He closed his eyes as Ryland responded with strange, kind words.  Then the reasoning came in.  It made sense to Keth on some level, these views presented to him, but there was still more to it than his pampered counterpart could hope to understand.  Trying to explain it would’ve been a waste of time.  Ryland might’ve known loss, but he obviously didn’t know what it was to lose everything that he was.  Kethaias hoped that he never would.<br/><br/>Huffing audibly, his eyes narrowed a little at the face looking down at him, but there was no malice there.  “Have<i>pity</i>on you?”  Then Keth shrugged out of that hold and turned to stare at the far wall.  “Who deserves pity is the castle staff.  They keep having to clean up all these messes.”  That almost made him smile, but it did little more than help chase the heartache away for a few moments.  A hand moved to cling to one of the prince’s knees<br/><br/>“I think… everyone is touched by different events in different ways.  All of those events define us in some aspects of our lives, even if it is minor.  What happened that day…  I wish I’d have had the good sense to die. I think something in me did.  But the rest of me, whatever was left, got up and kept going.  For them, I suppose.  And to<i>set that burden down</i>could feel dangerously close to betrayal,” the warrior king admitted.  Then he grew still and too quiet for a long moment.<br/><br/>“Or it may alleviate this feeling of obligation I feel to continue living on without them.”  That was more than he should’ve said.  All he needed was for Ryland to go telling his family what kind of suicidal nutcase they had staying with them.  His strength and reliability were key in these negotiations.<br/><br/>“Besides,” he continued in protest, changing his tone as best he could from the melancholy to something more playful.  “I don’t like what you consider fun.  It’s too loud.  Nothing but ruckus.  Where is a man to find peace and relaxation in the middle of tea houses and gambling halls?  I was not born to this, remember?  I lived in a quiet town.  Riding through the fields, playing in the streams, and watching the sun set from the hilltops.  Everything here is so… closed in.  Confined.”