[Sadly, he hadn't even intended to harm with that; it was simple statement of fact. Hubert's head tilts the tiniest fraction to the side as he observes her reaction.]
Incorrect. Corrin and I don't exactly spend much time together. Really, you shouldn't put such weight on the matter.
[Who would you rather tell about your girlfriend: a) your sociable new otherworldly friends, b) the Lurch that manages one of your new friend's household and may or may not have stalked you at least once?]
But, you have my apology if such a statement caused you distress.
Azura looks back down at her hands and tries to force her face back into its usual expressionless state. Weird, it's been getting harder to do that, lately. She's been dropping face in front of people she doesn't know well enough. ]
...I-I see. [ .... ] A bit, yes, um--it just caught me off guard, is all. She's quite talkative.
[ now she's trying to picture how, exactly, corrin has been interacting with hubert. has she been annoying him with her persistent extroversion? ]
Perhaps so. In our [purposefully limited] interactions, her focus has either been Lady Edelgard, or seemingly to be a childish bother. Does she ever conduct herself fitting of her station?
[Corrin hasn't been going out her way to annoy him. They're just... like oil and water.]
Oh, yes. I know she's very high-energy, but she can be quite charismatic when she puts her mind to it. [ a little laugh ] She pulled much of our army together through negotiations and verbal persuasion.
[Charismatic. That's a word for it. Ah, right. The army. He's heard about that from Edelgard.]
Is that right? So, you fought alongside her, then. [Please, please assuage his fears, Azura.] If Corrin was the face of your army, who was your chief strategist?
[ How dare you make me write excuses for Fates's slapdash plot.....
Azura's eyebrows raise and she gives him a vaguely amused look. ]
We didn't have one in particular. It often fell to her and I in tandem with one of her retainers.
Apologies if you find that answer concerning, but this war wasn't one we had time to plan for. We assembled most of our troops and plans while we were actively being pursued.
[Hubert is not a man known for his empathy. Still, he was hoping for an answer of "not Corrin," considering his interactions with her so far. An army on the run—that sounds so utterly strange to him, given the raw logistics of managing an army, the sheer numbers to coordinate... unless they were talking something more akin to a rebel or guerrilla group?]
[Either way, he doesn't know what to say for a few beats. Hubert stares for a moment, keeping his face... mostly impassive, but his seemingly stunned silence says enough.]
...Yes. I find that deeply concerning. Surely your nations must have had standing armies, contingencies for attack... Or, are you suggesting you were the subject of a coup?
I suppose the simplest way to put it is that we were a patchwork militia, sourced from different official armies and local soldiers and such, rather than an actual army. I think there's, ah...around fifty of us, I believe.
[Look, this is all very distressing to the tactician in him.]
A patchwork militia. That raises as many questions as it answers. [He shakes his head a little.] Such as what you were on the run from in the first place.
I'm afraid clarifying that makes this a much longer and more personal tale than what I'm willing to share at the moment.
[ she gets the distinct feeling he'd give zero fucks about her dead kingdom and her dragon murder quest and make some flippant remark about it and, given that she still feels a little shaky from CORRIN HASN'T SAID A THING ABOUT YOU, she's not up for dealing with that right now. ]
If we've more chances to speak to one another, though, I wouldn't mind.
[ you gotta be c+ support to unlock her tragic backstory infodump ]
[ Niles said the same thing, when she first ran into him. That whatever happened back home didn't matter anymore, because they were here, now. She's still not sure of that. ]
No, thankfully. I'm healing according to schedule.
[ She sees where this line of questioning is going. "How long are you going to have an extra presence in this household?" ]
[Her home-world affairs were irrelevant to him; Hubert was still very much concerned with his own.]
[But she might be a little surprised.]
That's fortunate. This city-state leaves much to be desired in order and civilian matters, but at least the Coven is well-educated in the healing arts.
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no subject
Date: 2020-02-25 02:26 pm (UTC)Incorrect. Corrin and I don't exactly spend much time together. Really, you shouldn't put such weight on the matter.
[Who would you rather tell about your girlfriend: a) your sociable new otherworldly friends, b) the Lurch that manages one of your new friend's household and may or may not have stalked you at least once?]
But, you have my apology if such a statement caused you distress.
[See, he can be nice. Ish.]
no subject
Date: 2020-02-27 12:42 am (UTC)Azura looks back down at her hands and tries to force her face back into its usual expressionless state. Weird, it's been getting harder to do that, lately. She's been dropping face in front of people she doesn't know well enough. ]
...I-I see. [ .... ] A bit, yes, um--it just caught me off guard, is all. She's quite talkative.
[ now she's trying to picture how, exactly, corrin has been interacting with hubert. has she been annoying him with her persistent extroversion? ]
no subject
Date: 2020-02-27 03:41 am (UTC)[So, yes. Hubert doesn't mind a good conversation, but he's classified all his with Corrin as "pointless chatter."]
What were you expecting me to have heard? [It almost sounded like Azura's used to her reputation preceding her by Word of Corrin.]
no subject
Date: 2020-03-07 02:07 am (UTC)I'm not sure, actually. I just expected to have been an offhand mention at some point, at least. Perhaps her priorities were simply elsewhere.
no subject
Date: 2020-03-08 06:11 pm (UTC)[Corrin hasn't been going out her way to annoy him. They're just... like oil and water.]
no subject
Date: 2020-03-11 12:27 am (UTC)[ okay, Azura's a little bit biased ]
no subject
Date: 2020-03-11 04:52 am (UTC)Is that right? So, you fought alongside her, then. [Please, please assuage his fears, Azura.] If Corrin was the face of your army, who was your chief strategist?
no subject
Date: 2020-03-11 05:25 am (UTC)Azura's eyebrows raise and she gives him a vaguely amused look. ]
We didn't have one in particular. It often fell to her and I in tandem with one of her retainers.
Apologies if you find that answer concerning, but this war wasn't one we had time to plan for. We assembled most of our troops and plans while we were actively being pursued.
[ how did they all not die, really? ]
no subject
Date: 2020-03-12 03:30 am (UTC)[Either way, he doesn't know what to say for a few beats. Hubert stares for a moment, keeping his face... mostly impassive, but his seemingly stunned silence says enough.]
...Yes. I find that deeply concerning. Surely your nations must have had standing armies, contingencies for attack... Or, are you suggesting you were the subject of a coup?
[Please say yes. Make this all make sense.]
no subject
Date: 2020-03-12 05:08 am (UTC)I suppose the simplest way to put it is that we were a patchwork militia, sourced from different official armies and local soldiers and such, rather than an actual army. I think there's, ah...around fifty of us, I believe.
The term caught on, is all.
[ So no, not a real army. Calm down, Hubie. ]
no subject
Date: 2020-03-16 02:02 am (UTC)A patchwork militia. That raises as many questions as it answers. [He shakes his head a little.] Such as what you were on the run from in the first place.
no subject
Date: 2020-03-19 12:28 am (UTC)[ she gets the distinct feeling he'd give zero fucks about her dead kingdom and her dragon murder quest and make some flippant remark about it and, given that she still feels a little shaky from CORRIN HASN'T SAID A THING ABOUT YOU, she's not up for dealing with that right now. ]
If we've more chances to speak to one another, though, I wouldn't mind.
[ you gotta be c+ support to unlock her tragic backstory infodump ]
no subject
Date: 2020-03-21 11:42 pm (UTC)[The strategist in him just has... concerns, that's all. He shakes his head.]
Have you had any issues with your recovery?
no subject
Date: 2020-04-02 02:34 am (UTC)No, thankfully. I'm healing according to schedule.
[ She sees where this line of questioning is going. "How long are you going to have an extra presence in this household?" ]
no subject
Date: 2020-04-05 05:08 am (UTC)[But she might be a little surprised.]
That's fortunate. This city-state leaves much to be desired in order and civilian matters, but at least the Coven is well-educated in the healing arts.