[ Aranea expects an uncomfortable encounter. She expects to be toeing the line between tense and bored, She doesn't expect Ardyn to bring up their encounter in the kitchens some scant few weeks ago. It's a stupid little mistake, underestimating his penchance for slitting a throat and claiming it's merely a smile. Ardyn's hands flick toward her and the small hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. This - this standing, this diplomacy, this inaction - it isn't what she's good at. There's a reason she leads from the frontlines.
Angrily, Aranea's mouth twists. She casts one quick, harried glance toward Noctis before stepping forward, hands halfway to - to something -
But - no. No, Noctis has made his will very clear. Making these decisions isn't her job. She doesn't want to be the one to offer a truce anymore than she wants to be the one who ultimately breaks it. She'll have to carry her crime around with her. And it won't leave off the fact that she'll have to explain, she'll have to justify why her professional dislike at some point became a bitter, violent hate.
Foot slamming back, she pivots. Rather unhappily, her hands end up back in the front pockets of her coat. It's a defensive pose, contrasting her usual open body language. ]
... yeah.
Look, whatever rules you have in your little truce -
[ Say it, she has to tell herself, and more than once. Say it. ]
no subject
Angrily, Aranea's mouth twists. She casts one quick, harried glance toward Noctis before stepping forward, hands halfway to - to something -
But - no. No, Noctis has made his will very clear. Making these decisions isn't her job. She doesn't want to be the one to offer a truce anymore than she wants to be the one who ultimately breaks it. She'll have to carry her crime around with her. And it won't leave off the fact that she'll have to explain, she'll have to justify why her professional dislike at some point became a bitter, violent hate.
Foot slamming back, she pivots. Rather unhappily, her hands end up back in the front pockets of her coat. It's a defensive pose, contrasting her usual open body language. ]
... yeah.
Look, whatever rules you have in your little truce -
[ Say it, she has to tell herself, and more than once. Say it. ]
- I'll abide by it.
[
Just kill her now.]