[ Oh, he... actually just meant to commiserate over their anxiety-filled empty stomachs and suggest she should grab some dinner after she left, not that they should go together. He wouldn't think she'd want to join him, even if the thought had crossed his mind!
And so, excuse him for giving her the Untoward Face for a second or two, blindsided by his own (accidental) achievement, until realization finally catches up: ]
Right. We shall compare notes, then.
[ It's so odd. He's had to steel himself to see her only as a bitter enemy, has come to expect little to no cooperation from her and brace for the worst, that for the longest time he may have forgotten to think of her as just... a person.
(If this brief conversation hadn't been enough, the dagger that she tries to reclaim would've been a pointed reminder.) ]
Before we leave, though, may I... ask you something? And please, do not think of this as part of a bargain.
[ To make his point, he pulls out the sheathed dagger and holds it up in offer; whether she answers or not, he's not withholding it as any sort of leverage. ]
no subject
And so, excuse him for giving her the Untoward Face for a second or two, blindsided by his own (accidental) achievement, until realization finally catches up: ]
Right. We shall compare notes, then.
[ It's so odd. He's had to steel himself to see her only as a bitter enemy, has come to expect little to no cooperation from her and brace for the worst, that for the longest time he may have forgotten to think of her as just... a person.
(If this brief conversation hadn't been enough, the dagger that she tries to reclaim would've been a pointed reminder.) ]
Before we leave, though, may I... ask you something? And please, do not think of this as part of a bargain.
[ To make his point, he pulls out the sheathed dagger and holds it up in offer; whether she answers or not, he's not withholding it as any sort of leverage. ]
This blade... Why is it so important to you?