Alric had worked hard to construct that insulating shell around the incandescent passions within him, whether anger or fondness, to protect others from his intensity, and himself from the fallout of expressing it. But there are cracks in any armor, and to continue the metaphor, that searing inner fire burns a little brighter at the talk of bettering oneself, achieving a well-trained mind.
For most of his life, Alric had trained rigorously to establish the discipline he'd achieved. He might not call it impeccable, and he couldn't deny he had even slipped a handful of times in the past, but he was able to function in a working environment most people would describe as somewhere between "hostile" and "abusive." To be lectured now on the value of discipline by-...
Alric might not express it, but that angry young man Hijikata had expected is certainly still in there, if carefully restrained. But the anger only flashes, briefly, in his eyes; he lets out a slow, calm breath, his smile just a little thinner than it might otherwise have been.
"...you are right, of course, Hijikata-sensei. I am familiar with Yagyu Munenori." He pauses, smiling a little more, although there's still a bit of an edge to his bearing; he speaks pleasantly, but there remains something angry, possibly even a bit sardonic about it, under that insulation. "If I made some error, sensei, I feel it would be best that I know precisely what it was... ..or... ...were you concerned, instead, about my mood?"
...it could be this is Hijikata's way of expressing personal, rather than professional concern. Alric had known men not so different from him--Alric's own grandfather, it seemed, wasn't so different from him--and they often had difficulty opening up without some impersonal buffer between their feelings and others. In fairness, Alric had picked up that habit, himself, even if it was--in his mind, at least--more for the protection of those he was close to than for his own.
no subject
For most of his life, Alric had trained rigorously to establish the discipline he'd achieved. He might not call it impeccable, and he couldn't deny he had even slipped a handful of times in the past, but he was able to function in a working environment most people would describe as somewhere between "hostile" and "abusive." To be lectured now on the value of discipline by-...
Alric might not express it, but that angry young man Hijikata had expected is certainly still in there, if carefully restrained. But the anger only flashes, briefly, in his eyes; he lets out a slow, calm breath, his smile just a little thinner than it might otherwise have been.
"...you are right, of course, Hijikata-sensei. I am familiar with Yagyu Munenori." He pauses, smiling a little more, although there's still a bit of an edge to his bearing; he speaks pleasantly, but there remains something angry, possibly even a bit sardonic about it, under that insulation. "If I made some error, sensei, I feel it would be best that I know precisely what it was... ..or... ...were you concerned, instead, about my mood?"
...it could be this is Hijikata's way of expressing personal, rather than professional concern. Alric had known men not so different from him--Alric's own grandfather, it seemed, wasn't so different from him--and they often had difficulty opening up without some impersonal buffer between their feelings and others. In fairness, Alric had picked up that habit, himself, even if it was--in his mind, at least--more for the protection of those he was close to than for his own.