Hmm.

( he lowers his gaze, almost thoughtfully, trying to amass all the reasons he could claim, both vague and direct. 'the same reason we don't drink wine' works, and is just vague enough to get him out of this line of questioning. maybe. 'because everyone needs a plan C' is similarly vague, and similarly true. he has a feeling laurent won't actually accept 'someone weak like me needs more protection than fluttered lashes', if only because aspen did show that he was somewhat capable of combat on the literal boat ride here.

so instead, he breathes in and locks eyes with laurent. )

I don't think you have magic in your world, but in mine... most everyone does, and those who don't, are trained in weaponry. Magic over fire, over stone, over air - those are easy to use to hurt. You may not have noticed... but my magic is not like that. And courtesans aren't trained in weapons, and are rarely strong enough to injure others.

I needed a way to use my magic whilst in a war, whether it was on the front or back. ( he takes out a second bomb for laurent to take - this one colored a pale yellow as opposed to the vibrant green. ) And these were the answers I came up with.

I have my own, more experimental explosives I use. Those two are my tried-and-true formulas, so you can be certain they'll help you if you need it.