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Teddy listened despite the obvious distraction of the woman in her arms who refused distance as much as she had. She had a very heart-filled way of explaining the nature of being whisked away from home to attention a special school like this. In her absence of mind, she realised she'd never given it quite so much thought. It added everything to all their situations.
She didn't look at the two little bodies hovering so closely. She'd been around Natalie's chosen family long enough to become comfortable with the way they stayed so near.
"If you were my trainer I would have fallen in love with you in a day." She pointed out idly, like such thing didn't carry as much weight as it probably did, "But I imagine they match you with students who fit the way you teach."
Though she had gestured to her dogs, she hadn't actually torn her eyes away from the lawyer. She doubted she could. As she explained herself, she realized that she had yet to ever voice her thoughts about training all together. So few wanted to learn in depth about what she did; conversation often dropped at trainer. It was refreshing to break down her own thought process on it, and then to say it out loud to a listening ear.
But her thoughts came to a halt with words offered so casually, her breath stalling in the same moment. It must have been obvious, even as Natalie forced herself to suck in a shot of air within the next second. "If only I could have, then." The words slipped before she could have much thought to stop them. "Given what you said about your trainer. It's horrible that you had to deal with that."
Multiple factors accumulated to drag Teddy to the little statement she hadn't thought too much of. But she could tell without much effort that it had a different effect on her current counterpart, stalling her in her thoughts before she seemed to remind herself to breathe again.
Slightly quirked eyebrows were all she gave for the initial statement, because it was buried seconds later in a myriad of secondary words that couldn't hold the same attention. Sympathy barely showed in her eyes before her hands were slipping away and she was stepping back in overly priced heels to get a bit of distance. "I'm sure it could have been worse." She replied idly. Her hands filtered down to the other company she kept as she leaned down a touch to make herself more available.
She tore her eyes away then, too. "So, do you strictly deal with students who have the same talents as you?"
Distance created should have made things a little easier - in theory. Natalie felt the ease of breathing without having someone so overwhelming so close, but she immediately felt the desire to follow her. Her dogs, on the other hand, were happy for the attention. Tails were wagging happily as they sought out the hands reaching out to them. Natalie's own hands filtered to her pockets, watching the adoring interaction between them.
"It branches out, depending on the situation. Most of my students do have animal related powers, in some form or another." But there were always exceptions. "I do have a couple of telepaths, because you can break down communicating in the same way. And I've recently taken on a student with a power completely different from anything I'm familiar with, but he's rather timid. I think we were matched together for more personality reasons."
Her eyes cast upwards, glancing around the training room to keep herself busy.
For someone so perfectly poised and often composed, the breakdown of her own expressions when faced with a set of animals would have seemed unnatural to most. A broad smile caught her features as her fingers rifled through two different sets of fur. "I missed you both, too." She conceded, because it would be so unfair to dote all the attention to Natalie.
She listened, though, despite how her attention seemed so split. It was interesting for someone with no background in teaching to get even the smallest understanding by way of someone who did it for a living. It all made sense; even the way they seemed to branch out her usual strengths. "Probably because you're incredibly patient, and kind. And nurturing." She said, looking up briefly to realise she couldn't catch her eyes. So she looked back down again.
"You'd make a great mother." Teddy pointed out lightly. They were, after all, relatively sought after traits for the profession.
Dark eyes continued to look about the familiar training room. She was in it so often that there was nothing to take her by surprise and hold her attention, but she did so anyway. And although she didn't watch Teddy's interaction, she caught it - and their excited return of their feelings to her. Natalie had to briefly wonder if they missed her as much as she herself did over the short time they had spent apart.
Compliments came so easily from the lawyer, and she always sounded so sure when she offered those sort of words. Teddy truly was working on building some sort of ego for the trainer to have. A humored breath escaped her as she smiled.
And within moments, her heart rate spiked again. "I'd like to be. Sometime." Natalie admitted, eyes drawing back to Teddy now. "What about you?"
Fractured focus didn't mean Teddy was willing to drop the topic at hand as she'd brought it up. She was just about to continue enough to skate across the surface of the topic, but she didn't get a chance. Natalie picked it up for her, answering the question she was going to say she didn't need to speak on.
Then it was volleyed back on her. She should have expected that, but she still looked a little surprised by the question. "Sure." She admitted easily. "I haven't thought about it in years, but that hasn't changed my mind." It wasn't something that usually spiked in a conversation unless a serious relationship was involved. Still, she didn't have a problem answering it.
"Though I suppose it's all about circumstances aligning." Teddy added then, hands slipping away as she stood upright again.
The corner of Natalie's mouth twitched upward at the first answer she was given, and it hadn't taken a prompt to get further details from the lawyer. She listened, eyes fixated on Teddy as she moved to stand upright. Her own feet wished to take steps back to her counterpart, but with a topic like this, she couldn't let herself be so overwhelmed so easily, as much as she wanted to.
"Circumstances aligning," Natalie repeated with a nod of her head. "Because of your work?" It was a safe guess; the lawyer was fully committed to her job. It was part of who she was as a person.
When Natalie questioned her, Teddy knew she had to consider how to phrase her responses carefully. It all took particular thought, but she still wanted to be open with her about it.
"To some extent, sure." She replied. Now that she was considering it, she supposed that would take a large toll on something so life changing. Her tongue crossed the line of her lower lip as she stood in brief silence. "Logistics are a large part of the consideration. But mainly it'd be about being with the right person. Someone who understands all that."
She kept her eyes focused on the trainer for a few more seconds before she looked away, clever steps starting to drag her around the room as she let her eyes wander equally; "I'd never want to raise a child alone."
As Teddy started to move, Natalie kept her own feet firmly planted where she stood, watching the lawyer with interest. She was so clever and calculated, even in the steps she took around an unfamiliar space.
The dogs then moved to Natalie, and she sent her knees to offer them a little bit of her attention, but her gaze remained fixated.
"You wouldn't have to." She replied with a shrug, drawing a hand along brown fur up to Jodie's ears to scratch them.
She sounded so sure of herself when she spoke that way, and it was enough to force Teddy to give an acute sense of attention. Hands steadied back into her pockets as her steps slowed to an inevitable halt.
"That's certainly the dream." She mused aloud, well aware that dreams carried as much weight as luck in most people's minds.
"You know, I never asked you about your own family, but I've been curious." Teddy actually felt a little at fault for not flipping the topic back on her when she'd first had the chance. But now was as good a time as any, even if distance didn't make for a decent distraction killer. "Tell me about them."
The dream. Natalie nodded at that, though her mind wandered towards potential thoughts of such dreams becoming a reality. It strangely didn't seem so unfeasible, being the optimist she was. And with the company she held, she wondered if should point it out.
But before she could humor the subject further, a question turned towards her about her parents. Instantly, her smile grew at the thought of them. "They're great." It was easy to give her parents such a label. "They own a bakery and have put their heart and soul into it." A little laugh escaped her. "And it's so sweet to see them; it's been thirty-four years for them, and they're still romantics."
As she listened, Teddy made the usual point of wanting to studying her expressions as the two coincided. A special kind of smile filtered onto her face instead, and she wasn't sure if she'd ever seen such branded joy from this woman before. They clearly had a positive, strong relationship.
Thirty-four years was certainly a long time, and it was an achievement to celebrate by far. "You clearly love them." Admiration was the smallest word she could use for a response like that, "Have you talked to them about-" She stopped her words, taking a few steps in her direction and indicating between them with a wave of her hand.
There was definitely a lot of love in her family. As much as Natalie had no desire to move back to New Hampshire, it was hard being so far from them. Though an opposite side of the same country was still better than being in a different one entirely, eo she couldn't complain in the given company. "I do." She replied easily. There wasn't a doubt of that.
Slowly, she came to a stand, eyebrows quirking up at the gesture between them. It still seemed like the best way to describe them; like words wouldn't be able to properly explain whatever it was between them. "Oh yes." And she laughed lightly. "They're already dying to meet you. I'm pretty sure they'd be here tomorrow if they could."
Though the prospect of meeting anyone's parents was overwhelming pressure for most, Teddy remained as cool as one expected she might. Her steps were still slow to inevitably ease herself back into her counterpart’s proximity, but she was on her way.
"Well, that's good." Especially considering it could have gone the complete opposite way. "What did you tell them about me?" She asked, knowing that question was a potential danger but trying it anyway.
