Sloan set down the phone beside her beanbag chair. She felt her gut sink in hunger and with the tiniest bit of butterflies. [i]"O-Oh."[/i] She let out, still surprised Serenity was even there. Whenever she stopped working she always had to try to regain composure of the real world, as it were. Her focus was blurred, but gradually went back to normal as Serenity embraced her. Sitting down, she wasn't really in a position to embrace her back, so she simply placed a hand over Serenity's arm softly.[i] "Yeah, dinner sounds great! I could use sustenance."[/i] She agrees. Her words sound almost foreign or out of place. Instead of sitting in a dazed silence like an idiot, she figures she ought to speak up about something other than her need for food. [i]"I just got off the phone with a client."[/i] She explains. [i]"Not 15 minutes after that news broadcast, I get contracted."[/i] She lets out a sigh. [i]"You'd figure that a political assassination would be some sort of earth-shattering disaster. Let alone a full-on assault like that was. Now, it's just another day at work. Down the road, in earshot of a battlefield, and we're going to go to a cafe."[/i] She scoffs. [i]"How far we've fallen, huh?"[/i] She looks up at Serenity watching her ramble. Perhaps she's said too much. She always wondered that, if she talked too much about too little. Emotional conversation or small talk was so bizarre to her compared to the vast intellectual properties of information she sold. With those it was so cut and dry. Say this, don't say this, if it's brought up mention this, be sure not to allude to this. It was that easy with documented data. But small talk? She just never says enough, or what she does say is bleak.

She takes off her headset and sets it beside the phone, carefully. That thing was her second favorite possession, next to her computer. Sloan looked back up at Serenity and extended a hand to be helped up. Upon standing, she stretches and fetches her wallet from the tote bag on the wall. She slips on her shoes and motions for the door. Of course she couldn't drive there by herself. She only had her learner's permit, and the only adult that could act as her mentor would be Serenity. [i]"Serry," [/i]As she often called her as both a pet name and a term of affection. [i]"For the love of God don't make me drive."[/i] Her irrational fear of 10-Vehicle-Pileups has stunted her ability and motivation to learn how to drive.