` I will lay down my life if it sets us free. ` FROM DAD 1 ,
cress is breaking my heart !  -> accepting!
  ‵ —- don’t say another word. ’  he spits out, lip curling, teeth bared —- he’s wearing the skin of a wolf, now, with a glare to suit such a beast. a short breath is captured, and released, before he rips his gaze away, not yet making a move to leave.
it’s just an offhand comment, a statement rodrigue looses from his lips as they pour over their remaining resources. they are fighting a losing battle, and though the alliance has offered some aid through the years, they have their hands full as is. the empire was no small foe, after all. it couldn’t be too long until both house fraldarius and gautier collapse inwards, under the weight of this war. felix knows it, as does his father. but… he’d no right, no reason to speak thus. perhaps it’s said with intent to bolster resolve, perhaps it is naught more than a thoughtless remark. it didn’t matter. felix’s fierce hatred may have simmered, but the shadow from nearly a decade ago would loom over them forever.
the worst thing is the truth of it; rodrigue is a man of honour, after all, a true knight. he would fall for his kingdom without question. for as long as he can recall, his father had always upheld this incessant want to justify death, to praise it and cement this world’s love affair with it. as if felix needs to hear such sentiments once again —- and from someone still living at that. how ridiculous.Â
  ‵ leave me out of your fantasies of death, old man. i want no part in them. ’ his words are punctuated with a heavy sigh, and though ever cloaked in that same curt tone, are somewhat calmer than before. biting at each other’s throats will get them nowhere in their attempts to tame the empire. he pauses, takes a moment, and then,   ‵ ... we have more pressing matters to deal with, anyways. ’Â
