#haaapi

6. Close calls...

33. ‎ You seem well...‎ ‎

(i accidentally sent this wrong the first time haha don't even worry about it)

Perfect Teatime? | still accepting

"Too many to count, I'm afraid." And each as vivid in his mind as they day they'd happened. Salem was not one to speak of his brushes with death though, especially when such stories tended to lead to more questions about the hows and whys he'd found himself in those situations. He wasn't quite yet ready to divulge his reasons for being in Fódlan to any person who asked.

Still, that's not much for conversation, not that he thinks that Hapi is on the edge of her seat for one. In the stretch of silence, he's studied her: an unusual uniform, listlessness in her eyes, yet something equally restless about her. Shifty, even, which compels Salem to glance over his own shoulder once.

"After relying on my own for so long, I've had to learn to accept help when it's offered. It may be the only reason I'm still alive." He pauses to sip his tea, but fixes his sharp eyes on her. "A word of advice: don't make it so clear that you're hiding from something."

"so, got any plans on paying off all your debts?" as always, patrol is too boring without something—anything for her to talk about. "or are you just gonna take them to the grave? every time you get your hands on some gold, it just goes right down the drain."

“yikes. really killing it out there, b. and by ‘killing it’, i mean my appetite.” but she's got to hand it to him. rule of threes and all that, any guy should be reevaluating himself before the fourth rejection, but balthus just keeps going no matter how many times he strikes out. it's no wonder the gambling dens love him more than the maidens do.

where he's crouched on the ground from despair (or shame? nah, he's got none) or otherwise, she prods him with her knee. nothing short of steel-forged discipline has been keeping her from letting out a sigh at his sad little stunts, but who knows how long that'll last. “even i'm bound to slip up if i have to keep watching this. come on patrol with me if you haven't got anything better to do.”

99% of gamblers quit before they hit it big. Hasn't she ever heard of that completely true not-at-all false statement? If he strikes out now, then all of his efforts before would've been for nothin'; and he's nothing if not hard-headed. A couple dozen failures.... lift your head up, King, your crown is falling.