Something about the throwing decor around raises internal warning bells, swept quickly under wraps. Do not speak of Them, they wouldn't understand Us- and just like last time the words come out oddly clipped and precise, a perfectly manicured garden display and all the more heartless because of it.

"My superiors in America were displeased by my teaching methods, so it was deemed illegal to use paperweights as learning aides without paying out of your income for the replacement."

In short: Aradia yes, but he's cheap as hell so. No decor on the table. Meanwhile, the unconscious snap into avoiding landmine is quickly disposed of. Only the anecdote came too close, there is nothing heretical about her second inquiry, "And you get used to it."