Post by Roland Ferrum on Jun 6, 2023 17:53:33 GMT -8
*Happy to see his friend and gain a bit of a reprieve from the drudgery of the overall party he endures the ridiculous air kissing custom and even manages to hide his distaste for it by summoning a genuine smile. Disassociated from the haughty arrogance that most of the upper crust of society imbued into it he was able to accept it in the spirit it was intended from his friend and a part of him was glad that she was no longer embarrassed by her background even if he himself had contributed to that discomfort in the past.*
*He lets La-Di lead him away from the balcony, his own arm naturally falling in place around hers, seeking an old familiar comfort that had gotten him through many similar formal occasions of the past. His smile fades however at the mention of his Uncle's death, his eyes unfocusing slightly as the past few days flash across his memories once again, seeing the pain in the eyes of his closest family as they all begin to process the event in their own ways. Thankfully before he's forced to respond she relieves him of that burden and whisks him to the bar, chatting amiably. His smile returns once again as she mentions his medals and he chuckles softly.* "Oh, it's absolutely fantastic isn't it?" *He leans in toward her conspiratorially and exaggeratedly whispers.* "I'm even fairly sure that the protocol officers only had to to invent half of them, I might even have earned one or two of them" *He laughs at his own joke for a moment before she shifts to adjust the Fondor ribbon and face fades back into a more somber expression as faces begin flashing through his mind and for just a moment he's back in that interceptor cockpit, flying on instinct, just trying not to be shot down as friends evaporate into balls of explosive gas around him, debris littering the space around him, causing more hazards than he can track, bearing down on him as he struggles for his life. Thankfully his friend's voice cuts back through the memories and brings him back as she mentions it not being the same. A part of him wants to make a joke about not wanting to take all the kills away from the rest of them, or how he had been transferred for being too dangerous in the skies, but his friend deserved a more genuine response than his usual deflection.*
*Thankfully the timely arrival of the whiskey and the toast to the fallen save him from having to make any response to that at all. He clinks his glass to hers and echos her words, his mind reciting a list of names silently as he drinks. That list, starting with the name of a cadet who'd died in a landing accident in the academy and ending with his uncle's, was a weight on his soul that he sat silently for a moment wrestling with, letting the toast linger for a few moments after his first drink is finished, his gaze wondering off for a moment before he drew himself back to the moment, pouring them both another drink and turning his attention back to the conversation, though changing the subject slightly.* "You asked about my family earlier. You're right that I've been asked about them a lot in the past few days, but few people actually care about the answer." *He did manage a weak chuckle at the expense of the political cronies he'd been forced to associate with recently and their self serving false attitudes.* "In truth they're doing as well as can be expected. They're all strong people, some of the strongest that I know in fact, but losing someone you love is hard and dealing with that on top of trying to keep an empire on track is something else entirely. I'm mean they've been reduced to sending me out to represent the family" *He gestured to their surroundings* "So clearly we are all doomed." *He did manage a genuine smile with that one, some of his usual jovial nature finally able to reassert itself into the situation as he made a joke at his own expense.*
*He lets La-Di lead him away from the balcony, his own arm naturally falling in place around hers, seeking an old familiar comfort that had gotten him through many similar formal occasions of the past. His smile fades however at the mention of his Uncle's death, his eyes unfocusing slightly as the past few days flash across his memories once again, seeing the pain in the eyes of his closest family as they all begin to process the event in their own ways. Thankfully before he's forced to respond she relieves him of that burden and whisks him to the bar, chatting amiably. His smile returns once again as she mentions his medals and he chuckles softly.* "Oh, it's absolutely fantastic isn't it?" *He leans in toward her conspiratorially and exaggeratedly whispers.* "I'm even fairly sure that the protocol officers only had to to invent half of them, I might even have earned one or two of them" *He laughs at his own joke for a moment before she shifts to adjust the Fondor ribbon and face fades back into a more somber expression as faces begin flashing through his mind and for just a moment he's back in that interceptor cockpit, flying on instinct, just trying not to be shot down as friends evaporate into balls of explosive gas around him, debris littering the space around him, causing more hazards than he can track, bearing down on him as he struggles for his life. Thankfully his friend's voice cuts back through the memories and brings him back as she mentions it not being the same. A part of him wants to make a joke about not wanting to take all the kills away from the rest of them, or how he had been transferred for being too dangerous in the skies, but his friend deserved a more genuine response than his usual deflection.*
*Thankfully the timely arrival of the whiskey and the toast to the fallen save him from having to make any response to that at all. He clinks his glass to hers and echos her words, his mind reciting a list of names silently as he drinks. That list, starting with the name of a cadet who'd died in a landing accident in the academy and ending with his uncle's, was a weight on his soul that he sat silently for a moment wrestling with, letting the toast linger for a few moments after his first drink is finished, his gaze wondering off for a moment before he drew himself back to the moment, pouring them both another drink and turning his attention back to the conversation, though changing the subject slightly.* "You asked about my family earlier. You're right that I've been asked about them a lot in the past few days, but few people actually care about the answer." *He did manage a weak chuckle at the expense of the political cronies he'd been forced to associate with recently and their self serving false attitudes.* "In truth they're doing as well as can be expected. They're all strong people, some of the strongest that I know in fact, but losing someone you love is hard and dealing with that on top of trying to keep an empire on track is something else entirely. I'm mean they've been reduced to sending me out to represent the family" *He gestured to their surroundings* "So clearly we are all doomed." *He did manage a genuine smile with that one, some of his usual jovial nature finally able to reassert itself into the situation as he made a joke at his own expense.*