"That - probably doesn't explain very well why I might be upset, sorry - I'm not mad, really, just - this is why you're not supposed to talk about important things on first dates, you know, you'll spray all of your weird opinions and emotions everywhere before there's enough shared context that it doesn't make you sound insane - "

"You don't sound insane. You sound - scared and unhappy."

"I guess.

"I - don't mind discussing marriage as a hypothetical but I guess I am worried that you're already very set on this even though you don't know me, and even though we are actually both terrible at not upsetting each other, and - I don't want to definitively say no, but where I am from people need time to make important decisions that will shape the course of their lives. And - I'm bad at trusting people, okay, I'm worse than most Chelaxians at it, and - I like you, and I trust you with a lot of things, but - I'm worried that Osirion doesn't have - processes, for this, that you just hop right from not knowing each other to heavy conversations to being married, and I can't - do that. Even if there were absolutely no other obstacles I couldn't do that."

"It's - a lot more important to me that you know that I would marry you than it is that we actually get married. If you know that, and then you want to be friends instead, or do some Chelish thing instead, then that's okay, then I'm not - doing the things that Osirion warns about doing, and you're not doing the things that Cheliax warns against doing, and that's fine."

- nod.

"I don't want you to be Osirian. If I wanted an Osirian I'd marry an Osirian. I could tell my brother to pick six out for me tomorrow and then I'd have six Osirians but then, you see, I'd be very sad."

...nodnod.

"Sorry for being - explodey."

"I think I'm starting to get a sense of the rhythm of it, actually."

She doesn't quite laugh but she's definitely putting some effort into not.

"I guess that's good. Seems like one of the things you ought to know something about, if we're going to be - anything, really."

"Friends. Friends ought to know when their friend is getting stressed or upset so they can help their friend calm down or express herself or appropriately direct her wrath or whatever."

"...okay. And I'll - try to get better at noticing before I get really upset about things. I'm bad at this, see, I don't - actually interact with that many people older than eight."

"Korva, we have been kidnapped by powerful extraplanar entities twice in the last two weeks and we are currently hiding out from mind-control by the horrible local entity which brainwashes everyone into being extremely boring except when they are unleashed in a frenzied orgy of rape and destruction. I don't think you need a lot of excuses to be kind of on edge."

"...okay, yeah, true."

"Wanna hug again?"

"...yeah, okay. I guess I would like to leave things on a slightly less depressing note tonight."

Cautious snuggles.

Petpetpetpet. No discussion of marriage at all.

Snuggles are nice.

"...I think if you were Chelish I would probably kiss your cheek before I went to bed, and it would mean something like 'I really really like you but I am trying to take this slow and be careful and not rush things because I think you are probably actually very important to me', but I am concerned that because you are Osirian it would come off as meaning almost exactly the opposite. So maybe I shouldn't."

"Well now that you have explained how I am supposed to take it I can take it that way, I should think?"

"But will you."

" - yeah."

She kisses his cheek.

"I should probably sleep."

"Good night."

Then she can head to bed alone and wrap herself in blankets and smile to herself and hope she hasn't horribly ruined everything yet.

And he will also fall asleep after a while, feeling pretty happy on the whole.

And in the morning she can commune with her ridiculous artifact and make a bunch of breakfast and try Sending again. It still doesn't work.