[Ardyn purposefully makes himself difficult to read. Where he had been eager to share moments of sincerity with Noctis before (most especially after he found out that they were -- had been -- related, somehow), he's made a sizable effort to scale that back. He doesn't ever share why, because he simply hasn't sorted it all in his head yet, either. It's far easier to deal with Noctis at an arms-length. Student only, until he knows how to parse the memories that plague him -- thought and feelings of the darkness, of daemons, of a betrayal that ran deep. The holes in the narrative that still plagued him, questions that he wanted answered immediately, but was simultaneously afraid to face.
So, the answer of just haven't been feeling well, so obviously a lie, is one that he should let slide. He wants to ignore his obligation to pry just a bit further, to ensure that there's nothing wrong with this student but-
Something causes him to lift his gaze to Noctis, brow arched high. Something nagging claws at his insides, and this is what makes him speak, not some wayward sense of professional obligation.]
That's a sorry excuse.
[He chuckles.]
Tell me the truth, instead.
[Done with sorting whatever he had been doing, he walks towards where Noctis is seated.]
no subject
So, the answer of just haven't been feeling well, so obviously a lie, is one that he should let slide. He wants to ignore his obligation to pry just a bit further, to ensure that there's nothing wrong with this student but-
Something causes him to lift his gaze to Noctis, brow arched high. Something nagging claws at his insides, and this is what makes him speak, not some wayward sense of professional obligation.]
That's a sorry excuse.
[He chuckles.]
Tell me the truth, instead.
[Done with sorting whatever he had been doing, he walks towards where Noctis is seated.]
Something's obviously bothering you.