19 for Gisele and Ysayle
19. Describe how they communicate
As forthright as they are with each other, there’s a lot of silent, unspoken understanding between them. Some of that’s due to their Echo bond, which is something I’ve admittedly pulled out of my ass, but they each have such a deep understanding of how the other thinks and feels that they rarely need words. Sometimes they’ll even finish each other’s thoughts or sentences.
Which is really kind of wild to think about, because one of the challenges Ysayle had to overcome in the beginning was her tendency to to keep her cards close to her chest. Ysayle had built up a wall around herself to rival Snowcloak in a lot of ways, almost inevitably as a function of the role she took up and the persona she’d carefully crafted for herself. “Lady Iceheart” was mysterious and beyond mortal trivialities. And for all of her charismatic leadership qualities, Ysayle had grown accustomed to dealing with subordinates who didn’t view her as an equal or even a person so much as Godtouched Fearless Leader. Her tools for communication in those days were stirring oratory or threats, all designed to manipulate people for whom she had a certain latent kind of contempt, to her own ends.
So, stripped of all that, and faced with a woman in Gisele who was the entire opposite—someone who wore her heart on her sleeve, always, who was honest and forthcoming as could be (maybe telling selective truths at her worst), and a projective empath at that, who’s got an almost Kusheline ability to read hearts…you can see where there could be the potential for misunderstandings. And there were, from time to time. But Ysayle found Gisele’s “what you see is what you get” kind of style a breath of fresh air. As prissy and occasionally pretentious as she can come across to people who don’t know her very well, Gisele is a very genuine person and holds nothing back with the people she loves. You never have to question where you stand with her. And she’s the first to say that she cannot love the way she does and be any other way. Ysayle appreciates that, deeply. It’s one of the reasons she feels so safe with Gisele, and just why she was able to tear down those walls so quickly.
They’re both very headstrong though so when they disagree, it’s very Intense—never to the point of disrespect or going for the jugular so to speak, but they’re very stubborn. Gisele is more prone to backing down just because she hates arguing, but it rarely gets to that point; generally someone has mediated by then to help them see reason or a compromise (usually Haurchefant, or Y’shtola).
