FORMER LEADER.

         her vulnerabilities take him by surprise— no more was her calming aura, gone so suddenly that it almost leaves the knight in shock, left with no words to say. unresolved guilt had a way with eroding emotional walls, he supposes. the arc remains silent through her words, letting her release whatever was on her mind. he wants to reach out— to give some sort of comfort beyond simple speech. he refrains.

         “you didn’t know what would happen, blake,” he finally offers, after a minor lull in the conversation. “you couldn’t have. I don’t know what was going on in your head when you left, but I know that you never meant to hurt anyone. &. I know that, if you knew what was going to happen, you wouldn’t have left. but you came back — you pulled through when we needed you the most. we owe that night’s victory to you, you know? &. we don’t love you any less than we used to.”

          “I ASKED it didn’ I?” His voice sounds sharper than Qrow had really wanted, words tight as he fixes the ground before him with a glare. Of course he should know, right? He doesn’t SHUT UP about that Nikos girl - Qrow only ever saw them together once but he’s sure of what was there. At least. He thinks he is. “How can ya ‘not be sure’ - ya were… Ya were IN love at one point… Right?”

        arc’s reply is silence for a few moments. he doesn’t know how to go about answering — &. branwen’s insistence leaves him puzzling over just how important this question was to him. there’s a bubbling of an anxious uncertainty in his chest that goes unheeded.

        “I am the man we both couldn’t stand, I can’t wash the dirt from my hands. What was it like to feel in love?”      /      @ancestryfated / lyric sc.

         “— is that.. actually a question you want me to answer?”

he’s so unsure. he thought qrow branwen would’ve known what it’d be like to feel in love. he’s not even sure if he knows what love felt like. was he ever even in love?

“ they never told me that having a boyfriend involved them crushing your dreams. “

          “sorry sweetie, that’s life.”

maybe he shouldn’t have found it as cute (or funny) as he did, but he certainly stopped laughing after a moment or so.

     `   yo !  thanks for that — didnt even hear that big lug comin’ at me.  `

   @ancestryfated / sc.

        “hey, no problem! just glad you’re safe.”

blade finds the mouth of his scabbard as it collapses upon his gauntlet; eyes find ban, &. only for a moment does he wonder just what the other’s capable of. (based off of the grimm scattered about, he’d really rather not find out.)

“ i have bills to pay. i have dogs to put through college. “ @ancestryfated // s.c. (acc)