Tal wasn't always the best listener. He made faces as she talked, drawing in a sharp breath at the arrival of Dahlia and grimacing at the intervention - life-saving but rude - of Sunjata. He scowled to hear about Everest's weird guard-dog behavior on the stairs. His nose wrinkled at Hadama's words in the library. As he continued steering the ship and Boreal rejoined them he rubbed her head thoughtfully, listening to how the conversations had gone in the days that followed with a look of pained familiarity on his face.
"I dunno how ironic it is," he admitted candidly. "Or how odd. I mean, Asta aside--" there was that nose-wrinkle again, "Th'others were all there. An' y'made 'em all look bad, Maea. I mean, whatever their excuses, th'Reaper walks in an' instead o' fightin' back they all turtle down an' think o' their own skins. Th'only one standin' up t'her was... uh, no offense? I dunno much about Danta, but everyone else y'said was there is pretty strong, so y'might've been th'weakest person in th'room." He shrugged. "'Course they're mad at you. No one who's big an' powerful likes bein' made t'look like a coward." He snorted. "Not sayin' I wouldn't've run like fuck if I'd been there. But I'm just a courier, not some fancy leader-type."
"I dunno how ironic it is," he admitted candidly. "Or how odd. I mean, Asta aside--" there was that nose-wrinkle again, "Th'others were all there. An' y'made 'em all look bad, Maea. I mean, whatever their excuses, th'Reaper walks in an' instead o' fightin' back they all turtle down an' think o' their own skins. Th'only one standin' up t'her was... uh, no offense? I dunno much about Danta, but everyone else y'said was there is pretty strong, so y'might've been th'weakest person in th'room." He shrugged. "'Course they're mad at you. No one who's big an' powerful likes bein' made t'look like a coward." He snorted. "Not sayin' I wouldn't've run like fuck if I'd been there. But I'm just a courier, not some fancy leader-type."
