there will be scars, Da

[Erebor]

We are at war. There will be scars.

He has pride in almost endless amounts, but it is not the kind of pride that goes before a fall. It is the kind of pride that enables one to keep one's head up, not the kind of pride that makes one look down one's nose.

When the girl speaks of everyone knowing him, his eyes narrow and he knows that she's not right. There are too few horses here for everyone to know him; perhaps someday he'd come close to the battle-prowess of his father and grandfather before him, and on that day maybe he'd be worthy of the whispers that this girl was trying to attribute. But this isn't that day, and her words aren't the truth. It may be true that he is the newest prince – he hasn't heard of any other male children of rulers born this season – but that doesn't make any of the rest of it true.

But he's willing to humor her nonetheless, because he believes it's polite to humor those who you've just met. And so he watches her with calm eyes and a small smile, neutral, listening, accepting everything she says without agreeing or disagreeing. His is a practiced pleasantness, but at the end of the day it is just as young as Da's manipulation, and just as likely to fall a little bit short.

He feels her fire, but to him it feels like intensity. It feels like every word she speaks is a laser, trying desperately to bore into his skin, to reach inside and tap chinks into his careful armor. He does not know of her gift; he does not know that perhaps she could do so much more to him if she wished to. He simply knows that, for now, his own defenses are more than enough.

And so he turns his charming smile on her once more. "Da." he tests out the name on his lips. "Elegant and simple." he observes, his voice unflappable. "Tell me Da, what do they say about you?" He asks, knowing that he hasn’t answered her question (comment?) about his greatness, and knowing that he doesn't care. He's endeavoring to be charming, and he doesn't feel like digging into whatever strange obsession she may have with him. It's time to turn the spotlight back on her, and maybe understand a little more about what makes her tick in the process.

Erebor

Native Prince of the Chamber

warship x straia