“Aw, you don’t have to do that,” Janaff says, but he folds his wings back to let Titania wrap the coat around his shoulders. “Now you’ll get cold.” Though, he didn’t expect to be out in the cold much longer. He pulls the fabric tighter around him with one hand, letting a shiver run through his body, all the way to his wingtips.
“I think it’s starting to settle down,” he adds, gingerly pulling the now blood-soaked cloth away from his forehead. “That’s slowing down, at least. I should be alright to move soon.” He experimentally tilts his head, then nods. “Yeah, it’s definitely getting better.” He makes no move to stand, instead shifting his once-mistaken eyes over to the building. He shoots a final glare at the window before Titania’s voice again calls him back to the conversation.
“Ah, yeah. Everything that’s happened here has been fine. It’s just as soon as we left that things started going wrong.” He realizes halfway through the sentence that it’s probably not as reassuring as he hoped it would be, so he hastily adds “-but everything’s fine now! Don’t worry about it. We fixed everything.” His smile isn’t quite convincing, and for a second Titania can see that haunting tiredness that sometimes followed the hawk flickering in his eyes, both too young to feel so weighed down and so much older than his peers. The eye contact is a little too long, a bit awkward, so he breaks it, glancing down at the snow again.
I think we fixed everything? Everyone’s back, we all survived, somehow…
“I don’t think I’ve gotten any questions about the shapeshifting yet, though I’ve definitely gotten some weird looks. I heard the others had it worse,” he admits. “Nothing hurtful or anything, just people who’ve never seen a laguz before.” He laughs. It’s a bit empty.
“So what prompted you to start teaching? You’re good at it, sure, but I can’t really see you stepping away from the mercenary life for good.” In fact, the image of Titania in a classroom full of students, with no spear in sight, holding a book - it prompts another laugh, this time lighter. “Or maybe I’m wrong, and this has been your dream all along…?” He leans forward a bit, a teasing tone in his voice. It’s almost remarkable how he’s shed the earlier mood.
"Oh, I’m fine. No worries.” The life of a knight and a mercenary alike is one that demands a degree of sturdiness, after all, from a man and a woman alike. Besides, it looks like they may now be ready to get moving; and so, once Janaff is done swearing his revenge on the window, Titania places her arm around him to help him up, then heads towards the nearest door.
“Hm. Well, if you say so,” she responds to his story, a hint of hesitation in her voice - her eyes easily fishing out a hint of weariness in the Hawk’s (almost) all-seeing pupils.
Sounds like she might have more work here than she had originally thought. “Hopefully, should any... issues arise in the future, I’ll be able to offer a hand.” Janaff knows better than her whether that was the right word. She, as she supposes, will know for herself soon enough.
The laguz’s question and the comments accompanying it elicit a chuckle from her. “Hah! Ain’t like I’ve never taught anyone before. I should remind you I’ve raised half of the Greil Mercenaries.” They make it to the door, which Titania pushes open effortlessly with the combined force of her free arm and her foot, and they enter. “In my opinion, though, you never stop learning new things. So I’ll be both teaching and studying as far as I’m concerned. You’re welcome to stop by my first training session tomorrow, if you’re curious. As for why, well—” she stops by a free chair a bit further down the hallway and gestures for Janaff to sit down before continuing, “I’m a perfectionist, so I’m never truly satisfied with where I am, and I didn’t know how many new things I could learn at home.”
“... Besides, I was curious as to what Her Majesty, Prince Reyson and Soren have been up to.” A second chuckle escapes Titania as she shoots Janaff a wink. “I hope they haven’t been too much of a handful for you.”