[ the sudden shift doesn't surprise her, and so there's no reaction from Ruby, no flinch or crestfallen expression. from the moment she decided to live in Set's shadow, Ruby had known there would be situations like this, where she is stained in someone else's perception by her association with him. but she had also decided that it didn't matter. she isn't losing anything; no one was ever going to accept her in the first place. if she weren't willing to bear the hatred of others to survive, then she might as well just lie down and die.

at least Dokja is being nice about it. ]

Mm... Not really? [ she leans forward onto the table, chin propped up by her spare hand. there's a wide-eyed naivete about her, too innocent or too stupid to even consider the consequences of being involved with Set. ] It's more like, um... we made a deal. Set protects me, and I'm devoted to him. He promised me that I'll never have to take part in the war for as long as I'm his.

[ there's a pause, lingering on that particular statement, and then she laughs: ] In practise, I mostly just look after his shrine!

[ is that enough? she always finds herself wondering, when she speaks – is that sufficient character motivation? has she portrayed herself as too clever, too aware, too selfish? everyone already knows that she's a coward, but perhaps they'll begin to question why she chose Set, of all people. he would hardly seem a safe option. she'd ended up revealing the truth of it to Amos, and it had been awful. a revolting, repulsive, marrow-flayingly personal display.

so maybe she really should just fall back on the same old story. it won't be hard, pretending to be in love with Set. ]

And, you know... [ that hand she's leaning on twirls a lock of golden hair around one delicate finger, her long lashes lowered over her eyes, and her cheeks begin to bloom a fetching dusky pink. ] He's my saviour. I just really like him. I'm probably not a very good priestess, but he seemed happy, so...