Naeku's eyes widened. "I… Why not…?" she whispered, possibly afraid of the answer. She pressed herself a little closer into Erik's embrace, looking for comfort.
Aster sighed and shrugged. "I like you, Princess… But we were never really close friends, were we? I mean, setting aside that I've never seen your human face, it was always obvious that what few friends you had never really registered high on your priority list. Your top three have always been filled by the nation, the people, and your family, in an order that I don't want to speculate on."
She shook her head. "Now your family is even bigger, and I hope it makes you happy, but… when last we met, it was hard not to notice that your thoughts were constantly elsewhere. Asking after Dawit felt like barely an afterthought for you, so I didn't feel like getting into it."
