As he would never display his chagrin, so too did Aarik resist gloating when he saw that his point was made. He decided he could meet Samuel's demand and continue with the interview but, internally, he was very pleased that he'd made it clear that this 'experienced' applicant still had things to learn from life. The best learning would happen in Eruditio, naturally, but he would make that point eventually.
Since he'd begun the interview with a free-form question based on the most significant note made about Samuel's test answers - a challenging way to begin, but he was happy with the risk he'd taken - Aarik now returned to the scripted questions that every academy applicant was asked. The set enquiries were written out before each interview and handed to the interviewer in advance, usually the day before so that they could become familiar with them. Each house had a selection of questions (most often in the form of hypothetical situations) in the test, designed to elicit responses that would tell them if the interviewee was suited to their house or not. The questions changed occasionally as masters thought of new and exciting ways to drill into the psyches of applicants - or when a question hadn't worked as well as expected - but change wasn't common.
When Aarik had received the scripted questions the night before (it had takens many hours of negotiation to gain him this role, apparently, for he believed he'd received them much later than usual) he'd committed them to memory. Eruditio students learned such skills very early on, and they became the experts at building a memory castle as they progressed through their years of study. Memorising the eighteen questions hadn't been difficult for Aarik but recording the correct and detailed answers afterwards likely would present a challenge; one he relished.
Even with every word Samuel said being busily noted, examined and associated in his head as he progressed through the questions, Aarik was able to draw some very unsettling conclusions. The way the younger man spoke made him realise that House Cruori would be intensely interested in this man; when he described how he'd deal with Cruori's hypothetical situations, they implied blanket gore and a thirst for blood that such a sadistic house would exalt in. Samuel answered well for Eruditio's questions too, though, for he was highly intelligent, logical and saw connections that most didn't. There was competition afoot, though, and it was his responsibility to see that his house was given the advantage. Somehow.
Once the scripted questions were completed, Aarik presented his next question seamlessly, though he supposed Samuel would notice the transition back to the theme with which he'd begun the interview. "So why is a man that doesn't plan for the future here?" he asked mildly, his eyebrows lifted. He was sitting back in his chair now, legs stretched before him and hooked at the ankles, his hands resting upon his thighs. The picture of indifference (except, perhaps, for the fact that his left hand was rather close to the weapons he advertised as wearing).