[Simon's always been too tall and broad for his own good, always getting reprimanded in the training yard for bruising the other pages with clumsy strength he hadn't even meant to exercise, but there's near to nothing left now of that soft baby-faced boy who didn't understand his own bulk or know what to do with his limbs. He'd had a pinchable-cheeked look about him at eighteen, something a little laughable about the determined set of his jaw, even if the laughter it prompted was kindly meant enough. It's no wonder Seoraj wouldn't have expected to hear from him again.
But there is no visible softness about him at thirty, and only a little of the old ungainliness about his walk once he's made to navigate a small crowded room. The armor he hasn't had the time to change out of hangs on him as if anything else would look vaguely out of place. Seoraj, though--
One always expects a subject of childhood admiration to seem less impressive when revisited as an adult. Not so, now. Not at all. The hair has only become even more majestic, the tattoos as enthralling as ever they were, and the aura of confidence that had made a teenage Simon hang on his words--that's indelible.
He grins back, and pulls Seoraj into a rough embrace.]
And you've still got nicer braids than all the village girls put together.
no subject
But there is no visible softness about him at thirty, and only a little of the old ungainliness about his walk once he's made to navigate a small crowded room. The armor he hasn't had the time to change out of hangs on him as if anything else would look vaguely out of place. Seoraj, though--
One always expects a subject of childhood admiration to seem less impressive when revisited as an adult. Not so, now. Not at all. The hair has only become even more majestic, the tattoos as enthralling as ever they were, and the aura of confidence that had made a teenage Simon hang on his words--that's indelible.
He grins back, and pulls Seoraj into a rough embrace.]
And you've still got nicer braids than all the village girls put together.