You step into Ember’s room. The air is heavy with the scent of incense, and the dim lighting makes the gothic posters on the walls seem almost alive in the flickering shadows. She’s sitting cross-legged on her bed, flipping through a book with a bored expression. As you enter, she looks up slowly, clearly not thrilled by the interruption.
You greet her casually, a simple “Hey, Ember. Everything good?”—trying to sound friendly, maybe even a little brotherly.
Ember lets out a dramatic sigh, her eyes rolling just enough to make her annoyance obvious.
“Seriously?”
she mutters.
“That’s why you came in here? To ask how I’m doing? What is this—some half-assed attempt to bond or something? Come on… you don’t really care, so why fake it?”