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"Well, I knew something was up, and I thought I was losing my damn mind for years," Tohru said, sort of reminiscing on his 'rebellious' teenage years, "Obviously it's not all blatant lies, because they likely couldn't get away with that. But twisting the truth? That's not below them at all. It's not great. That's why I've kind of been… unaffiliated, for lack of a better word. Empire sucks. Rebellion is sketchy as all hell. Sometimes it feels like there's no winning."
Davin's laugh was bitter, twisted and quiet. "The Empire justifies the wiping out of an entire civilization through half-truths and flat-out lies. The Rebellion says that they're rebelling because of what my people did, and then do things that mine would never have done."
“Yeah…” Tohru sighed, “I’m not exactly the pinnacle of morality, but I recognize how twisted it all is.”
He rubbed the back of his neck again. It was damp from his hair.
“I’ve tried to isolate myself. Just be myself, in my own bubble. But perhaps that’s worse than doing nothing.”
Davin shrugged a little. "I keep my head down and don't ever…talk to people about what I am or anything, so…" he ran a hand through his hair.
“That’s understandable. There’s no telling what someone might do if they knew who you were,” Tohru said, “Which is why… which is why I hope you feel like you can be more open with me. I know we didn’t meet in the best way, but…”
"I mean…" he trailed off. "I was more open at one point, but then…stuff happened, so." he looked at Tohru, biting his lip a little bit. "Thank you, Tohru."
“Y-yeah, of course. It’s the least I could do!” Tohru replied, his voice wavering a bit.
He walked down the street, trying to keep by the other.
Davin took a deep breath, looking at Tohru for a long moment, then away again. "So…do you want to go to a museum, then?" he asked slowly.
“Would it make you uncomfortable?” Tohru asked, “because if so, I wouldn’t dream of it.”
He looked at his feet.
"I'll be fine." He replied. "I just…might have to skip the section about my people, or I might do something embarrassing and dangerous." Like scream.
“Trust me, I don’t want to see the shit they have to say about the Kaythani either,” Tohru said, “I’ll gladly skip it with you.”
Davin gave him a grateful smile. "Thanks." he replied, looking at Tohru and shrugging just a little bit. "We can go, then, if you like."
"Sure, as long as it's not too pricey," Tohru agreed, "It should be fun. I tend to like more of the natural history and stuff anyway. Looking at local history and life, that sort of thing."
Seems kind of like a date…
He flashed a smile back, trying to contain his nerves.
He smiled again, and nodded. "Alright. Let's go, then." he opened up his device and found instructions to get there, smiling softly.
Tohru's eyes lit up.
"Alright, sounds good!" he replied, his voice rising in pitch a little.
He followed Davin, looking over his shoulder at the directions.
Davin started to follow the directions, smiling softly as he led the way.
As they got there, Tohru looked up to the sign.
"So, this is it?" he asked, "Looks pretty neat, actually. Thanks for coming with me."
Davin nodded. "Yeah. And…no problem." he replied with a quick little smile, looking over at Tohru. "Come on." he led the other male inside, and paid for their tickets.
Tohru followed Davin inside. The building had high ceilings, but the front room was just an atrium, and didn’t have much in the way of exhibits. There were signs scattered throughout that pointed the way to various exhibits in the museum. Tohru was a little overwhelmed by all the choices.
“Where did you want to go?” he asked, still scanning the signs.
Davin thought for a moment. "Hm. I don't really have a preference. Do you have a certain topic you're interested in?" he asked, looking around the room with a faint smile on his face.
"Oh look, there's an exhibit on local geology," Tohru said, "That looks pretty neat, I think."
He started that way, making sure Davin followed.
Davin nodded, and followed. Geology. Good. That's safe. Easy. He thought, knowing that Geology was one of the least likely to have propaganda in it.
"Yeah, I wonder what kind of semi-precious gems and the like they have here," Tohru replied, "I don't know a ton on the subject, but I mean- we're talking pretty rocks unique to this area, so what's not to like? Plus, it'll give us a little more insight into the area, I think."
Davin laughed a little bit, and nodded. "Yeah, it does sound interesting." He replied, looking over at Tohru for a moment.
Tohru led the way into the exhibit. It was dimly lit, and there were cases lined with various gems and geodes, as well as a wall lined with different types of rocks and soils, listing out their compositions and geographical areas.
He found himself drawn to a gem that was a nice, warm hue, not far from the color of Davin's eyes. He read through the description, looking back and forth between the words and the gem, which seemed to have flecks of glitter inside of it- imperfections, the description said. Yet Tohru almost preferred it this way, even if the "purest" form of this gem was considered a rarity.