I admired your restraint. [He can take being talked down to, but he imagines that is a lot harder for Astrid.]

He's never seen real combat before here. His idea of a knight is an extremely idealized version of it. The untouchable heroes of legends, over what they're actually like. At least most don't have those impossible standards.

[Nope, mostly buying off scars is to protect one's self from SensitIV.]

Moves like that can. Its always a risk, but its nice when it pays off.