"I'm frankly surprised he made it seven years here without killing anybody," she said with raised eyebrows. "Like, legitimately."

She watched his face closely and was almost amused by his level of confusion. She hadn't met his family so she knew it wasn't her place to pass judgement, but damn. They really must have done a number on him. "Not necessarily," she said with a slight laugh. "I just mean... y'know... goof off every once in a while. You're a kid, not a diplomat. You don't have to put on such a face for everyone."

"I mean... ugh. This is coming out stupid," she frowned. "I mean, you can just let your guard down. I don't know of anybody that actually dislikes you as a person. People just think you're weird because you never wanna have fun with anybody."

Casey raised an eyebrow. "Being a diplomat isn't my first career choice. Rather, I find that..."

He went silent. Suddenly the words didn't come. Why? He'd thought the words had been minor, reasonless...goof off every once in a while...You don't have to put on such a face for everyone...you can just let your guard down. But they shook him to the core. While not own of beauty or charisma, Casey had spent his life building a certain image, maintaining the defenses for that persona. His right hand fished for his handkerchief in a breast pocket, a motion hiding the checking of a lump that indicated the amulet was still hidden on its chain.

With his handkerchief Casey began polishing his wand. "I...have fun," he finished, the last line the only one he could find an argument against. "You work best when you can find enjoyment in the work and I take much pleasure in mine." Scheming, studying advanced magic, that was fun.

"At least, even if you don't really dislike something, it's a consistent relationship. You don't have to muck about with things that don't need to be said, you can get straight to business." Casey was not about to drop defenses no matter how friendly that was supposed to make people. It had been a harsh lesson back when he didn’t know the lesson, when he was idiotic; or innocent, whatever it was. Back before he needed defenses. The lesson was learned. The best defense was one that never dropped for an instance.

Ronnie watched with some degree of satisfaction as her words sunk in. Finally.

Despite how angry she'd been with him on more than one occasion, all in all she felt bad for Casey. She'd lived with him for nearly three whole years and hadn't really considered him a human being, if she was being perfectly honest with herself. He was more like a weird little cartoon who masqueraded about in human clothes. Something for her to laugh at casually but to never really think about or care about.

And the saddest part of it was that it didn't need to be like that. For anyone.

The way he was explaining himself, she'd have sworn he was really pulling her leg. What was he, fifty years old? The language he was using was dad language, for Christ's sake.

She squinted. "Fuck's sake, O'Doherty, what the hell are ye on about?" she asked, her voice severe. "You're nowt but a bairn and you're gabbin' away 'bout consistency and takin' pleasure in your work- that's the talk of someone that's settled. Given up on themselves. Fifty years old and balding, like. How the fuck old are you, man?"

"I bet if you just hung around with the fun kids for a while you'd like it," she suggested with a less-than-innocent shrug.

"Such ladylike language," Casey said, beginning to highly doubt what the Ward siblings said about each other. "I happen to be fourteen years and nearly five months. And where you think 'settled and given up' I find future prospects ready and complete, I just ned to wait and get there. I call it being set for life."

"Oh, the fun kids. You include Foley in that? Must be hip to be hexed every fifteen minutes and people say I'm brutal in dueling club." His curiosity was of a humorous nature then looking for answers. "So what do you cool kids do for fun?"

"Well, we can't all be debutantes like you, O'Doherty," she replied, rolling her eyes.

Ronnie smirked and felt herself get slightly defensive. She tried to squash the feeling, but it was persistent. "As if you couldn't just flunk out of school and still be set for life. You've never had to worry about not being set for life."

She knew O'Doherty would be a success at whatever he set his mind to- mostly because he was like Rain Man when it came to anything scholastic- but success for kids like him was beside the point. Even if he failed, he had a safety net a mile thick. And that thought pissed her off.

"Did I say they were the cool kids? I said they were fun. God, you're so dense. I'm inviting you to hang out, you sackless slag."

Casey wanted to say something but considered that little argument was to be made. He was very rich, probably the richest in school, so Veronica...Miss Ward was correct is assuming that he was well off. What no one knew was how he needed to ensure his family's favor, what he needed to sacrifice...

He found himself confused at the last line. Slag? An odd bit of trivia, something Professor Trishna mention in classes to make up for a lack of "geo-googly" or whatever it was. Was she calling him waste matter from a volcano?

"Fine," Casey said, "Invitation accepted."

She smiled in cool satisfaction. "Right. Good. This is gonna be a good move for you, socially."

Ronnie examined her nails and glanced briefly- subtly- at Casey. Honestly, she was pretty sure if he didn't blow off some steam soon he'd be liable to go totally crazy. "You could be having a good time, y'know. Enjoying yourself, like. I'm not tryin' to break your balls, I'm just tryin' to give you the opportunity to take a piece of your childhood."

"Course, if you'd rather coast through life a friendless virgin, that's up to you. But I'd advise against it."

Big move socially. Joyous, I'll have Dingy whip up a party. "I suppose since you're the one with all the advice you're going to tell me that merely being content is not 'enjoying oneself' as you put it." Some aspects of childhood seemed fruitless when there were plans to be made.

"Friendship has been the last thing on my list, it seems," Casey admitted. Arguably, if you needed to interact with people being friendly had its merits. At least so they didn't know your try intentions. Although for social needs there was always Dingy to talk to.