( She tries real hard, but any secret to what she could do was traded away by Marco without so much as a how-to-do, and she hasn't tried to keep it hidden so much as limited in what people knew about it. Collette doesn't want people to pull away.

It's her biggest concern, feeling isolated among people who used to be friends. )

That is a little silly, though! When you think about it. You're you, no matter if you're this you, or the person you say you are when you're fighting. That part of you isn't all made up. It still has to come from you! But...

( She bites down on her lower lip for a moment. )

But it's easier, sometimes, to think that all of you isn't as easy to swallow as the better parts of you are, presented in a way people might like. I used to think like that a lot, you know? People here have been beating me out of it.

( She shares with a grin and a wink. )