To be reunited with her brother makes her feel ecstatic, even more so that this could be considered a chance for him to bond with someone whom she had wanted him to eventually meet. Estinien is rough around the edges, has an attitude that can’t be handled by all, but he and Leo should be able to find common ground with her here to help them along. They’d make the perfect team, no one should stand a chance.
At Estinien’s words does she laugh. “Don’t get ahead of yourself just yet, dear. You must try harder if you wish to win my favor.” She teased but doesn’t keep the topic on that for long. There’s work to be done and it must be done quickly. “We shall call ourselves…Rose’s Thorns. It’s quite fitting, no? Leo and I being the rose, of course, you act as the thorns.” Not too soon after does a pistol materialize in the princess’s hands, no doubt a gift from their strange benefactor. “Right! Beacon setting…how fun.” Choose a point, fire at will, it seemed easy enough.
“Would either of you like to make the first shot? Any place will do, for now, then we may move along.” As she says that, she holds out the gun for either of them to take.
IT IS A RELIEF BEYOND RELIEF merely to see her, much less have her take charge – not that he is, again, incapable of such, but simply that the act is soothing, in a sense. Leo is well and capable of leading (or so he hopes, prays he’ll never find out), but in this he feels somewhat more comfortable, like the little brother he supposes he ought to consider himself.
This stranger is admittedly raising his hackles a bit, but he’s rational enough to realize that’s just the ingrained distrust he’s always possessed for others outside his trusted retainers and family. If Camilla considers him friend, then he will at least attempt to tolerate the man’s presence. Even if he is glaring at him a bit in the meantime.
<<I suppose that’s a sufficient response for now.>> The subtle emphasis on ‘now,’ he hopes, is evident. He sighs ever so slightly at his sister’s naming choice, unsurprised. <<You would choose – never mind.>>
<<I suppose I’ll take it. Surely this can’t be over-complicated.>> He gingerly reaches for the gun in what was initially an act to display confidence, but… This item is like nothing he’s ever seen before. <<So we simply… point and… yes, of course.>>
He’s not even holding it properly.
As predicted, the lady Camilla politely shot down his attempt to tease, to which Estinien responded with a rather amused shrug, as if to say it was worth the shot. He might have earned the ire of her brother, but really, when doesn’t he earn anyone’s ire at some point? But right now, the young prince seemed to tolerate his presence even amid glaring, with Camilla vouching for the dragoon. For now, they had an objective to accomplish.
“And the thorn I shall be, my good rose.” He looked at Camilla as he spoke, then to Leo. The dragoon hung back for the moment to let the siblings decide on their next move. As it turns out, it was to fiddle around with what looked like a firearm, with neither of them looking at it with any sort of familiarity. While it would be amusing on his end, Estinien was familiar enough with firearms, thanks to Ishgard’s revolutionary machinists.
To that end, he approached the prince, reaching for the firearm-like device and correcting Leo’s hold on it all without a trace of remorse as he breached the other’s personal bubble. “Lest the prince would want a beacon hit them where they would rather not be, you hold the firearm like so,” he demonstrated, placing the device correctly against the other’s hand. ‘Twas for his own good, reasoned the dragoon.
“There. Now your majesty can indeed, point and shoot, aye? Pray, carry on.”