bloodbound. (earinor & akira)

Nayantai could have figured out all of this on his own. Richard was on the fence about wanting to leave, he'd figured that out not too long ago and he also wasn't sure whatever he was to tell his son. Their suicide mission would be hardly beneficial for anyone, let alone themselves, and maybe none of this would have ever transpired if he'd just stood his ground and stayed at the castle in Myriad - but it wouldn't change that they were heading back now and any decision they'd make from here on out was crucial, would only push them forward and not even leave room for much failure. He knew all that, he knew they'd head back, knew they'd do what needed to be done and that they'd die while doing all that - hope wasn't lost yet, and neither of them were going to suffer the consequences of their actions now, but that also didn't mean that they wouldn't come to pass eventually. If none of this was happening, who knew what Nayantai would be doing, but he also knew well enough that he was saddling himself with baggage that Richard thought to be his own - only proving to his own father that, despite not being his son by blood, he was about as stubborn as him and Rain combined, and while he was sure Richard might have been scared of death, he didn't show it, at least right now.

Setting up the tent was one thing, figuring out their dinner another - they could have picked a better season for this, but the situation in Adrestia, whatever it was, would change too much overtime. It was good they left now, not in a few months when winter had come to pass; they both could shoulder the frigid cold and for them, it would only get warmer the further they moved away from Silesse, which, very much, was nothing but one block of frozen ice. "Hm?", he peered up from the pot he'd set up, looking at Richard, who'd fumbled with something interesting. Where did he even ... no, Nayantai knew what that was, and he'd seen it somewhere in Richards room while packing up earlier. Oh, that must be quite the gut punch, then. Even worse. "Unprecedented engagement necklace?", he suddenly asked, abandoning his current task and looking at what Richard had been gifted. It was deep red, unlike the one he wore - the one that had one lost more and more of its age old paint over the years - was he even surprised? No, not in the slightest. "Let me guess, you had no idea?" Nayantai also didn't have the slightest clue when Richard had gotten ahold of it, but given the fact he was out yesterday night and Yujin never left, who knew - who cared. "Do you want to at least try it on? Or do you want me to put it away?"

Things had changed months ago and for some reason, Nayantai had just rather ignored all of it or taken it matter-of-factly to his face. There was something that he'd have to think about earlier, but he'd already doomed them both. All he had sought was someone that could understand Richard, or at least cheer him up because clearly, his old man couldn't and wouldn't be able to, and all that got them was someone that, despite whatever had happened before, was clinging to Richard and now, even when he was out of sight and out mind, he was doing damage. "Why? It's an engagement necklace, Richard. I think we both know why.", he sighed, but it wasn't because he was fed up with Richards reaction - he was surprised that he'd been given something like this in the first place. Maybe he shouldn't have let those two get close to one another in the first place, but ... now, everything was ruined anyway. "So he just guessed, and despite you telling him that you didn't even want to go out with him, he still went through with him. For fucks sake, he sounds like his dad.", Nayantai grumbled. If anything, he was able to take Muhans constant teasing and love declarations, even before he wormed his way completely into his heart. Nothing mattered, did it. This conversation could have ended there, but both guilt and blame were on the forefront of Richards mind and the next thing he did was take the thing that he didn't want and throw it into the darkness; it didn't fly far and Nayantai could hear the thud it made in the heavy snow. "You don't have to accept anything.", he mumbled, shaking his head, but before he could even do anything aside from that, Richard disappeared into the tent, making an excuse for himself. Somehow, he wished Rain was here, to make all of this easier on him, but alas, he didn't want Rain to see Richard like this and Nayantai also knew that he was responsible for this mess, too. A short sigh left his lips. This was hardly fair for Richard, was it? Nayantai shook his head and grabbed a piece of wood, just to light the way to pick up what Richard had thrown away, to tuck it away, simply because he knew that - if it was gone forever - maybe Richard would regret it even more. At the very least, he owned Yujin a proper no, but he also knew that that wouldn't happen.

Nayantai fumbled with their fire, lowering the flame so the food wouldn't burn, and then sat down at the entrance of their tent, on which he metaphorically knocked. "You have no need to apologize for anything, alright?", he reassured him, but that hardly helped, probably. "Richard, listen. It's an unwanted gift, I get that, but you told Yujin time and time again that you didn't want this, right? If he still insists, it's not something in your control." And still, he was hurting - all of this had only happened because Shuren had suggested it, as Yujin would forget anyway, but it seemed like quite the opposite by now. "Dayan, Flora and Atwick are long gone, Richard. And you know all of them, especially Dayan - do you really think they'd be mad at you for simpling living your life? I doubt that, I think they'd much rather have you live it to the fullest because they can't. If you wish to die avenging them, I can't change that, but I'm certain you won't invoke their wrath if you focused on yourself, even if it were just to heal for a while. You miss them as much as I do, but ... they won't come back - we can honor their memory, however.", he explained, fumbling with something in the pocket of his coat. Would that give Richard comfort? No, Nayantai was pretty sure that he'd seen enough of wedding and engagement necklaces for the night. "I'm not trying to deter you from anything, I'm just saying that ... you should give yourself time and think about the possibilities. What are you going to do if we get back to Myriad and there's no life to lose, or you won't lose it while carrying out what you seek to do? You can't just pretend you'll die for certain - that never worked for anyone. Of course, survival is never guaranteed either, but, often times it's reassuring to think about a plan B, just in case your initial one doesn't work out. It doesn't have to involve Silesse, or anyone in it, if you don't want that - but. I get it, it's hard, I was the same. My mother and my brothers died, too, and I was too useless to save either of them. And now you're all I have left. I want to protect you as best as I can, for as long as I live. But you can't keep beating up yourself like this. It's not what I or Rain would have wanted, as much as Dayan, Flora or Atwick. Just because you survived doesn't mean you aren't worth it, or not allowed to live. The guilt will haunt you, yes, but ... the only thing you can do is push forward, for your own sake, and for those who died. If you genuinely don't want something, you can just tell him that - but if you just don't want something because you feel like the vengeful ghosts of your siblings will haunt your for experiencing happiness, for living a life they can't have, you're just hurting yourself even further ...", Nayantai spoke, long at that - if Richard were to lash out at him, so be it, but he still stuck his free hand into the tent, not grabbing anything in particular. "And if you need a hug from an old idiot like me, I'm more than happy to offer you one."

Rain would make these things so much easier - he knew that, always had, always would, but it didn't change the fact that it was his responsibility as well. Always had been, always would be and Nayantai could do just about nothing regarding all of it. Whatever or not it as his and his responsibility alone to care for Richard, the least he could do was to be there for him and look out for him - they both weren't great at mending wounds of others, Nayantai doubted that he was even that good at it and it was frustrating, to say the very least. What was he expecting? Comfort of his own? No, he was over that, had been for a long time by now, and it only followed that he'd just try his earnest to take care of his son - but fuck, even Caelan seemed to be better at doing things like this and if anything, Nayantai was the one wondering if Richard would've had less problems, would've felt better, if he bit the grass instead of Rain or Dayan, or anyone that could seriously offer his son comfort. "They haunt you even in your sleep, huh? Can't say it isn't the same for me.", he confessed. Seeing corpses, killing people - a good chunk of his life consisted of that, but it didn't cause him to go numb, to forgetjust about anything he'd seen - it all stuck with him, more vivid than ever during the night, and it was hard to stomach.

Offering advice was the least he could do, and yet, the best he could've done was probably shut his mouth. "Clinging onto hope still isn't wrong. If they insist on haunting you every single night of your life until you do something about it, I'll do my best to help you try and fix it. There's no need to apologize for anything, you didn't pick your fate yourself, even if one can hardly call it fate." It was more than cruel, if not borderline insane how ravenous a bunch of fictious gods could be - beings that never existed, yet were heralded as the absolute purveyors of fate, or whatever one wanted to call them. None of them were righteous and only existed to justify things that were unfortunate enough by their lonesome. "I'm not trying to deter you, Richard. Don't worry about it.", he answered, shaking his head. Things would be so much easier on either of them if he was but a few years younger, not a rusty old man that probably should have stopped sticking his nose into things a long time ago - and yet, Richard was all he had. He'd either die protecting him or die for failing to protect him - the latter seemed like an ugly joke, considering he'd just told his very own son to keep moving onward. "Very well. If that is, what you feel like you must do, then so be it - I'll follow you and help you see it through. I'm not that great at giving advice, I'm not some wise old man, but ... you might as well try and start thinking about possible what ifs now, I don't have any intention of letting you die after all.", the old man elaborated, not content with his dreams either. Caelan had once told him that revenge wasn't the best way to go down, but all of them were barrelling down that path anyway, as if it were some sort of shitty curse they were bound do. "I'm not as great as offering advice as your father, but I'll try. And I do recommend you eat something, to have one thing less that could possibly wake you up - you will need the energy. We don't have time to spare from here on out."

If Richard had a problem with those frigid nights they experienced all the while they were travelling from Thria to Adrestia, Daein to Olette, then Nayantai was the one that hated the humid weather that this godforsaken country of snakes brought with it. Not only was it way too warm, even in winter, but it also meant that the best way to travel for them was during the night, when they could use rest. Moving was important, after all, they'd gone from not being detected at all, to being wanted by an entire country with god knew who on the throne - but it didn't matter, the ruler of this country - if they had one - wasn't their target anyway, they'd spend countless nights discussing that. Bloodied or not, Richard still was the rightful heir and if he so wished to wrest Adrestia free from whatever shackles it found itself in, he could - but for now, they layed low, even though Nayantai would have prefered to be done and over with it. "You can't push past your limits just because you don't think you have any. We both need a break, I mean it, and even if it's just a day, it's more than enough. They won't run, if anything, they'll stand their ground to prove to us that they aren't scared of us.", he sighed, and thought that he'd seen everything, but sadly, Nayantai was very wrong on that. Olettian nobles were scum, he hated every last one of them, and even when he was part of adrestias nobility, his disdain for them wasn't exactly an unknown one.

He simply eyed the wound Richard had sustained, nothing life-threatening, but it ought to hurt. Were he to be honest, he had hoped that all of their wounds, whatever they were inevitable or avoidable, would just fade, but no - he'd chosen this life, and much like Richard, he wasn't going to back down, for their sake and for those who deserved retribution, too. "Need help with that?", he suddenly asked, as his son reached for a bunch of bandages. In theory, they both were so different, yet so similar - they didn't share a bond of blood, but that didn't matter - Richard was just going to become like him if he continued to spiral downward, though, Nayantai was fairly certain he'd keep him from just doing that. "Probably dislocated my shoulder or something.", he suddenly joked, but then shook his head. There were cuts in his clothing that he'd fixed temporarily, from earlier battles, but he held up very well, despite being far older than most soldiers or guards flung at him, he had more experience than them - and was probably stronger, given the fact that he didn't skip meals and actually worked himself to the bone. "Jokes aside, I'm fine. I have some cuts on my arm, maybe, but that's really nothing worth any more attention.", he answered, but that was very much it. "We should eat something, then go over our next move. And we need some sleep.", he summarized for both of them. Frankly, they were both dead-tired, that much as clear, but all of that aside, it also became quite clear that they were only running themselves ragged if this went on. "Besides, I'm sure Aramis has something up his sleeve - and I do feel inclined to rip that head off of his shoulders. I should've done that years ago."

"That they are." If anything, this was probably one of the worst series of crimes that Olette was facing so far. Nobles and merchants just turned to fine dust, losing both their livelyhood and their lives alongside that and whoever their assailants were just disappeared into thin air, not to be seen again before they carried out their next murder - or assassination - and disappeared once more. Maybe a younger version of himself would have enjoyed this life, void of hardships or any particular relationships with anyone but a partner in crime, but Nayantai was old and tired, not only of what they were doing, but also of the fact that he was sure about Rain turning in his grave. "Prepare? Richard, if they needed time to prepare, they would have done so by now. And their preparations usually aren't worth anything anyway." That much was true - word had probably spread through Adrestia by now, calling both of them names, unsure of their actual identities. There was no need to reveal them, as much as there wasn't any need to dig deeper into all of this - whatever they were called, they probably deserved, but he still didn't want to give a nest of maggots the opportunity to strike back. That just didn't seem fair. "Maybe yes.", he sighed and helped bandage the wound that Richard sported - something like this didn't need to happen, but in reality, Richard was both inexperienced and still lacking sleep - and Nayantai wouldn't blame him for it. The ability to kill wasn't one that came naturally, much like it wasn't something like a taste for particular things that should be acquired. The truth was, whatever or not they were out here for days, weeks or months to come, as long as nobody found them and they eventually were able to bury all the grudges they held, they'd be fine. "You're not trusting your old man, huh?" And for everything it was worth, Richard was right - he offered him his arm, but those cuts were hardly worth worrying about.

There was enough blood that stained both of their clothes and eventually their very beings, but in the end, he always downplayed everything to a ridiculous degree, or just silently fixed his wounds himself. None of them had needed any serious stitching so far, at least on his part, but his skin was mostly numb either way, with scars that once were deep wounds, damaging nerves all over. Sometimes, especially in weather like these, they acted up, as if the pain he carried around was chronic, but on the other hand, it might have been hardly better in Silesse, and yet, he didn't make a fuss about it - Richard didn't need more things to worry about and his old man was used to them anyway. "Rest and devise a plan. Aramis is probably painfully aware that he's the last on our list - and if I know anything about olettian scoundrel, they probably know who's trying to hunt them for sport, too. I'd rather not face him without a strategy, unless you want all of this to end then and there." Whatever or not Aramis was like his father, Nayantai could care less about - if all of this were to be easy, he'd just cut that lunatic down and move on with his life, if possible. "Your father despised violence, you know that. He wasn't naive, but sometimes he ... well, chose to believe in the best in people. We killed the former duke when we liberated Thria and pretty much conquered Adrestia, but when I tried to do the same to Aramis, the consensus was, that he knew nothing of his fathers ... endeavors, or at least wasn't involved in them. So he got to live, but was kept at an arms length, just in case. You can guess how well that went, considering the situation we're in. Olettians are vile creatures and I'd much rather die on the spot than to give one of them a chance at proving themselves innocent again. They also don't like thrians, but they're often not as openly racist as people of Alster. Fact is, there was no reason to not kill him - but I don't blame your father, either.", he grumbled. This was a mess and a half by the looks of it.

He was right? Truly, he was, but that didn't take years of experience - they hit where it hurt, close to home, and they made every single of their assaults count for just the right reason. Warfare was one thing, but the reality was, if word got out, none of this would be any fun - they'd have to answer for their crimes and in a worst case scenario, it would only serve as a way to further develop the rift between the two nations again. Therefore, they were both right to keep their little hush-hush mission going the way it was and not give up on things that they thought of as just a means to an end. In reality, none of this was any fun and they both knew, and yet, the worst of actions often times fostered the tightest of bonds. "Look at it like this. Most countries are tired of a war they never signed up for, but there's a special few that never got their mind out of the gutter. That, however, doesn't help with the fact that their defense is shitty enough that it won't stop two men, one of which had little experience in actual combat prior to that.", he elaborated and Nayantai meant it. This was nothing to be proud of, all of their actions were crude, but Richard held up well and could've made a name for himself any other way. "I know, I know. I'd chalk it up to being old and tired, but that'd be a lie - and you know the stories anyway. But still, it shouldn't be your place to remind me, but ... I'm grateful you do.", he admitted. Rain would have pestered him by now, told him that he could have his share of food as well, and Nayantai - in turn - would bicker about Rain needing nutrition as well, about having to have some meat on his bones, lest they'd both starve at some point, but with Richard, it was different. As much as he was Rains son, when it came to food, they were polar opposites - and Nayantai didn't want either of them to go hungry.

The ointment would've made him jerk away his hand in any other situation, but it didn't hurt, and the initial burn didn't sting as much as it used to, either - he was getting even number, and at this point, he could only blame himself for that. "Aramis? It'd surprise me if he didn't know who he's up against.", he sighed, taking back his hands and rummaging through the rest of their food, to find some carrots - this seemed like it would be stew, but that hardly mattered; he had to peel them with his knife, unless they wanted dirt in said stew. "I can't quite fathom why, but my best guess is that we're either playing right into his cards or there's an ulterior motive we don't know of.", he suggested, plunging the carrot slices in a put that he set atop of their little makeshift fireplace, filled with nothing but water up until now. "We're already in Olette, but ... I'd prefer not to seek him out at his own home for plenty of reasons. One, it's the mansion of a duke, two, the defenses are probably better than all that we've encountered before and three, the moment we lose to him, we're done for - not in the literal sense of death. I wouldn't wish something like that upon my worst enemy.", he grumbled, pushing all that he could think off as far away as possible. Their plan would be to stall and draw Aramis out of his hometurf, at best. "The only thing I can think of would require going to Myriad and try to take his puppet king hostage - if he has one. And that's not a good speculation, either." Someone had to rule this country, right? But then, who on earth was it? Nayantai grimaced - and then couldn't help but laugh, out loud, too. "Much more like me, huh? I'd say you're a good mix of both of us. As stubborn as Rain, but as willing to put up a fight as me. Even if you don't want the throne, you'd have made a fine king for sure. A righteous one, at that." Nayantai couldn't help it - Richard reminded him of himself, but also of Rain - he was just like both of them. "Dayan? Your brother is ... was ... much more opportunistic. I feel like he'd seek revenge, but I also feel as if he'd do just that and then would have disappeared to do his own thing, whatever it'd be in Silesse or not. You are very much the same, but I think the difference between the two of you is that Dayan never would admit that he feels dutybound to do any of this, even if all of you were to haunt him. He'd lie to himself, because all the decisions he wants to make are his own, which ... isn't a bad thing either. You both have your heart at the right spot, just different views of the world."

"It could be that, or that they still hold a grudge from way back then. Or that it wasn't exactly hard to tell that your father and me weren't just king and diplomat, at the very least. Whatever it is, it could be a combination of all of those, or none of them.", he answered with the shrug of his shoulders. They basically endured their former king as well, fucking wolves left and right or watching them kill one another in bed, or maybe even doing it for them - that man had been, by all accounts, multiple layers of fucked up and Nayantai probably wouldn't have known that his father was a completely normal person, were it not for Rikiya spilling the beans at that time. Whatever, it didn't matter - the ghost of the a dead lunatic wasn't haunting him, and any ex-lover he might have had had finally disappeared into the wind, except for Rain, but he never considered him to be a thing of the past, nor did he haunt him; they just shared dreams with one another, but it mostly was Nayantais imagination. "Fine, you got me. The last time I was capable of doing that, I still could taste things, so I would've been around nineteen? Something like that. I'm glad I have you, not just to remind me that I need to eat, though.", he spoke aloud, his own expression softening. "I wouldn't say that he's more devious than anticipated - it was a given, but yes. Sure, you shouldn't lump all olettians in with the rest, just because their royal family is full of lunatics, but if they consider us monsters, they might as well be maggots." That they were and Nayantai had no respect for them; his time as someone that held any kind of pretend status, that had to save face, if only for his king, was long over - and it wouldn't hurt to let Richard know just what was right and what wasn't. "There's two options in this case. If this is his plan and we're just pawns being played with, he wants those people to die and is planting those clues on purpose. However, it could also not be his game at all - but then I don't know who's playing us like two fiddles. It's just going strangely well for my taste.", he huffed and wondered what it was. Was he completely wrong? None of this made sense to him, but maybe the puzzle pieces would fall into place at some point, sooner than later anyway.

"Yes, but that's not all that important. I hope it doesn't exist anymore, but I'm convinced it's still working perfectly fine - maybe even used. I don't know. You can ask away if you'd like, it's been ages - there's nothing to apologize for, but you probably also understand why neither of us told any of you." A child wouldn't understand and the horrors of war weren't to be laid bare in front of those who were to young to understand any of them - and besides, Nayantai was hardly able to cointain himself most of the time, feeling as if a stone had been placed in the pit of his stomach, only sinking deeper, and yet, it had been so, so long, he ought to have gotten over it. "Don't get me started about Ares. Every damn time Dayan was up against him, I could already hear the complaints before the match even started - but that's hardly important. Hm, I think he had twins after that? But ... I don't think Aramis cares for his children as any normal person would. He willingly sacrificed his father, no? It only follows he'd not give a damn about his own children either. And even if he does, he'd hardly come get her himself." They'd just be easy meat, ripe for slaughtering or at least get captured and would never see the light of day again; the thought itself was gloomy, Nayantai knew as much, but they were at least trying to devise a plan, for better or for worse. "Trust me, I'd call him one of his defining features, if not the one I got to see the most - he might be all of what you call him, too, and I'd agree wholeheartedly, but you needn't be like any of us, Richard. You are yourself, and you're still young. For one, you're not as conceited and as selfish as I was around your age. You can be rough around the edges, but that doesn't make you any less kind, or lovable. Look, someone else might not agree because they don't know your circumstances, but trauma changes people, often for the worse - it's nothing you control, just a natural response. You'll heal overtime, I promise." It would take forever, but that was the part better left out; Richard didn't need to know or hear that, Nayantai was convinced he could already guess as much. "Who knows what's all the way east. But whatever it is, I'm sure he'd come home at some point and pester you until you'd have just gone with him - and he'd bring a heap of presents with him. And I always thought I wanted to be as free as I could, but ... your brother took that to a whole other level. What about you, though? Would you chase after that for him, or do you have your own ideas?"

"Mh, don't be like that. You are you, whatever you choose to do with your own life is your decision, but you're very much both adrestian and thrian. Crimes can't be excused without proper apologies, but carrying grudges doesn't help either. You're young, there's things to learn, and while I consider myself flattered, your father is very much adrestian - and a very good example of someone that did the right thing.", the old wolf mumbled, knowing well enough that Rain was one of the very few he considered helpful, among other adrestians - but thrians weren't free of prejudice either. Their eyes were peeled for anything different, for someone that didn't fit in, and yet, they also accepted just about anyone within their ranks, as long as they could make themselves useful. Mixed children that were hated by their adrestian parent were often times accepted into thrian communities without anyone asking, but ... it wasn't right to glorify one heritage and denote the other. "I know. Death is just a possible outcome, one of many, but not a certain one. I'm guessing that becoming king is also off the table, though?", he wondered. Richard didn't seem like he cared or wanted the throne, and maybe Dayan and his endless stream of ideas, his ideologies of freedom, were to blame for that - or maybe it was previously unexplored jealousy. "It's something you'll get used to. We both know neither of us are." That they weren't, though, adrestians were superb at ruining ones self-esteem. "You almost sound like me, but you're right." Aramis would pay, and if Nayantai got to rip his head from his shoulders, whatever he still lived or had already died, he'd savor every moment of it - it didn't matter if he turned into a fully-fledged monster at this point, he'd take it, and hoist the head on a stake, or hang it from the gates of Olette's capital city; whatever would transpire, he'd get a taste of his revenge. "It's fine, just know I'm willing to share all that I know with you. But that aside, I'd much rather just kill Aramis - he isn't worth my time and shouldn't be worth yours, either. Making him suffer would only prove some fucked up point in his head; we should focus on ridding ourselves of him instead."

They needn't do anything more, that much was for certain - and just like that, he plopped the last of carrots into the pot. Carrots and potatoes were hardly a filling meal, but milk would spoil eventually and was annoying to transport, though, they still had green beans and a bunch of herbs that Nayantai added, to at least make it taste what he'd assume would be acceptable. "That aside, imagine a combination of Rikiya and Dayan, and you get what would essentially be your uncle.", he suddenly blurted out unprompted, thinking about another Dayan entirely - was it selfish to name his son after a brother he'd lost, the one he couldn't protect? It hardly mattered, all the battles to avenge him had long been thought. "So, you're suggesting we either fake our death or capture - or let ourselves be captured by someone that isn't him - and lay low until he forgets about us? We hardly can take however many hundreds of thousands of soldiers as just the two of us, a head-on approach wouldn't work, but it would probably suffice to indeed distract them and just make our way inside. Lighting the shipyard on fire does seem extreme, but it could work." So much for laying low and doing discrete work - but neither of them were trained assassins either and they were but petty men with a desire for revenge and a penchant for violence, it therefore only followed that they'd had to get around to doing what they though of as their duty somehow. "I'm speaking the truth, I'm not trying to be flattering. I just ... ugh, I'm horrible with words, alright? What I'm saying is, we are very similar in that aspect, too, and while I wish I could have prevented that from happening, all I can offer you now is my advice and acknowledgement. It doesn't mean I love you any less. Don't ever think that you're worth less just because of that, do you understand me?", Nayantai hammered home, but he did so while smiling faintly, trying his best, even though it probably looked crooked and nothing like the radiant smile of Rain. "Well, if you gave it a few years, I'm sure Atwick or someone else would have filled in for you for a bit. Just because you're king doesn't mean you aren't allowed to see the world." Would Atwick even be up for that? If not, maybe Flora. Or maybe Nayantai himself. No, wait. Horrible idea. "That ... doesn't seem like a bad choice, if you ask me. Unless they start hunting you for sport, then I'd book it out of here as fast as I could."

"You're right about that, however, even if everything went the way it should've and you'd have ascended to the throne, they'd still be your people. Their dirt and blood isn't yours to clean of, they can very well do it themselves and your choices are still yours, however, their responsibilities aren't.", he suddenly explained, though, he himself would neither forgive Olette or Alster for what they did. In the grandscheme of things, Adrestians weren't the most innocent and agreeable people, but they were people nonetheless. "Declan is a good example. I can stand him, he's nothing like the country he represents - and his children are mostly like him. That, however, doesn't change the fact that Alster is full of those who'd rather see all of us dead than even close to the throne. It's a though spot to be in, but not all of them are the same. I hated them, too, and I still do - but your father is very much adrestian, if one of the few things that's good about Adrestia." Richards old man didn't like the place itself, didn't like the rules, or the reasons for it being what it was, but none of that mattered when he was husband to the king of a wretched country that wouldn't even acknowledge their bond, and for once, he suddenly felt like he didn't have to contain any of that. He sighed. "You know what? I'll say it once. You're right, fuck Adrestia.", he scoffed. Richard had already realized that this country wasn't worth saving anyway, and Nayantai had no qualms about admitting to agreeing to the thought - it wasn't so outlandish after all. "If I cared, I would've stopped killing people thirty years ago, so, no."

None was free of sin, not them, not any adrestians, not any wolves - but to grasp that, one had to understand that all things, mortal or immortal, were capable of committing atrocities in their own lifetimes, and that gods were nothing more than an elaborate farce to hide behind as long as it served a purpose that was right and justified in their rotten eyes and warped minds. "They aren't, but Dayan was very much like that ... not your brother, your uncle. Aside from the fact that you don't know Rikiya all that well, he seemed very tired and done with everything the last few years. But it's not important.", he explained, shaking his head in the process. Dayan was long dead and Nayantai would take mental note of never naming anyone Dayan ever again, as if the curse - that somehow existed - would carry itself through every person that it found, just because they were named Dayan for one reason or the other. "I'd have to mull over it for the night, there is nothing in particular that I can think of right now. And I think I can climb, I'm not that old. The grey hair is just a farce." That it wasn't, it was indeed a telltale sign of his age, but not only that, it also ought to show that he could have stood to stress himself less during his lifetime, but whatever, right? "Alright, alright! I'm just saying - those aren't words you'd hear while dying anyway." That would be far too late and specific at that point, no? "And explore he would have. Actually, now that you mention it, remember when he ditched us in Fhaergus and we spent half a day looking for him, only to figure out he'd gotten stuck in a tree?" Dayan was a headache and a half, especially at thirteen. "Hm, guess I'll have to find something to do, too, then."

"Are you happy about that? Not the situation itself, but ... I sincerely doubt you would have wanted to be king if you had the choice. I'm not doubting you, but you wanted to stick with Dayan, didn't you?", he asked, as if the answer to the question wasn't obvious. Dayan wouldn't let himself be shackled by anything, he wouldn't stop either and Nayantai genuinely believed that Richard, given the way he always was, had a desire to trail after his brother for as long as he could, to not let him out of sight ever again, and that whatever it was that they did, they should do together. "He's nice, but not exactly respected, I know. His father is to blame for that, though, and I'm glad I never had to talk to that man - he seemed deluded, and kind of ancient." The only time he ever saw the elusive Darragh of Alster, the instigator for this goddamn war, was more than underwhelming, but Rikiya had told him it was better that way - they'd have a serious problem otherwise, lest he'd have cut them down, were he younger by a few years. "A toast for our shared hatred? Hm, lets make that something to look forward to, then, as a victory celebration. When we're done, we'll drink something - and for that matter, you can try to drink me under the table, if you'd like." That wasn't for now, but at a later date - and it would only follow that they needed to be out of harms way. "Given, I don't know the Rikiya of Caelans stories myself, but he sounded vastly different, and based on Caelans initial reaction, I doubt their personalities were close. And yes, I do miss them - my own father more than Caelan, but I'd still like to have both of them around. Losing someone hurts, no matter the circumstances - we both know that."

Well enough, and as he grabbed the bowl he was handed, he wondered how long solemn moments like this would persist in his life; the winds of change would eventually sweep Richard away, he could still change and become someone that he should be, but it was too late for his old father, who'd stay behind and die eventually - and that was that. "A good nights sleep might help both of us and do you mind if I joined you on your hunt? Fou- ... three eyes are better than two, I guess." He'd lost that damn eye well over two decades ago, but it didn't matter, yet, he still somehow didn't account for it - he heard better than most people, very much so, but that didn't change the fact that he had one major, obvious flaw. "I'm glad you do, sometimes I feel like I don't show it well enough.", the old wolf mumbled. He was bad at words and bad at showing affection, too - he tried, without gaining anything, and all the attempts he made were foiled by his own inability to do something worth their while - to be able to make any serious attempts that proved all of that, but he was glad that he had gotten the message across to Richard, even before spelling it out. "You knew?", he suddenly blurted out, almost choking on his soup. "You two continue to surprise me, like, five years after it happened. Do you want to tell me that you also knew about Dayan 'borrowing' and completely ruining that hunting knife I got from Caelan?", he sighed, only to continue eating from his own bowl of food. He never was hungry, Richard was right, he'd starve on his own without knowing. "I'm not that old, and besides, where would I even go to? It's not like I can stick with you until the end of time, I'm sure you'd like some privacy eventually."