06-27-2017, 10:58 AM
He could see the question in Aten's eyes at his current state, sleek with sweat as he was and breathing hard, but they both chose to ignore it. Thankfully. Instead, Aten reminded him of when he'd asked the gold stallion to help Jinju visit other lands. As usual, other things had come up before they'd gotten the chance to; Heda leaving, Nayl coming, an uncertain relationship with his only daughter by blood. Now Jinju was far too pregnant to be taking on such a task.
They were both in agreement on that.
"If you trust me enough to journey outside the Taiga to a kingdom of your choosing, I would be glad to go there and propose an alliance between them and the Taiga. I will follow your orders and be proud to help the kingdom gain the allies it needs."
Ruan nodded in acknowledgement but said nothing at first. It was a big task to settle on Aten's shoulders, and even though the man was willing and offering, he was still reluctant to burden him. "We do need to visit the kingdoms," he agreed, pensive. He'd wanted to, after all, had even asked Aten and Jinju help him do it. But one thing after another seemed to come up, and he sighed quietly. It was hard to ask for help.
"I am hesitant to form alliances," he said carefully, gauging Aten's reaction to that. He'd turned down Djinni's merge of Sylva and Taiga forests. He didn't really know Djinni, had barely met her once before. Couldn't possibly assume her intentions. Alliances were probably easy for others to break the moment they decided to, but it was harder for him. Too damned loyal. And it wouldn't be the first time someone he thought he knew turned out to be a completely different person.
"Continue to Nerine as we planned, but I think we should get to know them before we make formal commitments. Learn who their friends are, who their enemies are, what kind of people they are. If they can be trusted." He watched Aten as he spoke, then paused. Considering. Could he trust Aten with such a major task? He already trusted the man's judgement, maybe this was only a step above that. He was afraid Aten hadn't had to learn the hard lessons in trust that he'd had.
He softened, eyes warm. "Be careful, Aten. Sometimes people only seem trustworthy. Listen to their actions more than their words. I trust you to speak on behalf of the Taiga."
They were both in agreement on that.
"If you trust me enough to journey outside the Taiga to a kingdom of your choosing, I would be glad to go there and propose an alliance between them and the Taiga. I will follow your orders and be proud to help the kingdom gain the allies it needs."
Ruan nodded in acknowledgement but said nothing at first. It was a big task to settle on Aten's shoulders, and even though the man was willing and offering, he was still reluctant to burden him. "We do need to visit the kingdoms," he agreed, pensive. He'd wanted to, after all, had even asked Aten and Jinju help him do it. But one thing after another seemed to come up, and he sighed quietly. It was hard to ask for help.
"I am hesitant to form alliances," he said carefully, gauging Aten's reaction to that. He'd turned down Djinni's merge of Sylva and Taiga forests. He didn't really know Djinni, had barely met her once before. Couldn't possibly assume her intentions. Alliances were probably easy for others to break the moment they decided to, but it was harder for him. Too damned loyal. And it wouldn't be the first time someone he thought he knew turned out to be a completely different person.
"Continue to Nerine as we planned, but I think we should get to know them before we make formal commitments. Learn who their friends are, who their enemies are, what kind of people they are. If they can be trusted." He watched Aten as he spoke, then paused. Considering. Could he trust Aten with such a major task? He already trusted the man's judgement, maybe this was only a step above that. He was afraid Aten hadn't had to learn the hard lessons in trust that he'd had.
He softened, eyes warm. "Be careful, Aten. Sometimes people only seem trustworthy. Listen to their actions more than their words. I trust you to speak on behalf of the Taiga."
