"It's a bit of a drone, you might be sad to hear," the bard responded dryly. "But if it makes you happy then I suppose that's what matters, given you are your own best audience." He gave a slight shrug, never taking his eyes from the wandering menace. "But civility? In that you are tragically mistaken. Sneaking up on people is the province of small children, bandits, or those who have yet to mature into good manners."
The bard smirked as the vampire tried to play up his theatrical knowledge but fell a little flat on the high note. "Hardly your 'advisory' anymore than I'm your hero. Nor even so central a role as the damsel, alas. I'm merely a stagehand, moving the props around to set the scene and shift the story along." And his smile was the brittle, sharp lance of sunlight off a glacier, cold and hard and utterly lacking in warmth at the memory of a past he couldn't outrun even here.
"And, as you apparently have a terrible memory, it was you who insisted on approaching like a mugger rather than a gentleman, and thus were treated as such." A pale brow arched and the lorekeeper gave a little sniff of disapproval. "Unfortunately, a not uncommon annoyance in the life of a traveling performer. I suppose not all bards have such reflexes... but I assure you, all the bards who want to become old in their profession learn the skill." He wasn't bothered at all about the sneer over his elbowing. It hadn't been intended to hurt, only to surprise and give Jigano a chance to put space between them - something it had succeeded at. He was well aware that raw strength was not his forte, nor would it ever be. He had chosen to hone other skills instead, and they kept him light on his feet and his senses alert as the cold wind scudded clouds across the dreary afternoon sky.
The bard smirked as the vampire tried to play up his theatrical knowledge but fell a little flat on the high note. "Hardly your 'advisory' anymore than I'm your hero. Nor even so central a role as the damsel, alas. I'm merely a stagehand, moving the props around to set the scene and shift the story along." And his smile was the brittle, sharp lance of sunlight off a glacier, cold and hard and utterly lacking in warmth at the memory of a past he couldn't outrun even here.
"And, as you apparently have a terrible memory, it was you who insisted on approaching like a mugger rather than a gentleman, and thus were treated as such." A pale brow arched and the lorekeeper gave a little sniff of disapproval. "Unfortunately, a not uncommon annoyance in the life of a traveling performer. I suppose not all bards have such reflexes... but I assure you, all the bards who want to become old in their profession learn the skill." He wasn't bothered at all about the sneer over his elbowing. It hadn't been intended to hurt, only to surprise and give Jigano a chance to put space between them - something it had succeeded at. He was well aware that raw strength was not his forte, nor would it ever be. He had chosen to hone other skills instead, and they kept him light on his feet and his senses alert as the cold wind scudded clouds across the dreary afternoon sky.
