Ankyra Sound a gunslinger knows pride - that invisible bone that keeps the neck stiff

grezig did not seem to want to comment on the storm. she had opened her mouth, but he supposed that she opted to keep her words to herself. he wasn’t sure if he was grateful for that or disappointed that she did not just speak her mind. illidan had never imagined that she’d held her tongue before around him. they had said some nasty things to each other in the heat of the moment. somehow, they always made their way back to that awkward in between stage.
 
when he’d asked about her mate, she distractedly mentioned that she had simply made a spur of the moment decision and it had resulted in her expecting a litter of kids. he thought that was almost silly, but illidan knew that he didn’t understand enough about mating to really comment on it. he wondered if the father would want to be in his children’s life or if he would rather keep his distance.
 
“is the father going… to help you take care of them?” illidan asked her stiffly. his brow had knitted into a tight knot on his forehead. he wondered how much easier or harder his life would have been if he had never even met his own father. he imagined that losing the figure would have hurt him a lot less. he also imagined that he would not have been plagued by the same images of that death. perhaps it would have been better.
 
when grezig inquired as to whether or not illidan had found someone that he was interested in romantically, the dark-hooded wildling drew his crown upward and appeared shocked by the question. he supposed that he was just reaching the beginning of his adulthood. “no… i,” he paused and frowned deeply, wondering if he could find a way to word an appropriate response. “i don’t know if i’m capable,” he finally admitted, voice soft.