Isabelle does smile - and it's not feigned. It's small, and it's shy, but it's there. It's another slip in the walls, a glimpse of what she's really feeling - the chagrin at being called out, mixed with the shared embarrassment of having Rosa's worries just spill out there for all to hear.

[i]Unexpected. [/i]

[i]I don't think I've ever heard her swear before.[/i]

[i]Is this sort of thing going to keep happening?[/i]

It's a lot to take in - and Isabelle feels like a child that has just discovered fireworks. The ability to make explosions in the sky, of colours and patterns she'd never before considered possible. To bring something special into the world, that would not have existed without her.

Wait, no, the comparison is flawed. 

It was like she's realised she can [i]set off[/i] those fireworks with just a gesture. A word.

It was ... it was like she'd learned a new spell - it was like [i]magic[/i].

"The old generation are still powerful, still good for what they do. And what they do, they do better than the Gen 3 mechs that are replacing them in the Arena. Lifting, guarding, [i]enduring [/i]... they've long been the rock on which Terenius was built." she says, an idea already bubbling in her mind. "It'd be a shame to see that strength go to waste ... so I guess it's a good thing you know [i]one [/i]person who runs a mining company."

"I'll be honest, I don't know where exactly we'd use them yet. We'll need to prospect a new site. But in the meantime I'm open to an initial purchase order, paid in advance."

Those last words might earn her mother's ire. There's no better time to kick someone when they're down, after all, and with what she'd learned she could well have acquired a significant stake in Rosa's company in exchange for the bailout. But ... well, her heart's never been in that sort of thing. And for the few minutes of freedom she has while her mother is elsewhere, she may as well do things the way she wants for once.

"I think I've decided on what to wear." she says, letting Rosa process the offer she's made.

"Elena ignored you, dropped you, tried to [i]forget[/i] you ... so let's make sure you shine too brightly to be ignored." she continues. "If we take something traditional from here as the base, I know two women who can make it into something that will glow like the stars."