As they walked away from the door, Erik noticed Naeku was glancing back at it with a hint of regret. "Some things never change, I guess…" she muttered softly, perhaps not meaning for Erik to hear, but not considering it, either. Naturally, he could hear her just fine.
"I know you're used to it… But it doesn't have to be this way," Erik sighed. They walked through the hall to their next destination, his hands resting in his pockets. He knew that, as Ankhur's daughter and heir, Naeku had had little normal social interaction in her life. No one would act normally around her, as had been the case just now.
"For one," he continued, his tone calm, "if your family dropped that tradition of not showing your human face to the world, you'd suddenly seem a lot more approachable."
