Brand made sure to keep his mouth shut as he listened to what the others had planned to do in the presence of the Elvin King. Not that the youngest had much to say on the matter, but he wondered if his opinion would be useful at the moment. Then again, he was sure that they had it handled, so instead of asking them what would happen if they<i>were</i>given aid, he just allowed Valen and Altima to make the decisions as always. While he understood that Arioch didnâ??t want to come with them, he gave Tsuâ??Ro a hopeful smile, as he would have liked for the Naturalist to join them, if not for show that others have joined the cause, then as a friend supporting them.<br/><br/>When Valen literally stepped off the balcony, the blonde had half a mind to step off with himâ??what a fast way to get down! Of course, he didnâ??t have mastery of the wind on his side, so instead of the ease of â??stepsâ?? down to the ground, he fumbled against the rail for a few minutes. The fear of heights finally caught up, so he decided to get down the regular way with the others.<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#ff8000"><i>Darnsâ?¦ why couldnâ??t I have been born with a cool element like windâ?¦</i></span>he mentally whined, a pout plumping his lips.<br/><br/>The trip towards the Citadelâ??s throne room was done so without words, each lost in their own thoughts it appeared. Upon entering the throne room, Brand pressed his lips together to prevent himself from blurting out the first thing that came to mind. It would have been rude, especially since he could see how majestic the area wasâ??they must have spent some time just to build it. The lightning knight saw the beauty in the structures and lively atmosphere that the Elves had, but as he had spent most of his time in the Northern Kingdom, he had the Dragonâ??s culture as his ethnocentric lenses. In a sense, Brand even felt trapped in the room, as he was used to the vastness of Longâ??s throne room, spanning out to be buildingâ??s long and wide, so that the Dragons could gather in their true forms if wished. It fact, he hadnâ??t realized his change in growth earlier on, because he spent most of his time in Long, where everything was super-sized.<br/><br/>The maids in the area stared at the knights and a few gave silent giggles. Brand misinterpreted the giggles, used to those around him scoffing at the idea that he was a knight, so to compensate and show that he was as grand as any knight, he stood up taller. Unfortunately, the maids were giggling at the sight of their Champion Knight now standing shorter than whom they knew to be the Youngest Knight, and Brand standing up taller only served to add onto the irony of puberty.<br/><br/>At the admission that they were not to receive a solid answer to their request for aid, the blonde felt his shoulders slump just a fraction. At least, thatâ??s what he felt. In the eyes of others, he perhaps resembled more of a kicked puppy, his entire body deflating and if he had a tail, it would have been tucked away in defeat. Brand wanted to speak up and ask the Elvin King many things, such as why he had to even<i>think</i>about lending aid in this situation, or why he was seemingly challenging Valen.<br/><br/>The wind knight had dedicated his life protecting the Elvin kingdom, so the injustice stung just to see. Elziar had fallen to protect the four kingdoms, taking damaging blows more than countable over the years and strives, and yet in their time of need, it seemed that the allied kingdoms receded to remain â??neutralâ??. He knew that on the flipside, the Elvin King was only doing as he saw fit to protect his people, but the question of loyalty still stuck its prickly thrones thorough his being.<br/><br/>Instead of asking the questions that floated around in his mind though, he gave Valen an encouraged smile as bright as any flash of his lightning. There was no doubt in his mind that the eldest knight was going to be able to prove to the Elvin King that they only had victory in their futureâ??after all, Valen was the<i>Champion</i>Knight.