Rivin had been right behind him as he came in for the lecture, and it didn't take long for his father to get started. When he thanked them for finally showing up, Aresenn had to fight himself to keep from rolling his eyes. He looked away as Ignis went on to express his disappointment, but he was somehow able to make the dig even worse by claiming that he had expected to be disappointed. As their sire set into Diablo, Aresenn anticipated that they would all get called out on their failures individually ... but surprisingly they didn't. They were just all belittled as a group for not using their gifts, whatever that meant. Before he could answer, Diablo would do so first- going on about how he could have trained more. Aresenn was a little surprised that his brother's answer had been so mild in tone. None of this was their faults, and Aresenn refused to be saddled with any kind of blame over his performance at the raid. Where was Diablo's fire?
As soon as the floor was clear, Aresenn spoke up. "Rivin and I lost to the same Koi-wolf, though she can tell you about her match. I left after mine, only to be challenged by another from Tojo-kai outside the raid field- though not a Koi. A smaller woman, darker base, grey in the back. Red eyes, with white markings around them. She sure seemed to recognize me by how charged she was. Though I have no idea who she was …” Nor did he really even care about knowing who she was. But in describing her to his father, he wondered if it might be someone he recognized. Who was to say? Clearing his throat, Aresenn continued. "Of course I walked away on top there, but I mean ... she was a woman ... so …” He explained, not really proud of the victory he had sustained. But after a brief hesitance, he registered that a comment like that might be offensive to his sister. Shooting her a slightly nervous, but apologetic glance, he continued on, trying his best to walk things back some. "Uhh- I mean, she was more crazy than anything. Wasn't much of a fight.” Aresenn finished, watching Rivin out of his peripherals for a moment longer before returning to face his father.
As for what they could do differently, he wasn’t sure his father wanted to hear his thoughts. “How about … not sending a bunch of yearlings into a raid with no training or experience, and expecting a different outcome than what we got?” Aresenn answered pointedly, he knew he was probably entering dangerous territory. But a very brief lifetime of frustration was beginning to bubble over. “Or if you don't want us to be like Pirates, then reconsider why we are here in the first place. Doing that differently would be a good start.” He had never been fond of how haphazard things were run here. It left too much room for error, and now they were being reprimanded for it.
"Aresenn Praetor"
Juggernaut
Professor
