#retainohr

[aicidos]

niles vc : 😈 , my / king / @ khalid

   “  a bit too early to crown me, but i’m certainly not opposed to hearing you test the title. with the way you’re looking at me, i wonder, should i brace myself niles ?  ”

[aicidos]

@ khalid , hey babe

my beloved came back home?

[aevyternal]

                        ❝    You seem to be looking for someone,    ❞        comes the murmur ,   the  w h i s p e r  of a smile on her lips as she slips into the empty seat beside him .   The soft cant of her head brings a few strands of silver to flutter over her shoulder ,   pale eyes peering at him curiously before looking AWAY  &  motioning to the barkeep before silver flicks back to him with a faint smile .

                        ❝    I do hope you don't mind some company while you do ,   I promise I won't be much of a distraction .    ❞

               @retainohr​

[nibelhart]

                    ❛          can i ask you something,   niles?          ❜       it’s quiet in the inn,   now.   the rest of their company had long since retired,   turning in with the last,   fleeting glimpse of sunlight in the sky.   all but tifa,   and,   it seemed,   the man she now called companion —   and the silence in-between them is palpable.   at least,   it is to her,   all those burning questions about history he shrouded now on the tip of her tongue.   she will loose at least one,   tonight.                    ❛              joining avalanche,   leaving midgar ... ...   what made you decide to do all of that?          ❜                         |        @retainohr​  ,     plotted starter .

[aicidos]

❝ and you trust me just like that? ❞ @ claude :)

bebop sentences.   ♡  * accepting !  @retainohr​.

   “  i'm glad you could make it, my friend. walk with me ?  ”

   the squeeze he afforded niles’ hand was proportional to his gratitude, gladdened to see him fare well despite the countless moons in between— or, he gathered, as well enough as one could fare during the war’s stalemate. a topic that, were it up to him, he would opt to set aside in favor of focusing in the lesser solemn, more trivial things. he does, in a way, but only for as long as it takes them to reach house riegan’s courtyard. 

   “  for quite some time,  ”  khalid began, slowing down into a halt,  “  i've been unofficially handling the alliance's matters where the former duke couldn't.  ”  he glanced down at the blanket of daffodils, blooming in reminder.  “  now, with my grandfather's passing, those responsibilities will only grow. they will be, at times, larger than me. it's why i'd like a new set of fresh eyes and mind that i can count on. that’s where you come in.  ”  turning around, he searched for niles’ gaze and held it with practiced stability,  “  i can vouch for your brilliance, not to mention your bow work, should the situation require it. to put it plainly: i trust you would do a fine job as my retainer, if you're up for the task.  ”

   and you trust me just like that ?  being met with a retort was not unfamiliar, nor outside the possibilities khalid had already considered⸺  but the undertone of slight apprehension did strike as unexpected.  “  ha, you speak as though i chose you at random !  have you that little faith in my keen eye, niles ?  ”  and then, with a voice clear as the sunset,  “  believe me, i wouldn't make the offer if i thought you untrustworthy. not when there is so much at stake. ”  

   there was lenience in his petition, words poking a hole that could very well be both an entry and exit.

   “  you don't have to answer me immediately. after all, were you to accept, you’d be thrust into this already frail political scene and be subject to its expectations, maybe even the scorn of some. the gloucesters, namely, but that’d make two of us.  ”  his smile offered further levity,  “  despite that, i do hope you at least consider it. if nothing else, i’ve always been rather fond of your company. ”

[nohroyal]

                               ❛          i would ask that you speak plain,   niles.          ❜       the crown weighs heavy on the head,   banging against eyelids that already find themselves heavy with exhaustion —   but there is no rest,   not yet,   not for him.   a pause,   a familiarity to the little smile that traces his lips.   (   king xander still sounds foreign to his ears,   even in spite of all the time that’s passed.   to hear it pass from his own retainer’s lips is only stranger.  )                   ❛      you have been at my side from the start,   after all.   i’d not have you treat me any differently now than you did then.          ❜                      |        @retainohr​​ ,      starter call .