The white sheep of the family
Loren nodded in acknowledgement of Weaver's preferences. "Noted and noted." Voice quiet, he raised his mug, toasting to her terms.
Shaking his head, he snorted. "Nah I never did well enough to earn a mattress. They put me in the cells instead. Hard stone for me." His lips twisted in a twisted caricature of smile as the memories washed over him. Nervously, he rolled the mug back and forth between his palms.
However, he managed to pull a small smile out at her response about the people of Halo. "Sure. Besides your loose morals, of course." His tone was slightly teasing, though not in a mean or cruel way.
Shrugging, the smile slipped away. "I've noticed." Taking a sip from his mug, he gave her a considering look. "And what are your thoughts on magic? I've always seen it more as a tool and a gift, but then again I'm not from Caido." He spoke cautiously, each word chosen carefully on the off chance she was one of those who resented or hated the Abandoned obviously not knowing she was an Abandoned herself because timelines.
"Maybe." He sighed, and gave her fingers a gentle squeeze. "But...sometimes I wonder why I'm still here and others who are more worthy are gone." Giving her an almost apologetic look, he pulled his hand back, not exactly trusting himself to accept such a simple comfort in that moment.
Smiling a bit as she reminisced about her childhood, he found himself smiling again at the end of it, shadows momentarily banished. "It sounds nice, honestly. What did you train in? Or with?" Seeing as the three worlds he'd lived in had death lurking around every corner, that aspect of it didn't bother him.
When she asked about his own childhood, however, his smile faltered again. "I'm not sure I was ever really a kid to begin with." Turning away from her, he took a step to the side, eyes staring into the distance, gaze haunted. "My family...was...complicated. All the mages in it were bound by a magical oath, to obey the crown else be killed instantly. Even an accidental refusal could be fatal. So they..." Swallowing, he bit his lip. "They, they tortured us into compliance." For a moment, he was far away, transported back to the compound and then Northaven, at the mercy of family members who didn't care that he was weak and curious, demanding strength from him that he didn't possess yet.
That he still might not possess.
Throwing back his mug, he set it down on the bar just a little too hard. Her follow up, about his dream, didn't help much, though he did look back at her. Expression darkening, he shrugged. "It wouldn't be. But I don't...ever see myself having a nice little life." His voice came out equal parts bitter and guilty.
Shaking his head, he snorted. "Nah I never did well enough to earn a mattress. They put me in the cells instead. Hard stone for me." His lips twisted in a twisted caricature of smile as the memories washed over him. Nervously, he rolled the mug back and forth between his palms.
However, he managed to pull a small smile out at her response about the people of Halo. "Sure. Besides your loose morals, of course." His tone was slightly teasing, though not in a mean or cruel way.
Shrugging, the smile slipped away. "I've noticed." Taking a sip from his mug, he gave her a considering look. "And what are your thoughts on magic? I've always seen it more as a tool and a gift, but then again I'm not from Caido." He spoke cautiously, each word chosen carefully on the off chance she was one of those who resented or hated the Abandoned obviously not knowing she was an Abandoned herself because timelines.
"Maybe." He sighed, and gave her fingers a gentle squeeze. "But...sometimes I wonder why I'm still here and others who are more worthy are gone." Giving her an almost apologetic look, he pulled his hand back, not exactly trusting himself to accept such a simple comfort in that moment.
Smiling a bit as she reminisced about her childhood, he found himself smiling again at the end of it, shadows momentarily banished. "It sounds nice, honestly. What did you train in? Or with?" Seeing as the three worlds he'd lived in had death lurking around every corner, that aspect of it didn't bother him.
When she asked about his own childhood, however, his smile faltered again. "I'm not sure I was ever really a kid to begin with." Turning away from her, he took a step to the side, eyes staring into the distance, gaze haunted. "My family...was...complicated. All the mages in it were bound by a magical oath, to obey the crown else be killed instantly. Even an accidental refusal could be fatal. So they..." Swallowing, he bit his lip. "They, they tortured us into compliance." For a moment, he was far away, transported back to the compound and then Northaven, at the mercy of family members who didn't care that he was weak and curious, demanding strength from him that he didn't possess yet.
That he still might not possess.
Throwing back his mug, he set it down on the bar just a little too hard. Her follow up, about his dream, didn't help much, though he did look back at her. Expression darkening, he shrugged. "It wouldn't be. But I don't...ever see myself having a nice little life." His voice came out equal parts bitter and guilty.
Will blood tell
