The snow crunched beneath our boots as we walked along in the snow. I had asked Aldrith come talk to me, wanting a more private conversation than could be had in the busy public hall of his keep.
I braced myself against the cold in the oversized coat Aldrith had lent me from the Keep stores. "Doesn't get cold like this where I'm from." The station had always been kept at a comfortable temperature. "So, Aldrith, how are things?"
"I've grown used to it, and as for things, they have been...well, they have been." came his reply.
I frowned, sensing his hesitation and melancholy tone. "That doesn't sound anything but bleak," I said, looking over at him as we trudged along.
"Ah, they are just my own troubles. They will pass, like all else," he responded, eyeing me from the corner of his eye and almost smirking. "Anyway, what has brought you here tonight?"
I nodded, able to empathize with having troubles and keeping them to yourself. Avoiding his question for the time being, I asked "How's the war going, Aldrith?"
"Oh, well enough. Our forces are about equal, and the Minmatar are still trying to retake their lost systems around Aset. I head Eytjangard fell to them today."
I frowned at the news, having not heard it. I hadn't really kept up on the war since I had left PIE some weeks ago. However, I had a goal in mind, an answer I was looking for. "Ho's the Knighthood, in particular?"
"Quite alright...."
I turned my gaze from him back to the path ahead of us as we walked. "Oh, I see then."
"So..." Aldrith started. "You still haven't answered my question."
I stopped, slightly fustrated. I had hoped he would express a need for a pilot, for new recruits. "Well, I came to ask you if could use another pilot. However, you seem to be in need of little."
"It's not about what use we have of pilots, but what pilots have use of us," he countered.
I closed my eyes. This vexed me slightly, for it was almost as if he saw through me. Opening them again, I asked "What?"
Aldrith let out a small laugh. "What can I do for you, Raphael? Do you wish to join us?"
I did. It was my whole reason for asking him out here. My whole reason for meeting him in the first place. I had many reasons to join, and I quickly selected one to feed to him. "I once swore loaylty to your new wife, Aldrith, that night many months ago when I hit rock bottom. I may have left the war, but I remain loyal. In that spirit, I've come to serve you."
Aldrith mulled it over for a second or two before looking back towards the Keep. "Do you think you could get used to the cold?"
