Teddybear

"Maybe one day you'll be able to find someone else to make a body for you."

"Do you want me to answer that honestly?"

Kivvien blinked. He hadn't even considered the idea of a new body. He supposed it might be possible, in theory, but he doubted it in practice. "Perhaps," he said noncommittally.

"Obedience is valued there."

"You know, were you not...what you are, you may do well in the castle."

"I can certainly tell. It is the most prominent trait of yours, I believe."

"There are some who were born to lead, and some who only believe they were born to lead. I don't believe I am either."

"It's not a bad way to be. Not inherently, anyway."

Kivvien smiled to himself. "You are not incorrect."

Leonardo shook his head, moving to gently smooth the collar of the prince's suit. "Don't speak such nonsense," he chastised, though he had had similar thoughts before during the planning ...

Kivvien glanced at him, surprised. "I suppose so."

Kivvien eyed him. "Well, no scholar who breaks such basic laws would be capable of getting along with me."

"It was inevitable we wouldn't, I'm afraid."

"I predict this endeavor will be quite painful," he sighed. "But too necessary to forgo"

"So plenty long ago for his skills in a shared workspace to dissipate, if he ever had any."