Stoicism And Whimsy. An Unusual Mix. (Diana, Sabriel)

The topic of Diana's family had come up and the Quincy briefly hesitated to answer the question. On one hand, the fact that her family was dead was not something she wanted to advertise to total strangers because they might get the idea that she was easy prey for whatever unpleasant things they wanted to do to her. On the other hand, the blonde Quincy had already told Meninas and Stella, so two total strangers already knew that her parents were no longer among the living. In the end Diana decided to go with the truth and hope that she did not regret it.

"My parents are dead." Diana replied simply and calmly. After a few moments she realized that the other young woman would need more details and decided to add the cause of death so that Sabriel knew why they were not alive. Using the same calm voice she had used throughout the conversation, Diana spoke again.

"They were killed in a Hollow attack on our home and I survived only by fleeing on their orders." Diana made the crucial addition and clarified that she had escaped the attack because her parents had told her to flee. If pressed for more information the blonde would tell more of the tale, but for now she would hold off and see how Sabriel reacted to what she had been told. Diana was not fishing for sympathy nor was she looking for comfort... the Arrancar had been honest when answering the former's questions, so the Quincy had decided to reciprocate. Again Diana hoped that her honesty would not cost her dearly.

"I do not know." Diana gave a laconic answer to the question that Sabriel had asked. She wished that she could have provided a better answer, but the Quincy truly did not know what caused the Hollows to form a group before visiting her family's property. Based on what Sabriel had claimed, a group attack by the creatures was not normal behavior for them, but Diana did not know enough about Hollows to confirm or deny the Arrancar's claim. Diana wondered if some external force had gotten the creatures to band together, but she did not have the time or inclination to try and figure that riddle out, so she would let it lie.

"On the day the attack happened I was upstairs in my room looking for colleges and universities to apply to. I had graduated high school three weeks earlier and had spent a good deal of time looking for an institute of higher education that was both affordable and offered a degree that would help me improve my chances of finding employment upon graduation. My search was interrupted when I heard commotion coming from outside... I looked out the window and heard muffled sounds coming from my parents. They were also pointing towards something, but I could not see it from where I was, so I hurried outside and stood on the front doorstep. There I saw the Hollows heading for my home." Diana calmly told Sabriel about the day of the attack. It was a condensed version that cut out all the unnecessary details like what she had for breakfast, what her parents ate for their final meal, the names of the schools she was looking into applying to, and other irrelevant details that would probably bore her conversation partner to tears. Speaking of tears, the Quincy had none to shed because she had lived with the memories for over four years and had long ago accepted that her life would never be what it once was. Diana's calmness might make Sabriel wonder about her mental state, but that was the way it would be. The blonde was not prone to showing dramatic displays of emotion and she was not going to start today.

Diana's eyes looked at the hand on her shoulder for a moment before they met the Arrancar's again. The gesture of sympathy was not mentioned by the blonde, who was focused squarely on the conversation. Her face and body language showed no emotion of any kind as she started to speak again.

"I wish that I could have given you more information to go on, but I truly do not recall anything out of the ordinary about that day. There was no unusual weather, no unusual beings spotted in the vicinity of my home, nothing. As far as I knew everything was normal... until the attack happened." Diana stated that until the moment tragedy struck the day had been an average one. The weather forecast had predicted that the temperature was going to be a bit warm, but that was nothing unusual for Columbus, Georgia around summertime. She had had bacon and grits with coffee for breakfast like she usually did and had talked about her college plans with her parents like she had done ever since graduating high school three weeks ago. Due to everything following the normal routine of how her days went it was safe to say that Diana had no inkling of the life-altering events that had been in store for her.

Diana was not moved by Sabriel's comments on her emotional state (or lack thereof). It was the blonde's business how she reacted to something and no one was going to make her change her mind on the spot. For the briefest of moments it felt like she was back in school and listening to a teacher or classmate comment on her lack of emotional response and claim that she was bored just because she was not jumping to contribute to a class discussion or acting like the material being discussed was the most riveting topic she had ever had the privilege to study. Diana could not help but to think that there was a double standard at play... if a man acted like she did he would be lauded as an individual who had firm control of their emotions, but when she behaved in the same fashion she was labeled as "uncaring" or a similar term. Diana sometimes felt like others wanted her to show emotion so that they would feel comfortable.

Diana was not a trained animal who did as she was told upon command. She was a person who had her own thoughts, wants, and beliefs and she did not like it when others tried to tell her how she should feel. Diana's poker face remained strong and none of her mild annoyance showed on her face or her body language.

"Getting emotional will not bring them back, Sabriel." Diana remarked calmly. She supposed that the Arrancar wanted her to do something dramatic like fall onto the latter and cry on her shoulder or drop to her knees and sob uncontrollably while pausing in between sobs to say how much she missed her parents. Diana would do nothing of the sort.

"I detest Hollows with all of my being." Diana gave another calm reply. Sabriel had probably expected the Quincy to publicly swear an oath to wipe each and every Hollow from the face of the earth or to keep a small notebook containing a tally of how many Hollows she had killed to date. Again the blonde did not indulge in such dramatic gestures. While her animosity towards that type of being was understated it was no less intense than that of someone who screamed their hatred from the rooftops.

Diana had to be mentally tough to live the life that she led. It was one of constant travel and uncertainty, uncertainty as to where a "safe" shelter for the night could be found and what she would be eating. When she had money to spare the answer to both questions was to check into a hotel room and visit a local restaurant, but when money was tight or there were no vacancies at the hotel in the nearest town Diana had to wing it. When that became necessary she tended to build a lean-to in the woods and scrounge up whatever she could find for food. The menu usually consisted of berries and other plants that were safe to eat... that was not exactly gourmet fare, but it filled her stomach for the night until she could go somewhere that sold more substantial fare.

"I have to be tough to survive life on the road. It can be harsh and mental fortitude is every bit as important as physical stamina." Diana informed Sabriel that her lack of emotion had a purpose beyond marking her as the strong and silent type. If she got into trouble on the road or in the wilderness there was no one to come to her rescue, so the blonde had to find a way to save herself. Being able to stay calm in a crisis was a key part of finding a way out of whatever predicament she landed in. Moving on from that subject for the time being, Diana chose to address her stance on Hollows, namely the discrepancy between how she acted towards Hollows and how she acted towards Arrancars.

"As far as I know Arrancars were not responsible for what happened to my family, Sabriel, Hollows were. As much as I detest Hollows I am not going to attack Arrancars just because they are connected to the former." Diana calmly stated that she was not going to lash out at Sabriel's kind just because they were essentially evolved Hollows. The Quincy knew that her stance was contradictory, but until she could come up with a better way to explain it that was how things would have to be. Maybe one day she would find the words to explain herself more clearly, but right now she believed that she had done the best she could to explain why she and Sabriel were having a conversation instead of fighting.

"Unless an Arrancar attacks me without provocation or attacks innocent people in my presence I will not start a fight with one." Diana calmly laid out what it would take for her to fight a member of that race. That attitude might be naive and might cost her dearly at some point in the future, but she was a "live and let live" person who did not see any point in needless violence. As far as she knew no Arrancar had ever wronged her, so she had no reason to behave aggressively towards them.

Sabriel sounded satisfied with Diana's answers because she did not challenge the latter's logic. In fact the former had complimented the Quincy on how rational her thinking was and explained how Arrancars changed when they made the jump from Hollow to Arrancar. Diana was glad that she had managed to get her point across despite how contradictory it sounded when spoken aloud because that success had opened a new line of conversation for the blonde. She was learning about another race directly from a member of that race, not a textbook or research paper.

While listening to the other young woman speak Diana also learned that there were a few Arrancars who did not quite recover their higher thought processes after the change and as a result opted to revel in being bringers of mayhem whenever the opportunity presented itself. Diana was granted further knowledge of the Arrancar race when she was told that an "aspect" influenced the course of their lives. The blonde was curious as to how exactly that worked, but before she could ask the question Sabriel approached the Quincy. Diana remained calm as the Arrancar approached and gently moved aside a few errant strands of hair that had gathered around her face.

"Desire?" Diana asked calmly. While her voice was calm and her facial expression did not change dramatically to show her mental state the light red of a blush could be seen on the blonde's face. If Sabriel looked closely enough she might be able to notice that small but significant change.