“…you don’t understand…” Cedric took a deep breath and debated just letting Dyllan continue with his misunderstanding. He knew it wouldn’t work for long, but it would be nice while it lasted. “…I don’t just know things I’m supposed to know, like science and math. I know things like how someone walks when they’ve had a bad day, how the light in their eyes dulls when they’re only pretending to like someone, and the way they fidget with their hands when they lie.” He gestured weakly, trying to find the right words and hold back tears at the same time. “I know people’s secrets, I notice things. It’s cree-”
“Oh!” Dyllan’s attention slowly drifted away as Cedric droned on, but as soon as he’d said the word “notice,” Dyllan’s eyes lit up. “You mean recon!”
“…recon?”
“Yeah, recon!” Dyllan straightened out his posture again, trying his best to look disciplined. “It’s short for recona… recona… reconasomething. It’s the super important job of finding the bad guys, and figuring out their plan so that the squadron can approach the situation tactically.” He puffed out his chest and smirked an insufferable smirk. “Tactically means -”
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“With intelligence and caution, usually to minimize casualties - and I think what I do is more espionage than reconnaissance.” Cedric froze. “S-sorry, I’m using big words again. I didn’t mean to show off, I promise!”
“Casualties? Espionage? Reconnaissance?” Dyllan threw his arms up in excitement, causing Cedric to flinch. “You know lingo! Is your dad in the military too?”
“No, I, uh… just read an entire thesaurus once.” Cedric tried to make himself as small as possible. He wasn’t really sure how to handle positive social interaction. “…because I was really bored. And there was nothing else to do. Sorry.”
“Oh. Cool.” The brunt of the excitement faded away from Dyllan’s face and body, leaving only the ashes of disappointment. The ashes did not last long, though, as a flickering grin sprouted on his face. “Do you know what ‘casualty’ and ‘espionage’ mean? Dad didn’t want to explain ‘cause he’s too busy.”