As they walked,he tried not to think about just how he felt when he first turned to the monastery. Luitwin failed to reply, instead secluding himself to his own thoughts. Memories of his youth. It had been so long he almost forgot why he turned to God in the first place, but the aches in his body that grew numb with age told him it was escape. He remembered enjoying the advances of other men, accepting them as passive as any housewife. His tutor boasted of a young Folke's good, hardworking attitude, and how he respected his elders. He remembered many years of distaste and contempt, void of the love he had for his craft. These conflicting realities almost hurt to try and sort, but whether Luitwin was here now in robes and beads because he meant to escape the hands of his teacher, or the fate of his own carnal pleasures, it didn't matter now. A deep rooted fear once lost didn't stop hot spokes from shooting up through his gut when Ardnt spoke of crude hobbies, and a long time love of calloused hands and broad bodies didn't stop him from questioning the legibility of his preaching.<br/><br/>Luitwin simply retained that warm smile, and waited to find something to laugh at.<br/><br/>"You're a strange man, you know that? Most your age would be so eager to retire, but this could simply be my own ignorance.." He sighed lightly, enjoying the chill despite how it made his hair stand on end. "I've known men who turn to the cloth in later years, whether it be for more righteous reasons or that they're unable to afford to stop working. Our home has been a beacon of hope to many. I just hope it proves well enough for you as well."<br/><br/>The monk pondered a moment, making sure with himself that such matters were appropriate to speak of with what was to all others, a dangerous foreigner. "An ambassador, we have a number, since the fingers of Herzland reach far and wide. It's my first time sailing though, if I'm to be honest. Nor have I been on long trips before. Is it so hard to believe for someone like yourself, that a man of my age has spent most his years indoors? Since I left my boyhood, I've lived in a little monastery in the great city of Lichtmuhle." Luitwin spoke so fondly of his hometown, the massive port town to which they were headed, the heart of Herzland itself. "This trip is actually a sort of initiation right. I'm to be a priest if the Abbot would have me afterall."<br/><br/>He laughed again, in that light, airy chime of his. "But you're right. This is all rather exciting compared to little stone rooms and books, isn't it. I would be lying if I called you a bore, despite your more unfavorable remarks." He winced a little, recalling their post-bath fiasco. Though what seemed like irritation to Ardnt was a hard swallow and a hot rush doused in cold thoughts for the monk, as he furiously pushed out the consequences of his own imagination. "Of course, don't think I'm so insincere with all I've said. I don't commit to trends or fleeting hopes." He frowned, softly, "I would also not want you to see me as some toying overseer. I would not call you a simple experiment, Ardnt. This is no trial and error. The world can't afford to lose good men."<br/><br/>The two made a full loop of the ship by then, and Luitwin turned to the Alrian with question. "Would you like to turn in for the night? Or see the toilets? Or are you one for longer walks than I?" He played a little, though was starting to hope to escape from the cold, only being able to enjoy the breeze for so long. All his nerves hoped to robe himself and huddle into his modest little bed.