I tried to sell my soul last night
Funny, he wouldn't even take a bite
The first face he sees is not a face he had expected, though perhaps he should have. After their mutual home had sunk, he would have needed to find a place to stay, so why not the neighboring kingdom? To his immense surprise, there is a small kernel of something almost like… relief? at seeing Tarian’s familiar features. He quashes it quickly, annoyance rising in its place, but he does not deny the other pegasus.
“Tarian,” he grunts in reply, his dark eyes flat as they survey the other stallion. The man had been the closest thing to a friend Ashhal has had in a very long time, though he would hesitate to call them anything more than an acquaintance who he disliked less than he disliked most others.
When his gaze slips past Tarian to land on another, the harsh lines of his face go blank, revealing nothing of what he feels. In truth, he’s not entirely certain what it is he feels anyway. His chest tightens, irritation, confusion, and something almost like guilt sparking and dying in quick succession. Whatever it is, he has no desire to examine it too closely, nor does he want to give Casimira the false impression that he might ever be the kind of father she wanted him to be.
A scowl tugs at his lips when she asks if they know each other. Eyes flicking to Tarian, he gives only a clipped nod in response before returning his attention to Casimira. Ashhal has never been a man of many words, so he would leave it to Tarian to explain if he wanted to. The other pegasus already knew too damned well just how social Ashhal is.
Though he is hardly an expert at reading others, even he can see Casimira is selecting her words carefully as she addresses him. The knowledge only causes his scowl to deepen, though not for the reason he would wish. Not that he would ever admit it was caused by a swiftly quelled flicker of shame rather than annoyance at her carefully worded question.
“No,” he replies after a heavy moment. Unless one counted flying over, though he hadn’t been paying much attention. But he doesn’t bother trying to expound. He’d never been very good at maintaining civility if he had to speak more than a few words, and she had already seen plenty of his uncivil side. While he would never be deemed pleasant, he could at least demonstrate his ability to keep himself in check.
@Tarian
@Casimira