#but there are lots of fun paralells that can be drawn here tbh

[xbadnews-a]

“is  that  all  you  can  do  in  the  face  of  tragedy?” @jiwone

Percival tries, quite poorly, to stop the twitch of irritation that invades his features. His first instinct is always difficult to stop, it was stronger than any reserves of self-control he kept. It's a pride-wrought response, something he tries to keep to himself but had never quite had the control to do so.

Percival felt like he was locked in an infinite battle, overcoming & adapting at every turn. The lengths he would take to do so were indefinable, insurmountable. ( perhaps this is why the words strike him, like the back of a hand. it's an insult, it must be. ) if he were to stop, tragedy would win & grief would take him. Which wasn't an option - not yet, at least.

The instinct to snap back at the other rears it's head, barking at him in tandem with his heartbeats. It made each steady ' thump ' feel heavier as he guided the emotion, tempering it to the best of his ability. But that outrage is his protection & so he rides it like a high.

" No. It's not," he admits, sounding almost pleased with himself. Almost, being the keyword. A private ' something ' is folded into the words. A dare, maybe? or even a threat. It's hard to identify even as he pushes words through his teeth. Percival was nothing if not a slave to impulse & so a smirk causes the knot in between his brow to unravel, " but you don't get to know every card I have to play. "