He looks over the sea to the islands, dotting the horizon biting back the urge to sigh; storm clouds are lingering just beyond them swirling more violently than ever, and he even hears the winds starting to howl. They wouldn’t reach the shore, but it’s an unpleasant reminder whenever he sees them. Some of that sentiment fades when he hears footsteps coming from behind him, a set of heavy ones accompanied by a shallow set. From his perch, he only turns his head to greet them but presents himself befittingly. His back straight while his hands fold themselves into his lap. He looks over their faces, drawing his conclusion. “As many times as I insist you stay away from the barracks, you tend to wander there quite a bit.” She’s a warrior herself, so he expects nothing less, but there was nothing to find there. None of them could dream of competing with her without a century of experience under their belts. They didn’t need to worry about active duty outside of patrolling Inodal when their time came. He lets them sit on the lapels of sacrifices others made because that’s how the world works.
Between the two guards, she looks so much small by comparison, but beneath their armor, he senses their hostility bleeding towards her. He’ll smooth over their egos when he finds the time, but there were more important things on his mind, and they could wait several days or so. Dismissing them with a wave of his hand, he watches them march down the hall until they turned out of sight. “I know it’s hard to resist a fight with them considering how much they love to boast, but they’re all green,” he admits, “But being part of the ‘Empire’ means they’re the best.” Thane knows them all too well; it’s a sense of pride just from belonging to something great. Her threat to them is outside of death. A shattered blade is easy to repair, but a shattered ego is nearly impossible. The greatest smith in the world couldn’t mend something so fragile.
“You’re either stubborn, or you’re planning to earn my ire until I draw my blade against you.” He drew his knee into his chest, wrapping his arms around it. His words were fangless; there wasn’t any inflection in his tone or aggression behind his voice but instead a sense of detachment. “Which is fine with me, but then I wouldn’t be able to expunge all that debt you piled up before we met.”
