Zoya Nazyalensky is an exceptional soldier, Nikolai knows. That is what was meant for him to know. The tenor of this teasing feels simultaneously misplaced and wholly natural; Zoya is not manufacturing any part of it, though Nikolai perceives it as new and strange.
He can still lay a hand over his heart, feign a wound.
"I'll have you know my apprenticeships were very challenging."
Up until they weren't. Hence: the plural.
"Privateering had the dual benefit of keeping me occupied and benefitting Ravka. I think I was very clever for hitting upon it as an option."
no subject
Zoya Nazyalensky is an exceptional soldier, Nikolai knows. That is what was meant for him to know. The tenor of this teasing feels simultaneously misplaced and wholly natural; Zoya is not manufacturing any part of it, though Nikolai perceives it as new and strange.
He can still lay a hand over his heart, feign a wound.
"I'll have you know my apprenticeships were very challenging."
Up until they weren't. Hence: the plural.
"Privateering had the dual benefit of keeping me occupied and benefitting Ravka. I think I was very clever for hitting upon it as an option."