Ilya stared at Dolemeck for a few seconds, speechless. He had a few responses ready in case of rejection - excusing himself from the room usually worked in the past - but he actually didn't have a planned response for what to do when people were on his side. He takes the flower into his hands gently, not sure how sturdy origami is, and peeks at Dolemeck again. It dawns on him that the guy actually means it.
He looks at Topher and drank in his words, focusing on him the same way a devout person might focus in church, hanging on every syllable. He feels a kind of hope rise up in him. His father was able to look past the fact his mother was Chukchi, and see her as a person. So there must be others out there who can look past Ilya's own status and he has this incredible realization that he's actually standing in the presence of two such people.
He smiles, a real smile, looking at the ground so he won't look like a completely desperate dork. Regardless, for the first time since he got here, he can feel the tension ease off of him, and it's wonderful. "Thanks. Both of you, just - thanks. I didn't have it as bad as some people. There's a lot of people worse off in the world. Still, sometimes, it's a lot to have to worry about all the time. So I'm glad that here, I only have to worry about my powers and not anything else."
Of course, with time the glow from this conversation will fade and he'll be back to worrying. But for right now, in this moment, he feels a kind of warmth and safety he hasn't had since he left Russia. The smile on his face doesn't feel like it'll go away any time soon, either.
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He looks at Topher and drank in his words, focusing on him the same way a devout person might focus in church, hanging on every syllable. He feels a kind of hope rise up in him. His father was able to look past the fact his mother was Chukchi, and see her as a person. So there must be others out there who can look past Ilya's own status and he has this incredible realization that he's actually standing in the presence of two such people.
He smiles, a real smile, looking at the ground so he won't look like a completely desperate dork. Regardless, for the first time since he got here, he can feel the tension ease off of him, and it's wonderful. "Thanks. Both of you, just - thanks. I didn't have it as bad as some people. There's a lot of people worse off in the world. Still, sometimes, it's a lot to have to worry about all the time. So I'm glad that here, I only have to worry about my powers and not anything else."
Of course, with time the glow from this conversation will fade and he'll be back to worrying. But for right now, in this moment, he feels a kind of warmth and safety he hasn't had since he left Russia. The smile on his face doesn't feel like it'll go away any time soon, either.