, ma'am."

[eclipsi]

"Hello, pet, how are you?"

[msmage]

"I'm alright, you?"

[eclipsi]

"I'm fine. I was worried you were going to be fretting about Jackson all day."

[msmage]

She shrugs. "It's kinda like Tobias' situation, I figure the best I can do most of the time is just... hope for the best. His dom is an emotionally abusive twit but Jackson still prefers him to being alone, and won't go to therapy while they're together because he thinks the therapists will object to the relationship and might break confidentiality."

[eclipsi]

"...Well, they might."

[msmage]

"Yeah, and Jackson's a complete idiot and I don't know what to do," she sighs.

[eclipsi]

Nod nod.

[msmage]

She sighs. "I wonder if I should try taking him out to do things. Like go to the movies or something, get him to do stuff that's not just school and his dom."

[eclipsi]

"...Well, last time it didn't work out very well but that's probably not going to happen the same way with a collar around his neck."