"Is that so?" Maybe a bit more loudly than necessary, and certainly very archly. Val drags his thumb back, recalling Veronique to the confines of the house. A hole has been blasted through the wall. Let it stay there. Let the rain come, and the winds, and the seabirds and the rats and the insects and the thieves. Let plants grow upon the floor. Let rot set in. Why not!
With more control (and yet still slightly clipped), he continues. "Then let me say: how very clever, ma poule. I admire your ability to see so clearly and plainly what must be said and done to get the desired result. And how greatly do I appreciate the reminder toward unsentimentality. Imagine, if I had said aloud that I had in fact missed you while I was in Val Royeaux--that I left early because I was so dissatisfied, that I had thought to come to Orzammar myself and came instead to Kirkwall, only to remain dissatisfied--that I am dissatisfied to this day, this very hour and moment--that this feeling is unsettlingly unique--that your company has become somehow, impossibly, something that I could not say that I enjoy but that I at least look forward to, upon occasion--imagine, if I had said all of that. I could never return from that shore of sentimentality. Thank you, thank you, for the reminder."
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2022-07-21 04:04 am (UTC)With more control (and yet still slightly clipped), he continues. "Then let me say: how very clever, ma poule. I admire your ability to see so clearly and plainly what must be said and done to get the desired result. And how greatly do I appreciate the reminder toward unsentimentality. Imagine, if I had said aloud that I had in fact missed you while I was in Val Royeaux--that I left early because I was so dissatisfied, that I had thought to come to Orzammar myself and came instead to Kirkwall, only to remain dissatisfied--that I am dissatisfied to this day, this very hour and moment--that this feeling is unsettlingly unique--that your company has become somehow, impossibly, something that I could not say that I enjoy but that I at least look forward to, upon occasion--imagine, if I had said all of that. I could never return from that shore of sentimentality. Thank you, thank you, for the reminder."