[ That's enough to earn a quick, wry smile from the Roegadyn, who brushes her hair back out of her face. ]
I imagine so.
[ While her memory is fuzzy on the details of how she came to be here, they're certain on one point: she shouldn't be alive. Her last conscious thought was that there wasn't enough aether to fuel the blade that would bring the Ascian down, and there was only one ready supply. Her thoughts are easily distracted from those moments, though, by what the man says next. There's an unmistakable softening in her expression, a warmth in her voice when she answers. ]
[ It's a fair question, though one which Ardbert finds difficult to answer. He pauses, taking a moment to enjoy a sip of his drink first. It had been so long since he was able to eat and drink that he's been sampling the offerings from the dining car as often as he can, and he can't hold back on the content sigh he lets out after indulging. ]
As well as they can be.
[ Which is a statement that requires some explanation, he realizes. He shifts in his seat enough to look the woman over again. Casual as she may seem, he can only imagine she's eager to hear news of someone she called friend. Especially as Ardbert suspects it's been quite some time since last she saw him. ]
We were facing a dangerous enemy. [ "We," he says, but he had been part of the fight in the end, hadn't he? And how good it had felt to finally be able to do something. ] But we succeeded, and last I can recall, they were making their way back to a safe harbor of sorts, to celebrate.
[ It's as they'd been approaching the Crystarium that everything becomes fuzzy in his recollection. He thought he'd seen his old friends, Branden and Lamitt and the others, but then...
Well, once this journey is over, he hopes he can see them once more. ]
[ That gets a sidelong glance and a strangely piercing look; a reminder that for all her friendly manner, those marks on her neck aren't for show. Moenbryda is a scholar of Sharlayan, first and foremost, and if there's anything they're known for, it's being too curious for their own good, and the phrasing he's used doesn't escape her. ]
That's a terribly vague answer, you know. [ She leans back, flicking a bit of hair out of her face again, then gives him a wry smile. ] But I daresay the Scions' exploits tend to sound mad when you try to explain them in detail, so I can't fault you for that.
[ She finally reaches to pick up her drink, offering it at him to toast. ]
Still, before we go on exchanging stories, perhaps we ought to introduce ourselves to each other. My name is Moenbryda. Archon of Sharlayan and aetherology expert.
[ It's not as if Ardbert is purposefully being obtuse, but to give her a more specific answer would require a good deal of time. They have an abundance of it here, of course, with little else to do but while away the time with good company and conversation.
All the same, he would rather be sure she's interested in hearing the long version before he launches into it. She does seem to understand why he's kept it so truncated, at the least.
With a nod, he lifts up his own drink and knocks it against hers, taking a longer pull from it as he considers how to introduce himself. ]
Ardbert. [ And what should follow? Warrior of Darkness? Surely not. Hero of the First? Not a chance. He stares down at the table for a number of seconds, aware that he's left Moenbryda hanging, before he shrugs and lets out a thin laugh. ] Just Ardbert.
[ Now there's a laugh with a story behind it, if she's ever heard one. Another person might have chosen to do the tactful thing and let it go unremarked, but tact is a resource Moenbryda has never had terribly much use for, which means that once she's quaffed a good portion of her mug and set it back down on the bar. ]
No one's 'just' anything. [ Silver eyes sweep Ardbert up and down, assessingly. ]
If you'd rather not go into the details, or the memory's unpleasant, that's your business. But I took you for another adventurer. You certainly dress the part.
[ Having just met this woman, Ardbert hadn't known whether she would pick up on the meaning between his words, and if she did, whether she'd comment on it. Turns that out she's the direct type, which isn't all so surprising given her general demeanor.
As much as it won't do any good or change much of anything to rehash all this, Ardbert is still taken enough with the simple fact that he can converse with someone that he'll indulge her. Especially since she has a link to the Scions he knows.
Following her gesture, he glances down at his axe and nods. ] Aye, suppose you're right. Oftentimes I've thought it would have been best if I'd remained just that — an adventurer and nothing more.
[ It had started out so simple, so innocent, yet before he knew it, he'd become something larger than himself. Ardbert meets Moenbryda's gaze again and lets out a full-body sigh. ]
I'll say this. Being a 'hero of the realm' is a tad overrated.
[ That earns him a bright peal of laughter and a wry smile, Moenbryda tipping her head to one side so her hair spills against one shoulder. ]
Oh, I'm well aware. I've never been much of one for heroics, myself.
[ She toys with the mug in her hands, studying his expression. ]
But from what I gather, it's not always in your hands, is it? Perhaps you could have walked away someone who needed your aid, or turned a blind eye to some injustice, but what sort of person would that have made you? Not one that would have liked his own company much, I imagine. [ She raises a hand, beckoning to the bartender for a refill of her drink. ]
You may choose what you do, but not what others call you.
[ Not one for heroics? The look that Ardbert fixes Moenbryda with when she says as much is nothing less than skeptical. One doesn't get close with the Scions without having at least a few heroic tendencies, he would guess.
As she continues on, however, his expression smooths into something more thoughtful. He takes a slow sip of his drink. She makes a good point, and this is a conversation which Ardbert's had with himself more times than he would care to count. For all that he might be full of regret, is there anything he could go back and do differently?
Not bury his axe into Mitron's chest, mayhap. ]
You're not wrong. Before we knew it, the whole star was calling us heroes. Warriors of Light. Aye, just like the one I'm sure you had the pleasure of meeting.
[ Unless she'd lost her life before the Scions and the Warrior of Light had come together. ]
[ The corner of Moenbryda's mouth lifts again, her head cocking slightly. ]
Just the one that I've met. [ She affirms. ] From what I'm given to understand, it's not the most common of titles, so unless where you come from is that different, you must have done something to earn it.
[ While she hadn't zeroed in on that little detail about being from another star the first time, she does now, giving him an appraising look as drums her fingers on the tabletop. ]
Though unless things have very much changed from what I remember, we're a very long way from managing trips between stars, brief or otherwise. How is it that you came to meet the Scions, exactly?
[ Though with heroes, really, anything might be possible. ]
[ There's little chance of Moenbryda getting Ardbert to brag about any of his accomplishments from back when he'd carried that title, and he offers her little more than a shrug in response. She'll have to draw her own conclusions. Ardbert wouldn't even say that he could be lumped in with the Warrior she knows, who's on a whole other level compared to him. He's aware that he'd earn protest from the hero themselves, were he ever to voice that sentiment.
Not that it matters much now. He's already gone, on this train to make his way to a place from whence he'll likely never return. For good, this time.
Which brings him to Moenbryda's question. He smiles wryly, ducking his head for a moment before taking another long draw from his drink. Then, he stares at the glass rather than her, his fingers tracing over the condensation. ]
It's more common than you would expect, these days. Inter-dimensional travel, that is. I did it the hard way, by making a bad deal with an Ascian.
[ It's not a time or set of circumstances he's ever eager to recall, but he also isn't going to lie to her. All he can do these days is own up to his mistakes. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
I imagine so.
[ While her memory is fuzzy on the details of how she came to be here, they're certain on one point: she shouldn't be alive. Her last conscious thought was that there wasn't enough aether to fuel the blade that would bring the Ascian down, and there was only one ready supply. Her thoughts are easily distracted from those moments, though, by what the man says next. There's an unmistakable softening in her expression, a warmth in her voice when she answers. ]
And are they well?
no subject
As well as they can be.
[ Which is a statement that requires some explanation, he realizes. He shifts in his seat enough to look the woman over again. Casual as she may seem, he can only imagine she's eager to hear news of someone she called friend. Especially as Ardbert suspects it's been quite some time since last she saw him. ]
We were facing a dangerous enemy. [ "We," he says, but he had been part of the fight in the end, hadn't he? And how good it had felt to finally be able to do something. ] But we succeeded, and last I can recall, they were making their way back to a safe harbor of sorts, to celebrate.
[ It's as they'd been approaching the Crystarium that everything becomes fuzzy in his recollection. He thought he'd seen his old friends, Branden and Lamitt and the others, but then...
Well, once this journey is over, he hopes he can see them once more. ]
no subject
That's a terribly vague answer, you know. [ She leans back, flicking a bit of hair out of her face again, then gives him a wry smile. ] But I daresay the Scions' exploits tend to sound mad when you try to explain them in detail, so I can't fault you for that.
[ She finally reaches to pick up her drink, offering it at him to toast. ]
Still, before we go on exchanging stories, perhaps we ought to introduce ourselves to each other. My name is Moenbryda. Archon of Sharlayan and aetherology expert.
no subject
All the same, he would rather be sure she's interested in hearing the long version before he launches into it. She does seem to understand why he's kept it so truncated, at the least.
With a nod, he lifts up his own drink and knocks it against hers, taking a longer pull from it as he considers how to introduce himself. ]
Ardbert. [ And what should follow? Warrior of Darkness? Surely not. Hero of the First? Not a chance. He stares down at the table for a number of seconds, aware that he's left Moenbryda hanging, before he shrugs and lets out a thin laugh. ] Just Ardbert.
no subject
No one's 'just' anything. [ Silver eyes sweep Ardbert up and down, assessingly. ]
If you'd rather not go into the details, or the memory's unpleasant, that's your business. But I took you for another adventurer. You certainly dress the part.
[ She waves a hand at his axe. ]
no subject
As much as it won't do any good or change much of anything to rehash all this, Ardbert is still taken enough with the simple fact that he can converse with someone that he'll indulge her. Especially since she has a link to the Scions he knows.
Following her gesture, he glances down at his axe and nods. ] Aye, suppose you're right. Oftentimes I've thought it would have been best if I'd remained just that — an adventurer and nothing more.
[ It had started out so simple, so innocent, yet before he knew it, he'd become something larger than himself. Ardbert meets Moenbryda's gaze again and lets out a full-body sigh. ]
I'll say this. Being a 'hero of the realm' is a tad overrated.
no subject
Oh, I'm well aware. I've never been much of one for heroics, myself.
[ She toys with the mug in her hands, studying his expression. ]
But from what I gather, it's not always in your hands, is it? Perhaps you could have walked away someone who needed your aid, or turned a blind eye to some injustice, but what sort of person would that have made you? Not one that would have liked his own company much, I imagine. [ She raises a hand, beckoning to the bartender for a refill of her drink. ]
You may choose what you do, but not what others call you.
no subject
As she continues on, however, his expression smooths into something more thoughtful. He takes a slow sip of his drink. She makes a good point, and this is a conversation which Ardbert's had with himself more times than he would care to count. For all that he might be full of regret, is there anything he could go back and do differently?
Not bury his axe into Mitron's chest, mayhap. ]
You're not wrong. Before we knew it, the whole star was calling us heroes. Warriors of Light. Aye, just like the one I'm sure you had the pleasure of meeting.
[ Unless she'd lost her life before the Scions and the Warrior of Light had come together. ]
no subject
Just the one that I've met. [ She affirms. ] From what I'm given to understand, it's not the most common of titles, so unless where you come from is that different, you must have done something to earn it.
[ While she hadn't zeroed in on that little detail about being from another star the first time, she does now, giving him an appraising look as drums her fingers on the tabletop. ]
Though unless things have very much changed from what I remember, we're a very long way from managing trips between stars, brief or otherwise. How is it that you came to meet the Scions, exactly?
[ Though with heroes, really, anything might be possible. ]
no subject
Not that it matters much now. He's already gone, on this train to make his way to a place from whence he'll likely never return. For good, this time.
Which brings him to Moenbryda's question. He smiles wryly, ducking his head for a moment before taking another long draw from his drink. Then, he stares at the glass rather than her, his fingers tracing over the condensation. ]
It's more common than you would expect, these days. Inter-dimensional travel, that is. I did it the hard way, by making a bad deal with an Ascian.
[ It's not a time or set of circumstances he's ever eager to recall, but he also isn't going to lie to her. All he can do these days is own up to his mistakes. ]