The smile slid from Sanguine’s face as Juli spoke solemnly about her relationship with her father. He could hear the sincere emotion in her voice as she admitted how little she knew him. Without really thinking, San reached up to place his hand gently on her shoulder, perhaps a bit more familiar than he ought to have been- but it was instinctive in him to crave physical contact.<br/><br/>Though he wasn’t convinced about the nature of the king’s illness, San could tell that Juli believed what she was saying. He wouldn’t press the issue with the Princess any further.<br/><br/>“I’m glad that we can agree that civility is preferable to the alternative. I agree too, that you and I are very different. While you may disdain my reasons for killing, I similarly cannot fathom yours.” Sanguine said evenly, his hand lingering near the nape of Juli’s neck. “To kill total strangers, one after the other, with whom you have no personal quarrel. To kill merely because you’re told, for honor or high ideals or any other vague abstract...”<br/><br/>“As much as the ‘why’ matters, I take pride in ‘how’ I send others to their graves. While you fire from a distance, cutting short lives that seem as little more than targets from a distance- I learn my victim’s habits, their rituals, their beliefs. I hear the voices and learn the names of their loved ones who will miss them when they’re gone.” Sanguine continued. “I become a part of their lives and when the time comes to bring that life to an end, I’m close enough to smell their sweat and feel their last breath on my skin.”<br/><br/>“I know every person I’ve ever killed by name. I remember vividly how they died and who they<em>were</em>.” Sanguine went on, being far more vocal than he usually was, perhaps a symptom of the wine. “Could you say the same Princess Juliette? Could any soldier? I also have the freedom to refuse a contract if I feel strongly opposed to killing the mark. Return the gold and simply walk away. What do the Theiri generals do to soldiers who refuse to fight? Those who won’t kill when commanded? No one makes terms for me, instead I set terms for them.”<br/><br/>Sanguine rose to his feet slowly, buttoning his fine, silk coat back up. He hadn’t realized how much wine he’d already had until he was on his feet.<br/><br/>“Now, if you’ll kindly excuse me for a moment Princess. I need to find my way to an empty chamber pot. The wine, I’m afraid is going right through me. Come, Eyes.”