"You can't be serious." exploded Alli. "If it means getting to Edge-where more quickly, then by all means, we can take the van, but if you think that I'm going to be your backup singer in some lame rap recording, you've got another think coming."
Sai waited calmly for Alli's annoyance to fade; even their short acquaintanceship had taught her that Alli didn't stay angry for long. Mardil simply cocked an eyebrow at her with an expression that seemed to convey amusement at her rash reactions and the slightest annoyance that she didn't yet have full confidence in him. Alli suddenly felt slightly ashamed at her outburst. In the few minutes she'd spent with Mardil, he'd made her feel like an immature and hasty child several times. She had no reason to believe that any sane person, and Mardil seemed sane, would prefer free-style rapping in Mordor to doing anything in the world outside of the place. Surely he knew what he was doing. She just wished he'd clue her in.
Now she wished that she could apologize, but at the same time, she really didn't want to. If she apologized, it meant an embarassing moment of admitting that she was wrong. She'd prefer that a moment like that not come so early in a relationship... talk about starting off on the wrong foot... what sort of impression would it leave of her that first she spoke and then she admitted that what she said wasn't right? No... it would be better to pretend she hadn't acted so foolishly. If she didn't mention it, hopefully they wouldn't... though this was Mordor and Alli had learned early that any possible annoyance that she could even think of, much less experience, was likely to kick her square in the nose before she could see it coming.
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