His question seemed to deeply disturb the girl. Acidic eyes watched with raw curiosity as expressions flitted across her generous face; She had not been taught to conceal them, of yet, it seemed. The girl would learn - Such openness was a weakness in a pack bound together by its desire for secrecy, its worship of the cunning and the coy.
Jack-o-lantern eyes, a similar hue to those of his most-trusted servant, did seek momentarily the planes of his own dark facade; Sirius allowed a bemused twinkle to light the deep venom of his gaze, but gave her nothing more. No line would be thrown to those who could not swim - He was not a merciful creature by nature, and if she did not learn to swim before his gaze, then she would drown without aid.
Nervous, anxious energy radiated from her, like the doe, when it became wary of the presence of a stalking predator. It confused him to see such a reaction in one so young - Eris did not normally raise her children to have such inherent instability, such fear. A slow frown began to build on his sharp features, like the swelling of growing thunder-clouds.
Finally, it seemed acceptance gripped her; shoulders dipped in what the King could only take as resignation. The beginning of her sentence only offered disappointment to the King, who from her stature had expected a creature of prolific strength or hardiness; But, then, what was this? Pupils narrowed, and his the entire force of his mind stilled, focusing for once in its wholesome on the girl with the anxious eyes. It might have been a terrifying thing, to have his attention so totally fixed upon her; It was rare that Sirius could still the chatter that continued in the depths of the vast machinery of his mind.
She spoke again, brokenly, seemingly desperate to convey her point to the King. His sharp gaze sliced through her, seeking the information offered in her hesitant words, her genuine expression. For a long moment after her gestures had subsided, the monarch continued to examine Artemisia, his expression unreadable, cloaked in the dark shadow of his mortal disguise. Finally, "How... Curious," came the verdict. It was most unexpected, the genius would be found in such quarter - Eris was smart, yes, and Salvia was cunning... But what the girl spoke of was genius, much alike his own. It had taken Sirius the entirety of his youth to master his own voracious mind - And at a price. At such a price.
He allowed his gaze to slide back to the path before them, his intellect taking in this new information, turning it over and over, deconstructing it. "Do you like to learn, Artemisia?" The white noise was returning to his mentality, mind resuming its multitude of ideas and thoughts, new information being allowed to filter in. But still, the gem she had revealed to him was held in the fore-front, being turned over and over and over.
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