"Came here t'study under Zariah, too, I heard," Tal pointed out darkly. None of the Launceleyns were particularly well-loved by the Seawrights, though Loren had seemed the least malicious of the family.
Zariah, on the other hand...
Tal opened his mouth to protest that of course Deimos deserved to be happy, but he also thought Evie was a mistake and the words caught and tangled in his throat so in the end he said nothing. Reaching up to rub fiercely at the back of his neck in tongue-tied discomfort it was the return question that snapped him out of it, blinking in genuine surprise.
"I mean... y'haven't exactly been hidin' it. Y'showed up at the Flowerbirth party wearin' matchin' crowns and her eatin' out of your hand. An' even before that, when we were helpin' with the merchants you... an' she..." A little blood returned to Tal's stress-pale cheeks as he glared down at the General's boots. "Y'made it pretty clear you were sleepin' t'gether then." Teasing that had been misconstrued by Tal and Sah both, as it turned out. He swallowed hard before looking up again. "An' her puttin' her name on the ballot right beside yours, so we couldn't vote you in without her, like she was your consort or somethin'!" The scowl returned as he looked away. "Of course she got voted in, ridin' your name. I wanted you in more'n I didn't want her." But as the Evergreen and Sword had come as a package deal to the Wardenship, no one would ever know how many people felt the way Tal did on the subject.
To the last he could only jerk his head in a sharp nod, shoulders hunched at the pointed words. "Yeah, well. I'm keepin' an eye on her," he mumbled. Which was only making him more jealous of the time Deimos spent with her, but he certainly wasn't going to admit that to the older man. The Sword might have had very good points all around, but logic wasn't terribly effective against the envy and hurt of a lonely young man feeling that he was losing his closest friend to a woman's wiles.
Zariah, on the other hand...
Tal opened his mouth to protest that of course Deimos deserved to be happy, but he also thought Evie was a mistake and the words caught and tangled in his throat so in the end he said nothing. Reaching up to rub fiercely at the back of his neck in tongue-tied discomfort it was the return question that snapped him out of it, blinking in genuine surprise.
"I mean... y'haven't exactly been hidin' it. Y'showed up at the Flowerbirth party wearin' matchin' crowns and her eatin' out of your hand. An' even before that, when we were helpin' with the merchants you... an' she..." A little blood returned to Tal's stress-pale cheeks as he glared down at the General's boots. "Y'made it pretty clear you were sleepin' t'gether then." Teasing that had been misconstrued by Tal and Sah both, as it turned out. He swallowed hard before looking up again. "An' her puttin' her name on the ballot right beside yours, so we couldn't vote you in without her, like she was your consort or somethin'!" The scowl returned as he looked away. "Of course she got voted in, ridin' your name. I wanted you in more'n I didn't want her." But as the Evergreen and Sword had come as a package deal to the Wardenship, no one would ever know how many people felt the way Tal did on the subject.
To the last he could only jerk his head in a sharp nod, shoulders hunched at the pointed words. "Yeah, well. I'm keepin' an eye on her," he mumbled. Which was only making him more jealous of the time Deimos spent with her, but he certainly wasn't going to admit that to the older man. The Sword might have had very good points all around, but logic wasn't terribly effective against the envy and hurt of a lonely young man feeling that he was losing his closest friend to a woman's wiles.
