fandomhigh | Practical Philosophy, Monday

The sky was overcast, but the temperatures weren't terribly low and the threat of rain not so high that Ender opted to stay indoors. Instead they were out on the dorm lawn again, a bag of sandwiches sitting in what would soon be the center of a circle of students.

Before he started talking in general, he glanced towards Yeul and said, "I'd like to see you after class, please."

Then his attention shifted. "Last week, we experienced some interesting events," Ender said, only a little dry humor obvious from his tone of voice. "The peppers were a nuisance, that's for sure. I hope all of you made it through unharmed and unsinged." They usually did at Fandom-- he didn't think he spotted any major injuries.

"Now, the phones are a semi-annual problem. I've experienced that one several times since I came here. I always don't realize what is going on until I've already made a few calls of my own - and I'm always left wondering what prompted me to respond in the first place," he said. "What is it that makes us want to say something back when someone says something to us? Why can't we just let obviously confused, crazy people be?"

He shrugged. "Maybe it's because our lives are built and supported by our ability to communicate, so when someone communicates oddly at us, we're alarmed," he said. "Maybe we've just all got tempers. Maybe we're just trying to turn a freak occasion into some amusement for ourselves. Or maybe it's just human nature for the entire tribe to start shouting when one member does."

He stretched his legs out. "How was your week?" he asked.

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"There's a difference between having nothing to do and being glad you can kick back and do nothing," Emily said, holding her two hands up as if she was weighting the two option. "You're bored because you actually want to do something, or want something to happen. You're calm because you are enjoying the moment. I guess you can do things and be calm too."

"I should hope so," Yeul said mildly. "Otherwise I'd be stuck doing nothing for life."

Since Yeul and calm went hand-in-hand.

"You're a very calm person, I can see that," said Emily as she smiled. "But yeah, that's hardly the same as being bored. Or boring. Awfully calm might turn to boring though, sometimes."

"I have never found that to be so," Yeul admitted. "But perhaps it is because I do not go looking for excitement."

"Not everyone gets bored with the same situations," Emily said. "What, have you never wanted to do something risky? Even if it's in a controlled setting?"

"My Guardian would tell you that I do risky things all the time," Yeul said earnestly. "But I do them very calmly."

"That's funny; my Guardian would tell you the same about me," Emily said. "I wasn't all calm and in control when we first met though, so he might be biased." And mysterious, and mentor-like. And sort of a ninja/samurai hybrid.

"Guardians generally are," she noted. "Even if you're calm when you meet."

"I guess their job is to worry and to watch over everything we do," Emily added. She had disliked that early on, and it still bothered her, but all in all she knew Takeda was her best shot.

"It is," she said placidly. "Which is not a job I would be good at but I think my Guardian does a good job."

"I'm not sure how good would I be," Emily conceded. "I'm trying with the whole Big Sibling thing, but it's not the same."

"No," she said, smiling. "You do not have to watch them quite so closely."

"Well, I got one that comes from somewhen similar to my world a few centuries ago, so maybe I do, if only a bit," Emily said. She needed to check on Snow to make sure she had been acclimatizing well.

"Perhaps," she said lightly. "Or perhaps someone else will have looked after them. Their roommate would be in position to know right off what they would need immediate help with. But yes, I suppose a sibling like that would require more work."

"Oh, it was never my intention to be her sole source of information, so I hope she has been given Fandom's traditional hospitality," Emily said. "Still, I like finishing what I start." Yes she did.

"I do not think you can finish a sibling's duties," Yeul said gently. "I think those tend to stick around."

"No, but I think there's a point when you can safely say 'oh, she's not going to get killed by a toaster now'", Emily replied lightly.

Practical Philosophy, Monday

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