"Does my prideful demeanor make your skin recoil?"
Eik thinks it over before answering, as is his way. "Of course not." He is, after all, used to living among proud people. Some of them he's even grown quite fond of-- others, he keeps his distance. Where he grew up, pride was no sin-- not that it stopped him from striving toward humility. Eik was always an odd child, preferring to be alone with his thoughts and constantly reaching for some vague, shimmery morals that nobody else cared about. In his childhood, and of course even now, there were far worse things than pride.
Solterra is too full of traitors and shady characters for him to fully believe anyone's backstory, but he grudgingly accepts hers for now. He doesn't have much other choice- it is not in his nature to deny others the opportunity he himself was given- the chance for shelter, and community, and a new beginning.
(He was new here once, and did not receive such patient welcome. The edge of his lip curls up in wry amusement at the memory- but that is a tale for another day.)
Her satisfaction at his irritation is not lost on him. In response, Eik draws in his thoughts and feelings and letting the curtain fall before them. He is calm passivity now, and though he may still feel annoyed he sure as hell isn't going to reveal that to her.
"At least you get authentic with a bitch like me," she finishes her rant. He snorts. "You have so much energy," he admits. "It isn't a bad thing, applied the right way." He shrugs, and that is all he has to say. Eik is long-winded only among friends or when intoxicated. The rest of his thoughts are communicated through a glance and an expression and perhaps even a bit of telepathy he does not realize he has yet- "You act like a child, and you could be so much more."
Her attention flares in a way he finds amusing at the mention of a fight. She just crossed a desert and she's ready to trade blows in the arena? How intriguing.
"Keep speaking my language and I might just be making nightly visits to you--" He doesn't hear her next few words as his brain is caught up processing what it is she's saying. "Huh?" He realizes then that she is joking (please gods let her be joking) and he shakes his head sheepishly. "Well come along then," he gestures deeper into the court before turning to lead the way with a swaying, dignified walk. "We'll fight later. I want you rested for it." He glances at her with an uncharacteristically playful grin. "You'll need it."
- - -
There is no better way to know us
E I K
than as two wolves, come separately to a wood
@Efphion bleh not my greatest but I wanted to finally get a reply posted for you! I am looking forward to their next encounter! <3
