I12DT - It's a Lunch!

[Robyn Delaney]

Robyn sat down at one of the tables, munching idly at her lunch. One of her textbooks was on the table next to her tray, but it was closed, so maybe she was hoping to pick the knowledge up by osmosis.

((Open))

[Trini Thompson]

Trini was the next one in, sitting down across from her.

"Is this seat taken?"

[Robyn Delaney]

"Nope. It's all yours," she said, "Trini, right? I thought I heard your name in class the other day."

[Trini Thompson]

"Yeah, that's me," she smiled. "I don't recall catching yours, though."

[Robyn Delaney]

"Robyn." She poked at her food, "I think I'm going off campus for dinner tonight."

[Trini Thompson]

"Why? What's wrong with the food here?"

[Robyn Delaney]

"Nothing really. Just feeling the need for a change of scene."

[Trini Thompson]

"There a bunch of neat little restaurants downtown you could try -- I could show you a couple, if you'd like."

[Robyn Delaney]

"That'd be cool. I haven't spent much time off campus yet."

[Trini Thompson]

"It can be a breath of fresh air, sometimes, after putting up with the stuff that happens around here."

[Robyn Delaney]

"Haven't experienced anything too strange lately, though I did meet one of the Institute students while I was sleep-Astral-walking the other night."

[Trini Thompson]

"Oh? That sounds like a story..."

[Robyn Delaney]

"It happens every once in a while. She seemed to be doing the same thing, only she was terrified of the place."

[Trini Thompson]

"Well, if you don't know what you're doing, I suppose that's to be expected."

[Robyn Delaney]

"I know what I'm doing... mostly. I seem to be better at it when I'm asleep. Or maybe I just careless, I can't say."

[Trini Thompson]

"Oh, I meant her, not you. I mean, you're not terrified, right?"

[Robyn Delaney]

"Of course not. And to be fair, she is just a teenager."

[Trini Thompson]

"Hardly an excuse," Trini scoffed.

[Robyn Delaney]

"To her credit, she did ask me to teach her more about the place."

[Trini Thompson]

"Well, that IS important. But still!"

[Robyn Delaney]

"Still what?"

[Trini Thompson]

"Hardly an excuse to be scared of the unknown. It's an opportunity, not an obstacle."

[Robyn Delaney]

"But the unknown in Astral can be really dangerous. A lot of possibility in 'unknown'."

[Trini Thompson]

"There's no reason to be afraid, though -- it's just an excuse to avoid filling yourself in."

[Robyn Delaney]

"What do you mean by 'filling yourself in'? It's possible to be a complete individual and still be afraid of things."

[Trini Thompson]

"No, I mean getting knowledge. Something scares you? Learn about it. That's what I did."

[Robyn Delaney]

"Sometimes things are scary for a good reason. And you have to be very careful about what and how you learn about them."

[Trini Thompson]

"There's nothing out there that can't be defeated with knowledge," Trini countered.

[Robyn Delaney]

Robyn munched on her meal thoughtfully as she considered that. "Okay, granted that that statement is correct on its face. But I would hazard that some knowledge carries a price with it. Like finding out there's no such thing as Santa Claus."

[Trini Thompson]

"Maybe there is, and we've all just been really naughty."

[Robyn Delaney]

"That's certainly a possibility. But then Santa's a legalistic arsehole who plays by unknown rules," Robyn said with a smirk

[Trini Thompson]

"You've just described almost every mystical or occult thing in the universe," she laughed.

[Robyn Delaney]

"I guess you're partially right. There's some things though that even learning about doesn't make them less dangerous."

[Trini Thompson]

"Teach you how to deal with them, though."

[Robyn Delaney]

"In some cases that means 'avoid them'," she noted.

[Trini Thompson]

"This...is true," Trini admitted. "Sometimes that's the best you CAN do."