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“I definitely got a recording of it,” Ortho chirped happily as he set up a small projection in front of Silver and Sebek.
“Leave it to you to be so handy. Let’s observe his singing skills to assure that he’ll make this performance go well,” Sebek responded as he crossed his arms. He still appeared surprised but also quieted down so he could listen.
Silver remained quiet in contrast to Sebek, remaining straight-faced despite his brimming curiosity. It stood out that Idia was so reluctant to take part in this, likely due to his dislike of the spotlight--if the Starsending Ceremony was any indicator of this. For something more on indulging in personal interests though, how different would it be?
Much, much different.
Idia’s pitch when he sang was much higher than expected and there were no stammers to be heard in contrast to how he spoke during conversations. Silver found himself entranced with the delighted expression on Idia’s face as he sang along with a song that was playing from his computer, blinking as the recording showed Idia even getting out of his chair to move along as if he couldn’t express his joy with simply vocalizing the song. It was definitely a private moment that Ortho really shouldn’t have recorded in video format--just audio would have sufficed, but at the moment, Silver was quite thankful that he was allowed a glimpse of a smile that he wouldn’t have ever expected to show on Idia’s face.
Silver had known the Ignihyde house warden to be more on the morose side, though in recent times he’d gotten used to his presence and relatively knew what to expect out of him. It didn’t mean that he agreed with how Idia talked about himself, though. To him, that video was all the proof he needed that he was simply… amazing, in his own unique way.
(Of course, he wasn’t ready to face those feelings--he knew that Idia wasn’t in a state to reciprocate now, but…maybe, one day, hopefully-)
They hadn’t always seen eye to eye, and that was fine given their different upbringings, but Silver wanted to think that they had grown just a little closer by virtue of talking with each other from time to time. He knew a fair amount of Idia’s reputation from Lilia and Malleus and other students, but he himself didn’t have an issue with Idia aside from his self-deprecating commentary. It wasn’t fair. He was clearly talented, so why did put himself down like this constantly?
He made up his mind right then and there--he’d have to pay a visit to Idia to tell him just that. Maybe to the other, it would look like an explosion born of impatience. Silver would definitely have to figure out how to correct that if he didn’t actually react to his frustration first. How could he get through to Idia to let him know that he had expectations-- no no, that’s the wrong phrasing. How could Silver let Idia know that, just like the Starsending Ceremony, a group effort was needed and he was a core component of this? If Idia could take this performance that Lilia suggested and make it into something he could be proud of, would he be able to rejoice at the end of it? Perhaps not, but Silver wanted to see Idia try rather than waste the hard work he’d been putting in.
Silver, of course, had no idea of Idia’s life circumstances that contributed to his personality at this point in time (perhaps in the future, he hoped they could be closer for Idia to confide even a little in him), but he’d be damned if he didn’t try to uplift Idia in this crucial time, in a way that only he could. He knew that should Sebek try to intervene instead, there’d likely be a fight and more setbacks. It would definitely be best if he, who Idia was already more receptive to, got to him first and have him return to cooperating so that the performance could go off without a hitch.
The Diasomnia student hoped he could control his frustration first, but even he wasn’t sure how much he could hold in if he heard Idia putting himself down again.
“Patience is a virtue,” he repeated in his head.
“Don’t do anything rash.”
“Make sure to calm down if any outbursts happen and just get to the point as always.”
“Try to get through. Let him know that we all care. Don’t get upset if he shuts you out.”
“... Please don’t push me away. Please let us grow closer.”
(He hoped that Idia’s behavior around him meant something more than just social anxiety.)
With a deep sigh, Silver left to go find Idia for a much-needed talk.