#seliph please stop him before he does the dad thing and talks your ear off

[bxldrsdraumar]

continued from here @virtuoustyrfing

There it was, that hesitance that he had come to expect. Between whatever terrible thing had happened while he was gone (and for that matter, how long he was gone), and the rumors of imposters floating about, Sigurd could not say he necessarily blamed any of his loved ones for doubting him. 

And oh, regardless of the expression his boy is making right now, Sigurd cannot help but feel overtaken with such pride swelling in his chest, because that is his son, and he has become a man. Be it dubiousness, or rage, or sorrow, Sigurd could weep at the blessing that he had been given to behold his son's face again. 

"Hm?" At the accusations, Sigurd props one hand on his hip, bringing the other index finger to tap at his chin thoughtfully. "Well, I cannot say I ever recall being King of Grannvale. In my time, that was Azmur. Or...no, his son? Kurth?"

It did not sound quite right, and even at the best of times he knew royal succession to be a sticky subject that made his head spin – but he did know without doubt that his house was a servant of the crown, and that his role was to serve. Hadn't Kurth gone to war...? Was that it...?

He shook his head to clear the cobwebs. "And I cannot say that I have been in any pitfalls recently, though of course my recent memory leaves much to be desired."

Sigurd's face lit up. "I do recall, however, a time when I was, oh, not much older than you, in a place quite like this, when my dear friends and I nearly fell into quite a ravine after the sun went down. You see, we had been sent on a hunt, and lost track of the footpath – but, oh, surely you don't want to hear an old man blathering stories of his school days."