Things had been relatively quiet in the study. Vaelyn was again working, quietly sorting through some ideas he had, and writing them down in order to test them at a later date. Ulfarr was present at Silvaire’s request, as the Lord was feeling a bit poorly of late, and Silvaire needed to go to the market to restock some items in the pantry. Marceline had gone with the steward, naturally, so that she could have her daily walk without bothering Vaelyn for it.Soft and sweet, Elias could be heard playing on his harp in a nearby room, the music echoing through the quiet halls of the manor. Ulfarr was preoccupied with his own notebook, sketching and writing down his thoughts until they began to wander, and with Vaelyn at his mercy for the time being, a devious little smile touched the highlander’s lips.“Vaelyn.” Ulfarr prompts, getting away with, as he usually did, using a more familiar way of addressing the Lord, “Why are you courting Clayton?” A pause, before Ulfarr adds, “You’re being weird about it.” Weird to the highlander meant that there didn’t seem to be any ulterior motive to the courtship, as in Ulfarr’s mind Vaelyn more often than not had ulterior motives for the things he did.At first Vaelyn just outright ignored Ulfarr, though the purse of his lips showed he had heard the question. While thankfully Mikha wasn’t here to add another layer of insistence to Ulfarr’s question, the highlander wasn’t giving up on it, asking again.The thought of discussing this with the highlander was already prompting a dull ache behind Vaelyn’s eyes, “Tea.” The elezen croaks, his voice a quiet shadow of it’s usually stern baritone. A cough follows, phlegmy and hoarse, tired eyes looking across to Ulfarr. Obligingly the highlander set about making the tea, but still he persisted, “Why did you start courting Clayton, Vae?”“What does it matter?” Croaks the Lord back at Ulfarr, sniffing indignantly to clear his sinuses.“Because I can’t see any reason why you would?” Ulfarr presses, “It’s too messy.”Smirking, Vaelyn sharply shifted his gaze away, staring dully down at the page on his desk, his head drooping a little bit as he sniffled again, “Because I chose to.” Vaelyn finally snapped.With a gentle sound, Ulfarr set the tea before Vaelyn, flavoured with lemon and sweetened with honey to help the Lord’s hoarse throat, “But why?” The highlander insisted.All Ulfarr got in return, after the tea was snatched up with a grumpy huff, was an inaudible mumble, the Elezen looking off towards the window to stare out at the snowy, cold outdoors of Ishgard.“Wait…” A moment is taken as Ulfarr stares at Vaelyn, scrutinizing his reaction, “Do… do you actually like him?” Utter disbelief washed over Ulfarr’s face, soon replaced with a grand sense of amusement and triumph, “You do, don’t you!?” His mood already soured by the cold that had hold of him, Vaelyn starkly refused to answer, though the refusal itself only served to cement Ulfarr’s conclusion in truth.“Holy shit.” Ulfarr murmurs, a grin spreading wide on his lips, the highlander’s voice raising to a sing-song pitch, teasing, “Vaelyn looooves Clayton.”The evening was going to be long, at this rate.@anunlikelyknight