[ Alike enough, as in all things. Nowhere was safe, just as no one was safe, and he regretted that he was wise enough to know the truth. Life had been much sweeter when he didn’t know how much blood the gods demanded. Life was easier when he hadn’t had to bear in mind the cruelty, and the fact that he could do very little about it. Just one more thing he could never return to. He had the impression that she understood that as well as he did. ] I imagine it’s only a world where all men are blind that they dare to go unarmed.
[ It was the moment of eyes meeting that was so precarious – trust or distrust followed. Usually the latter. Most men had too much to lose when it came to trust, and so they had no choice but to carry weapons. Swords were forged for justice and vengeance; true peace would not require bladed weapons. But that was a world they would never know, and he was among those who would never give up his sword. He resists the urge to grip his hilt again.
He steers his thoughts toward home, instead – her home, where her children are cared for. A child’s safety cannot be guaranteed in any world, but that doesn’t keep him from envisioning such a reality. Maybe her world knew something closer than his did. His lips twitch as ‘wolves’ once again prowl into conversation. ] Wolves defend children. It’s lesser beasts that would threaten them. [ Cowardly dogs passing as wolves. Scavengers and lawless predators.
He raises both brows at her assessment, although she is not wrong. He is noble, but the drudgery of court had never appealed to him. Nor did the weight of the responsibility that came with it, but there’d been no choice. It might have been different if he’d had his father to guide him. He tips his head, inviting her to walk with him should she be inclined, both hands behind his back. ]
In name more than action, I think. A home built by servants is the servants’ home, not mine. I’d rather build my own nobility. [ He flicks his gaze over her again. ] You have no servants to tend you?
no subject
[ It was the moment of eyes meeting that was so precarious – trust or distrust followed. Usually the latter. Most men had too much to lose when it came to trust, and so they had no choice but to carry weapons. Swords were forged for justice and vengeance; true peace would not require bladed weapons. But that was a world they would never know, and he was among those who would never give up his sword. He resists the urge to grip his hilt again.
He steers his thoughts toward home, instead – her home, where her children are cared for. A child’s safety cannot be guaranteed in any world, but that doesn’t keep him from envisioning such a reality. Maybe her world knew something closer than his did. His lips twitch as ‘wolves’ once again prowl into conversation. ] Wolves defend children. It’s lesser beasts that would threaten them. [ Cowardly dogs passing as wolves. Scavengers and lawless predators.
He raises both brows at her assessment, although she is not wrong. He is noble, but the drudgery of court had never appealed to him. Nor did the weight of the responsibility that came with it, but there’d been no choice. It might have been different if he’d had his father to guide him. He tips his head, inviting her to walk with him should she be inclined, both hands behind his back. ]
In name more than action, I think. A home built by servants is the servants’ home, not mine. I’d rather build my own nobility. [ He flicks his gaze over her again. ] You have no servants to tend you?