Blue smirked, but it wasn't out of amusement, merely an instinctive response to information he wasn't quite sure what to do with. Eivind had seemed reluctant to admit that he wasn't completely sure he wouldn't have killed Blue had he not been his mate, but surprisingly enough (even to Blue), he didn't find fault with Eivind's confession. His breathing slowed as he recalled the night they had met, how he had been near death on that filthy, disgusting little bed in Lofgren's cabin. His eyes grew glassy as he thought for a moment, picturing Eivind standing there, naked, a look of utter confusion on his face upon seeing Blue wake up. "Honestly, if I hadn't been your mate and you had killed me, you would have been doing me a favor," he said, his voice soft and low but lacking any kind of emotion. It was dull and monotonous, as if he were merely recounting a story about someone else; it was a feeling Blue often felt whenever he flashed back to those torturous weeks. "I wanted to die. It's foggy, but I vaguely remember feeling euphoric as I bled out after Garlan attacked me. Alden had lugged me back to the cabin and sewn me back together with the fishing line after I passed out, but right before that there was this great feeling of relief. I was so happy, thinking I was going to escape, that I was going to be free of Lofgren and his pack. I was devastated when I woke up. It felt like someone had been playing a cruel joke on me, keeping me alive despite everything. But you found me, and you saved me. I'll forever be indebted to you for that."<br/><br/>Something inside of Eivind had changed, and he realized that murdering a human who had done the pack no harm would have been wrong, regardless of the justification used. This made Blue smile. "You're right, it would have been wrong."<br/><br/>Blue was more than happy to move on to lighter conversation, and he felt warm again when Eivind spoke of his vocation. "Building things with your hands is artistic too, you know. There is beauty in functionality. The banister you made while I was staying with you? It was lovely. You took the time to study measurements, to understand the curvature of the staircase, to chop, cut, sand, hammer, whatever the hell you did, it was wonderful, and something I don't know how to do. There was artistry in that. Or in building a chair, or table, or anything to do with woodworking. You may not interpret it that way, but I promise you, it is. People will pay a lot of money for a handmade chair these days. I found a guy online once who makes tables by hand, and he uses the natural defects in the wood and molds dark blue glass to fit into the spots to create something that looks like a river running down the center of the table, for example. The tables sell for thousands of dollars. As they should, because I'm sure it's a ton of work to create something so beautiful by hand. I would pay anything to have one of those tables, but I don't think I'd ever be able to afford one. He makes each one custom." Blue laughed at himself for a second, the corners of his eyes crinkling as he smiled. "Fuck me, I've totally digressed. I'm sorry, go on."<br/><br/>Eivind's next story wasn't as nice, and Blue could tell Eivind understood this from the way he pulled back from him while telling it. Although this woman hadn't inspired the emotions in Eivind that Blue seemed to, it was obvious Eivind had liked her at the very least, and would have been content to stay with her for much longer had it not been for the actions of his father. "That's terrible," Blue said, displeased with his lover's story. "I don't understand how a father could do that to his son. Even for wolves, it seems like too much. Motivation via anger can only take you so far, I think. It's more likely to make you act rashly, violently. But maybe that's ideal for a wolf. I'd like to think not, though. You're better than that. So is Sig, it seems. I can't say much for anyone else."<br/><br/>Blue felt a bittersweet satisfaction at Eivind's final statement, realizing that Eivind was suggested that no matter what, his relationship with the female wolf, or anyone else, would have been doomed to fail. All because of him. "I'm not happy about what your father did to you," Blue said, drowning the last of his second glass of wine, and poured himself a third. The human could be a bit of a lush at times, but the conversation between the two was flowing nicely, even through the not-so-nice parts, and he was hardly paying attention to how much wine he imbibed. He only cared about Eivind. "However, I cannot say that I'm entirely saddened knowing that none of your other relationships worked out. That's probably a little fucked up for me to say, but it's the truth. I'd hate to think of you being with someone when we met and potentially having to deal with the fallout from that. It sounds like it could be messy."<br/><br/>The server arrived with their food, and Blue grinned wide as his filet mignon was placed in front of him, and Eivind's large ribeye steak in front of him. The spinach and lobster macaroni and cheese sides were placed on the table between them to share, and he asked if there was anything else he could bring the two men.<br/><br/><i>"Une autre bouteille de vin, s'il vous plaît?"</i><br/><br/>The server nodded and went off to retrieve the requested second bottle of wine.<br/><br/>"I hope you like what I ordered for you," Blue said, grinning at the wolf. "It's a big slab of meat, so I figured that would be enough to make you happy."