#[it will forever cheese me that lloyd refuses to attack nino i love this detail so fucking much]

[fangedjustice]

"I have to be glad to see you here, you know." Altena approaches with a slight tease in her voice. "You picked the wrong house to support." Truthfully, it doesn't matter to her one way or the other. She has other f........olks that she knows in other houses. It's a mock battle, after all.

There is something that makes her wonder. A curiosity that she doesn't really want to ignore. "I was surprised to see you signed up to fight against us though. I don't want to have to face down either of my brothers again in a battle. Even if it is just for fun."

Lloyd chuckles at Altena's teasing jab, carefully rolling his shoulder as he tested to see how well he'd taken to the healing. It had been a well aimed shot, but there was only some residual aching instead of any acute pain. Never a fun experience to have an arrow cut out of you.

"Ah, the cruelty of organized war games," he chuffed, "Seems there was a great deal of house pride this year. Not that there wasn't last time I took part, but there was a lot of excitement."

"Perhaps next year, you can way me to your side."

She didn't look too roughed up, and a cursory observation eases any of his concerns at seeing her in the med tents. Altena was strong and hardly in need of someone looking out for her, but Lloyd couldn't help wanting to do so. They were friends -- comrades, at the very least after their experience together -- and it was in his nature to keep an eye on those he cared for.

"Ah, I can understand your viewpoint," he mused, letting the joking air fade away into more serious talk. It was a valid question, especially since she had experience in going through the terrible situation of having to face off against family.

"I can't...say if it makes any logical sense, but we've tested each other's skills since we were children. Linus has tried to outdo me since he was a boy, and he's yet to grasp a concise win against me." His record was impeccable, and he could feel some smug pride at that. It was his right as an older brother, after all. "It's something we both enjoy, not holding back and pushing each other to do better."

"I promise you, Altena, in a serious conflict, if I ever found myself crossing blades with Linus, I wouldn't hesitate to let him kill me."

Lloyd would rather die than bring any harm to his siblings by his own hand.