Vedette curled her toes in her boots and watched him. He was right of course, she should not waste time. There wasn't enough time in their lives really, or in anyone's. Even if they lived for a very very long time, it could be taken away so quickly. They could die in the time it took to blink ones eyes. She was not as obsessed with death as she'd been as a younger dragon. But she did know that if she thought about it too much it would become frightening. So she changed her line of thought and focused instead on him. Her thumb stroked the side of his hand and her head turned and she leaned up to look at him more in the eye.
"You would not need to duel with Ithacles." She pressed her forehead to his neck and breathed in.
Part of her wanted to end this entire line of conversation. To put a stop to bringing the Prince up at all. It was a very touchy subject, to her. She'd spent nearly fifteen years living in the same walls, in the same country, on the same missions with Ithacles. But he had an ego, as all humans seemed to. That they were the most important people in the world, or their country was, or their family was. It was not something she enjoyed dealing with. Did she love him? How could she not? She'd spent a good deal of time beside him. You learned to love the faults as much as you loved the good things about the person. But she knew there was no way the love could grow or last either.
He had too much of a temper and he was mortal. She had too much of a temper and she would outlive him.
"Koe." She whispered, pressing herself more against him for support. "It's been too long since I saw you. But that never stopped you from being far from my thoughts. I'll admit I sometimes did get caught up in my.. work. But you were never too far away when I stopped moving and could think." She gripped his hand then, and hugged him again.