[He huffs a breath, the sound almost a laugh if not for the bitterness woven through his tone.] You're not the only one.
[He takes off the ring and draws back enough that he won't risk her brushing up against it while he's holding it - he can't help his own paranoia, though it's less frightening when it's on his finger. With his free hand he pulls a chain off from around his neck and threads it through.]
Watching my dad, I grew up knowing this would happen one way or another- there's always been a price for using the ring, even for us. Bet most of the old kings barely hit middle age.
[He shoots her a brief but meaningful look; she lives with Somnus, she knows how young he looks in death. Younger than most, granted, but he'd had a lot that needed doing in his time.]
Anybody would be scared of dying... that's normal. But putting it on meant stepping up, really taking over after my dad. Being king. It meant that he's actually gone, that I'd feel it.
[His fingers rub idly over the surface of the ring. Barely a minute after it's off his finger and he already feels better. How his father endured it for as long as he did, he has no idea.]
no subject
[He takes off the ring and draws back enough that he won't risk her brushing up against it while he's holding it - he can't help his own paranoia, though it's less frightening when it's on his finger. With his free hand he pulls a chain off from around his neck and threads it through.]
Watching my dad, I grew up knowing this would happen one way or another- there's always been a price for using the ring, even for us. Bet most of the old kings barely hit middle age.
[He shoots her a brief but meaningful look; she lives with Somnus, she knows how young he looks in death. Younger than most, granted, but he'd had a lot that needed doing in his time.]
Anybody would be scared of dying... that's normal. But putting it on meant stepping up, really taking over after my dad. Being king. It meant that he's actually gone, that I'd feel it.
[His fingers rub idly over the surface of the ring. Barely a minute after it's off his finger and he already feels better. How his father endured it for as long as he did, he has no idea.]