[ There is no point in arguing with her, although he looks for a moment like he might try. There's even a brief second where he looks up at her with those eyes, but her own look right back at him mollifies him and he sighs again, this time defeated. They're all right, and he hates it, feels like a helpless kitten mewling for its mother. It should be him protecting them, not the other way around. ]
You won't leave me to fend for myself?
[ He's hopeful; he wouldn't blame her if she did, surely she must have more important matters to attend, both here and at home. She was always better at the diplomatic side of things; he never had formal lessons on how to run a state, those had gone to Joshua, but he'd at least tried to absorb them through osmosis, and while he did learn how to lead a battalion from the Lord Commander, the boardroom and the battlefield were two entirely different worlds. He does well enough leading outlaws, but there are town leaders and bureaucracy even in the littlest of settlements, and if he didn't put them off automatically by appearance, he certainly did when he opened his mouth and spoke like a soldier and not a diplomat. He doesn't know how long he'd been passed out on that beach but certainly long enough for her to have other places to be. Right? So if she needs to go, she needs to go and he won't stop her.
no subject
You won't leave me to fend for myself?
[ He's hopeful; he wouldn't blame her if she did, surely she must have more important matters to attend, both here and at home. She was always better at the diplomatic side of things; he never had formal lessons on how to run a state, those had gone to Joshua, but he'd at least tried to absorb them through osmosis, and while he did learn how to lead a battalion from the Lord Commander, the boardroom and the battlefield were two entirely different worlds. He does well enough leading outlaws, but there are town leaders and bureaucracy even in the littlest of settlements, and if he didn't put them off automatically by appearance, he certainly did when he opened his mouth and spoke like a soldier and not a diplomat. He doesn't know how long he'd been passed out on that beach but certainly long enough for her to have other places to be. Right? So if she needs to go, she needs to go and he won't stop her.
But he will be sad about it. ]