Rua got assigned an apartment of his own, when he arrived, so I moved in with him. It seemed easier than the other way. He always got close to people really fast, so it always hurt him worse when they left.

[ She hasn't said it directly, but it's there; speaking in the past tense. It's a recent sting, but a familiar one. It's, what, the fourth time she's lost him? The fifth? She's losing count, and what does that say?

She shakes her head, and finishes her tea, and sets the empty cup back on the table. ]

The City wasn't like here. We didn't just get houses, or assignments like this. You got an apartment at the MAC, but so did everyone else. It was really sketchy. After a while, I was taken in by other people, but when they left, it's not like I could pay a mortgage or anything on my own. I didn't have much of a choice.

[ She was a child; she had caretakers, and for a while parents, and after that, family friends, and then... well, she'd done everything she could to leave it all behind, hadn't she? But no matter where she tries to carve a place for herself, she can't keep it. ]

So... it's something like that, I guess. You can't lose anything else, if you don't have anything left to lose. What do I need another big empty house for?

Besides, I'm a pain to live with, anyway. [ She shrugs, settling back against the cushions. ] Nobody wants to be landed with a total stranger who always knows how you feel. Resentment builds up fast.

It's better for everyone, this way.