He's equally frozen by the gentle touch at his ear, the quiet intimacy of the way Reyes likes to fiddle with his jewelry when they talk, and the words tumbling out of him. Even when he sits back, his hand lingers.
Balthier's brow knits as Reyes speaks. Is...is Reyes afraid of losing him? ]
I've had a price on my head since I was 16. I've been hunted and caught by more angry pirates than I can count. The most powerful military in the world was after me by thirty. I know how this works.
[ His hand comes up to clasp the one at his arm. ] But I'm not used to my missteps effecting someone else. [ He and Fran were so inseparable that it was different. That and they made their decisions regarding risk together. ]
I ran this person entirely through Keema. I don't think there's an issue with it sounding like I knew anything more, and I have political reason in Ivalice to want this particular pirate to get the deal. I --
[ How much has he told Reyes, really? He sighs at himself. ]
You know I killed a god. I also killed my father, to prevent more genocide, and the prevent the Empire from crushing more countries under its boot. We won, barely. That lost princess is a queen now. Another of my contacts is the king of the former empire. Scions, Reyes, they both want me there, as an advisor, as a head of intelligence, as a...a piece of all this.
I left when I was a teen to avoid all that. It doesn't matter how far I run, I always get pulled back in. Hells I ran to the other end of the stars and they're still pulling me back.
[ He's talking partly to cover that he's still thinking through Reyes's words, through being let in and the ways this fills and corrects gaps in his model of things. And partly to try to offer some understanding of why this is all hit so hard today. ]
Perhaps the best foot forward is for me to be seeking out the Charlatan. If I am too emphatic I don't know them, it could be suspicious, and claiming that I do as a sort of bravado invites someone taking me at my word.
And -- maybe we need to give each other some primers on the whose who of our worlds.
[ It's his turn to slip a hand against Reyes's cheek. It's hesitant, and some part of him is still worried it isn't welcome, that he's broken something. At least he's always been good at putting on the face he wants, not the face he feels. ]
We're going to have to find a way to make this work.
somehow this became the longest tag ever
He wasn't expecting--
He's equally frozen by the gentle touch at his ear, the quiet intimacy of the way Reyes likes to fiddle with his jewelry when they talk, and the words tumbling out of him. Even when he sits back, his hand lingers.
Balthier's brow knits as Reyes speaks. Is...is Reyes afraid of losing him? ]
I've had a price on my head since I was 16. I've been hunted and caught by more angry pirates than I can count. The most powerful military in the world was after me by thirty. I know how this works.
[ His hand comes up to clasp the one at his arm. ] But I'm not used to my missteps effecting someone else. [ He and Fran were so inseparable that it was different. That and they made their decisions regarding risk together. ]
I ran this person entirely through Keema. I don't think there's an issue with it sounding like I knew anything more, and I have political reason in Ivalice to want this particular pirate to get the deal. I --
[ How much has he told Reyes, really? He sighs at himself. ]
You know I killed a god. I also killed my father, to prevent more genocide, and the prevent the Empire from crushing more countries under its boot. We won, barely. That lost princess is a queen now. Another of my contacts is the king of the former empire. Scions, Reyes, they both want me there, as an advisor, as a head of intelligence, as a...a piece of all this.
I left when I was a teen to avoid all that. It doesn't matter how far I run, I always get pulled back in. Hells I ran to the other end of the stars and they're still pulling me back.
[ He's talking partly to cover that he's still thinking through Reyes's words, through being let in and the ways this fills and corrects gaps in his model of things. And partly to try to offer some understanding of why this is all hit so hard today. ]
Perhaps the best foot forward is for me to be seeking out the Charlatan. If I am too emphatic I don't know them, it could be suspicious, and claiming that I do as a sort of bravado invites someone taking me at my word.
And -- maybe we need to give each other some primers on the whose who of our worlds.
[ It's his turn to slip a hand against Reyes's cheek. It's hesitant, and some part of him is still worried it isn't welcome, that he's broken something. At least he's always been good at putting on the face he wants, not the face he feels. ]
We're going to have to find a way to make this work.