Emotional Intelligence

Molten gaze upon Talyssa, her words echoing in his mind against the winter sea's waves. Her lesson on empathy and understanding others' struggles resonated with the group it seemed, but to him, it was a pointless ideal. If not for the basic opportunity that manipulating the emotional state of others held. He watched her place the shell back on the obsidian sand, her hopeful glance contrasting with his own detached observation.

The shimmering sand was a rather lovely canvass for her to be seated upon, though. But the lesson? He saw empathy as a weakness, a futile attempt to bridge gaps that could never truly be closed. As Talyssa wrapped up her lesson, Setekh remained silent as he had since the first teaching, absorbing the scene with a detached, almost clinical interest. He had little patience to give out empathy freely, nor did he hold any affection for those who were not his.