[ she's been subjected to this sort of thing before, actually. so while she's nervous, she doesn't fidget. she just watches him uncertainly. when he finally does speak up, and make that point about all of them being puppets, she can't help but wince a bit. but she bites her lip and forces herself past that, nodding at what he says. ]

... I've made a lot of friends. I know that I matter... or why would people have been so happy to see me come back after I died? [ very sad smile ] ... but when you spend a long time thinking one way, it's hard to change it to a completely different way, even when you know you should.