Of course she never would've seen them. They were from another world. A religion and culture she didn't even know existed that he wore on his skin.
"The rose was one I got earlier in life," he answered, looking down at it. The blood-colored petals. "It was something that someone said to me once." Ajax. "'Take heed, boy, for no matter how pretty the flower, no matter its sweet smell, no matter how carefully you tend to it or how thick the gloves you bear, some thorns never lose their bite.' It's a reminder of...fickle trust, I suppose. No dog loses its teeth, no snake its fangs, so to speak.
"The birds are for a friend who's since passed. When I was a child, I would feed the ravens. They learned my face, my voice; I learned their names, their ways. They have calls for each other as individuals, you know. But ravens, crows--for all their intelligence, they are cruel. A bit twisted. Sadistic, even, at times. She always loved the doves. Nothing's afraid of one, and they always find their way home. So the ink was my remembrance."
He slid his hands into his pockets, gaze somewhat distant for a moment as he explained. Then his eyes flickered back to her, a half-smile. "S-sorry, miss. Probably a longer answer than you needed."
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