dead end

Chewing on his lower lip, Ronin concedes the point with a gentle tip of his glass. In one fluid movement, he knocks the rest of it back and sets it down on the desk, lifting his gaze to Aurelia's. "Alright, perhaps I was a little naive there," he murmurs softly. And again he is in contast to the (for now) Arbiter, his eyebrows raising as she slams her glass down in echo of his own movement, and as she speaks of Safrin and dark spirits, he almost wants to say that it could very well have been the lady of stars in disguise. The night is dark, even by starlight. "Strike first...?" he echoes, but before he can get his head around it, there's the mention of Hotaru's pregnancy, of a demigod's child, and his facade shatters. So does the tumbler he's been holding onto. "I am quite aware," he says, almost whispering the words, even as he sweeps up the glass shards with bleeding fingers. "Sorry about this." Closing his eyes and letting out a long breath, a muscle feathering in his jaw, Ronin speaks after what seems like an eternity. "I would never leave an ally feeling helpless," he says. "If you give me a little time, I will find a way for you to call me, if you need me. Would that be alright, for now?" taliesin a long and lonesome road