How could he forget about something like that? He could brush it off as generosity, but Toki was not stupid enough to think Xaphan would buy into such a pitiful excuse now. He struggled not to betray his unease, not even looking away from Xaphan's face as he tore into the cake. If Aslaug had taught him not to make eye contact, Magnus had taught him that eye contact would save his life whenever he was being spoken to.
Let Xaphan think Toki was a bit of prey to bite into.
Toki was no mere rabbit.
Corner him and he would turn into a beast, all talons and teeth and rage with no ounce of the mercy he liked to think he usually held. Was he scared? Yes; he was rabbit-hearted and would remain so until he was dead and buried. But he would not flinch. He would not back down.
He was on a goddamned mission.
"Sometimes mothers and fathers ams generous." He arched his brow, knowing for a fact he had said nothing about his parents prior. "Dey offers enoughs moneys to pays dem a visits in Trondheim. Maybe I decides to takes a detour; why shoulds I cares what dey feels aboutsk how I spends their moneys?" Better that Xaphan think he was an ungrateful brat of a kid than to think Toki was up to something. Even better that he did not know Toki was headed to Lillehammer and not Trondheim.
For a moment, the apprehension on his face only grew. If he had eyes, they’d be narrowing by now.
Did he jump to conclusions too soon? No. There was something here, that he knew. Even if it was as simple as a small lead in this man before him. Xaphan knew he had to continue his pursuit.
Visibly, he relaxed. Leaning back into his seat, smiling much more innocently this time. Xaphan knew that to catch a mouse, the cat had to lie in wait. The darkness he waited in would be his own patience and faked empathy. He knew he couldn’t afford to show how much he actually lacked in these areas.
Grabbing his fork back from where it stood straight out of the cake, he took a bite of the remnants stuck to it. He was delighted by it, his expression becoming more genuine, if only for a moment. He sighed with content, before turning his attention back to Toki.
“You have excellent taste in cakes.” The praise was bestowed with little attention paid to the previous accusations. “Excuse my manors. I’m a bit on edge from this little mission the army seems to have me on.” Perhaps the best way to catch this mouse, was to appeal empathy within him.
“You see, I’m looking for someone, and if I don’t find him...well things aren’t looking too good for my husband back home. They have me in a terrible position.” The irony being his own husband was most likely safe, so long as he did nothing irrational. But, Toki didn’t know that.
“I don’t even want to be here, but I’m doing it for him, you know? I just want him to be safe.” He managed a sniffle or too, before covering his face as if tears were to come. “Oh gosh, this is dreadfully unprofessional of me. Forgive me!” He continued making soft sniffling noises, hoping they would have the desired effect on Toki.
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