Hear those bells ring deep in the soul
Chiming away for a moment
Chiming away for a moment
Ronin's right- he should be talking to Anju, instead of just speculating about the worst case. It's always been one of Koa's defining traits, his ability to brush gaily over anything too serious or alarming, to put on a smile and hope that things will figure themselves out. He's made a great talent out of letting other people direct him, of avoiding the direct responsibility of Figuring Out Hard Shit. And it might have worked when he was a boy, or a carefree soldier, but now?
Koa sighs almost defiantly, biting the inside of his cheek.
"Do you think that's what she wants?" Is it what he wants? Obviously not, or he would have stopped pestering Flora ages ago. If Koa had cared less - or perhaps more accurately, if he'd cared more - he would have taken the hint the first five times and made a point of steering clear, staying far from the Double Take and her kingdom's shores.
But Koa does care, he cares an awful lot, which is something he's only now really realizing, a revelation made tangible by Ronin's gentle scolding, as sudden and strong as the smell of muddled mint. Koa is an idiot, that much is well-established, but rarely is he self aware enough to see that idiocy crystalize so clear.
"Thanks, Ronin. For this." The face he turns back to the Knight is quietly resolute, though not without the flush of humility, the spiderwebs of pain. "I've never been good at... well, this." He gestures to the air between them. "Talking. Especially where, like, real shit is concerned." The Carpenters are a stoic people - at least, on his mother's side. "But you're totally right. I can't just wait and hope things will figure themselves out, or pretend it'll be okay. It isn't fair. Flora deserves to know what I feel about her, and if it means she never wants to see me again... well." He shrugs, a tragic hero set now on a doomed quest, ready to accept his martyrdom. "It'll suck, but I'll understand."
Koa sighs almost defiantly, biting the inside of his cheek.
"Do you think that's what she wants?" Is it what he wants? Obviously not, or he would have stopped pestering Flora ages ago. If Koa had cared less - or perhaps more accurately, if he'd cared more - he would have taken the hint the first five times and made a point of steering clear, staying far from the Double Take and her kingdom's shores.
But Koa does care, he cares an awful lot, which is something he's only now really realizing, a revelation made tangible by Ronin's gentle scolding, as sudden and strong as the smell of muddled mint. Koa is an idiot, that much is well-established, but rarely is he self aware enough to see that idiocy crystalize so clear.
"Thanks, Ronin. For this." The face he turns back to the Knight is quietly resolute, though not without the flush of humility, the spiderwebs of pain. "I've never been good at... well, this." He gestures to the air between them. "Talking. Especially where, like, real shit is concerned." The Carpenters are a stoic people - at least, on his mother's side. "But you're totally right. I can't just wait and hope things will figure themselves out, or pretend it'll be okay. It isn't fair. Flora deserves to know what I feel about her, and if it means she never wants to see me again... well." He shrugs, a tragic hero set now on a doomed quest, ready to accept his martyrdom. "It'll suck, but I'll understand."
Koa Carpenter
Feel your breath course frankly below
And see life as a worthy opponent
And see life as a worthy opponent
