The girl winked at him - as if she were sharing some sort of inside secret with him - as she corrected him, putting emphasis on the ‘mountain’ part of lion. “A mountain lion and a lion are two different animals so you can’t shorten mountain lion like that.” Ira scoffed at her, scowling fiercely, attempting to hide the bubble of humiliation that he felt. It was a disgusting emotion that Ira certainly never wished to feel again, detesting the creep of heat in his pallid cheeks. In a swift movement he turned his head away from her, staring out at the rippling surface of the water as he attempted to dampen and smother his embarrassment for misunderstanding and looking like an ass by assuming. Ira was always so confident in everything he did that he did not leave room for marginal error, though error certainly left room for him. Yet, the insolent Princeling was determined not to let his embarrassment show - least of all in the company of his companion.
When Ira looked back at her, he was momentarily perplexed to find her smiling at him - as if his cruel words had no effect on her. Icy eyes narrowed as he squinted refutably at her, unsure if he found her maintained level of optimism admirable or annoying. Perhaps, Ira allowed, it was a infernal mixture of both. “What are you smiling at?” Ira demanded in a superior tone, before he let out a ‘tch’ noise when Bones spoke her rebuttal. “You can’t force yourself on him,” Ira contradicted her sharply. “If they don’t want you, they’ll never want you no matter how hard you push.” It was cruel, yes, but as far as Ira was concerned - for he knew from personal experience - it was just another fact of life. “And anyway, what are you going to do if he isn’t all you dream him to be? Real life hardly meets up to fantasies’ expectations.” He asked in a tone that was matter-of-fact.
It was abundantly and abruptly clear to Ira that Bones and him existed in two different worlds. “Did you ever stop to consider that you’re better off without him? Better off without them? Others only prove to disappoint you.” Yet, even as Ira spoke that, he was not so sure that he believed that anymore. Not fully, at any rate. Jinx had yet to disappoint him, and though Ira denied it resolutely even to himself, he had grown to care for his guardian (despite that he rationalized that ‘caring’ and ‘loving’ were not of the same vein). “What did you just call me?” His eyes locked onto Bones, demanding an answer. Ira, suffice it to say, was not adept in her odd words - though his vocabulary was something he tended to pride himself on. “Anyway,” Ira scoffed, rolling his eyes again. “My name isn’t blaggard,” The word rolled foreign and errantly off of his tongue. “My name is Ira.” It was the first time he’d ever introduced himself as such without his favored nickname following after. Perhaps, he considered, Jinx had not been wrong about his name; maybe it wasn’t so ‘girly’ after all.