[ he's not... not expected his from her, but it deserves a bit more of his focus than, say, a casual conversation about their divisions. he lets her finish speaking and pause for his approval, and then nods. ]
Yes, [ he says. ] A rival, perhaps, but when it is romance it is... tangled.
[ he smiles a smile that recalls some far off memory, and it is only a slight shift of his lips, nothing more. ]
A competition, [ he murmurs. ] A wager, often, counting kills or the like. Such it was with my wife. That was how it began.
[ Beleth listens as he speaks, arms crossed, eyes intent on the floor. Once he's finished, she closes her eyes, mulling over the words. Romance. That was the word she'd been avoiding using. What a complicated word, with complicated emotions attached to it. Tangled was a much better descriptor. And yet--
When she opens her eyes again, it's to stare at the ceiling, looking positively affronted by it. ]
no subject
Yes, [ he says. ] A rival, perhaps, but when it is romance it is... tangled.
[ he smiles a smile that recalls some far off memory, and it is only a slight shift of his lips, nothing more. ]
A competition, [ he murmurs. ] A wager, often, counting kills or the like. Such it was with my wife. That was how it began.
[ he plainly means the one lost to him. ]
no subject
When she opens her eyes again, it's to stare at the ceiling, looking positively affronted by it. ]
...Shit.
[ Then, in a quieter tone: ]
He cheats at all our competitions, anyway.
no subject
Be more clever. Cheat around him.
[ because then, at least, they're on equal cheating fields. that's how it works, right? ]