Eye contact became impossible and Valen's suspicions grew. Again Esti told him he should leave if he had anything to do, and in response the brute simply shrugged his shoulders and didn't make a move to rise. He said he was staying, so staying he was. There was a beat of silence then the words, "Please forget everything I'm going to say." His suspicions began to turn to dread as his mind conjured up worst case scenarios. Before he had time to dwelling on them, Esti launched into a rambling monologue.
Silence fell as Valentine tried to digest the flood of words. He had no idea where it had come from. Clearly it was something that meant a lot to her. To an extent he could understand where she was coming from; he'd been abandoned more than once (three times, but who was counting?) by his parents and he'd do anything to make sure his kids never had to experience that feeling of loss. That understanding aside, he couldn't figure out why she was telling him all of this now.
The King was not a therapist or even just a master of his own emotions. He fixed his problems with one of two ways: fighting or fucking. It wasn't often that he chose a different solution. To say he was unqualified to give advice was an understatement. Nevertheless he decided to try. "I don't want you to be miserable here," he started slowly, "Perhaps we can find a happy medium?" For starters, "You're not a prisoner here, you know. You can come and go as you like."
""
NOTE: Valentine has a female striped skunk companion named Lefty. Unless stated otherwise assume she's present.
