Redtail Rise whistles and cricket song

Ashlar didn't know what to do with the compliment. He smiled but also felt a little uncomfortable, as if the words did not quite fit. He'd heard similar sentiments but never said so straightforward, just like that. And never with that much confidence. It wasn't that he minded, or that he did not believe it. He just wasn't sure he deserved this man's merit, and he felt an affectionate bloom at the fact that he'd been given it anyway. It warmed him.

Th-thank you. He stumbled a bit over the word, but his look was pure appreciation. He was probably right, that Avicus knew he would not fight. He might have been able to ask. But he'd stopped himself.

I didn't want to ask her. He admitted. She's my friend. I want her to be happy, but... This was hard. How did he word what he meant?

If I'm ever a dad, I want it to be something else. I don't think she would want what I want. And that's okay. He worked it through carefully, and at the end he smiled again, finding that the words matched what he'd been feeling about this. He would have wanted to be involved and he wasn't sure he would have wanted to share that, especially not with Tulimaq. Now he would be involved, maybe, but it would be different. They were hers and not his. If she told him not to teach, not to speak of war and peace and how they might look for the latter, he could respect her. And their friendship was safer for it.