Aspel Cassul: When in doubt, Aspel! (weaponry) wrote in emillion,
The potato was easy to chew through, yet for some reason, Aspel found herself taking her sweet time with it. Some old wives tale about needing to chew each bite of food the same number of years that you were old popped into mind, and perhaps, if it had been any other night or time, the smith would have been amused by such a trivial and absurd notion. A sharp and audible clearing of her throat would be taken as eyes dipped down to the plate again, her stomach suddenly seeming uninterested in the food once again. The muscles in her leg tensed at Ari's touch initially but then seemed to relax after adjusting to the touch after a couple of seconds. "I fear I am more concerned at losing my resolve." Those words, vague yet accurate were much easier to get out than the admission of the issue to begin with and something akin to an apologetic smile was offered to Ari briefly before her eyes shifted back to the food on her plate. "It... Is something for which I must adjust." Shifting again, a bit of squash was speared and after some hesitance, finally put in her mouth to be chewed.
The new question caused a moment of consideration, mulling over the pro's and con's of each option. It was not unusual for the Guard to speak around their meal tables. Yet... There were also plenty of times when they all sat solemnly about a table after a long day's travel, a particularly vicious combat or the loss of a comrade without word. "Do as you wish." It was not cold or hiding anything. In fact, Aspel actually had no idea which would sincerely be better and her voice would hold a level hesitance, unsureness of how to answer more than anything else. Though, in this instance, she would fall quiet, pondering for a moment how she had gotten here and what would come from this point forward. The obvious answer was groups meals, social functions, dinner parties, Councilor invites to galas, events and balls.... Yet, it was hard to pinpoint what and where. How each of these things would work and when... Faram, all she wanted right now was a glass of mead. However, that particular desire would be refrained from as that, in of itself, might just be the one step too far. It was easy to get lost in drinking and forget to eat.
Slowly, very slowly, her plate would be picked at until about half of the food present was gone. As much as she may still be hungry, as much as it may be a good idea to continue eating, Aspel found it difficult to even consider getting past that... And quite frankly, half a meal was more than she'd eaten with anyone in... Years. The fork in her hand pushed around the food on the plate idly, absently in its own right and a frown pulled at the corners of her lips while she considered the situation. Perhaps it was time for that drink...