[Ashitaka does not give voice to the protest that caught in his throat, largely because a moment of second thought made him realize that the man was probably right. The palace took decent care of the people that lived here, and he had not been outside in the city enough to know the availability of food. If it was anything similar to the battlefields they had been on before, it was most likely still a concern.
But... if they were so brazen about stealing it, they probably could've found much easier stores to steal from. It wouldn't have been impossible to find one.
As for the rest of it,
it's a lot of information to process at once, even for a young man who had killed a god. His brow furrows, deciding that he must take whatever the stranger says for truth, as he had earlier. At first he thinks it sounds merely wasteful (why did COST have to decide upon soldiers that would, at baseline, eat far more than any human might?), but as he continues, the issue changes into a different permutation.
At first Ashitaka is surprised, only really noticeable through his typical impassivity as an added stillness and tension through his shoulders. Then, once he actually comprehends what the man meant by that last bit (and it does take him a few seconds), that impassivity breaks for a moment as his complexion gets decidedly red.
To his credit, he recovers swiftly, albeit damages already being done.] No. [The answer is dropped like a stone, solid and unyielding. He looks away from the two a moment, breath leaving him in an aggravated huff. The mark along his right side gave a pulse, and he had to try to wave the frustration away; it would only feed upon it. If they were truly going to be this bullheaded about refusing to leave, and if continuing to refuse would at all continue this conversation along that route, Ashitaka had to see it as pragmatic to simply minimize damages.
i can't believe you've done this to me
But... if they were so brazen about stealing it, they probably could've found much easier stores to steal from. It wouldn't have been impossible to find one.
As for the rest of it,
it's a lot of information to process at once, even for a young man who had killed a god. His brow furrows, deciding that he must take whatever the stranger says for truth, as he had earlier. At first he thinks it sounds merely wasteful (why did COST have to decide upon soldiers that would, at baseline, eat far more than any human might?), but as he continues, the issue changes into a different permutation.
At first Ashitaka is surprised, only really noticeable through his typical impassivity as an added stillness and tension through his shoulders. Then, once he actually comprehends what the man meant by that last bit (and it does take him a few seconds), that impassivity breaks for a moment as his complexion gets decidedly red.
To his credit, he recovers swiftly, albeit damages already being done.] No. [The answer is dropped like a stone, solid and unyielding. He looks away from the two a moment, breath leaving him in an aggravated huff. The mark along his right side gave a pulse, and he had to try to wave the frustration away; it would only feed upon it. If they were truly going to be this bullheaded about refusing to leave, and if continuing to refuse would at all continue this conversation along that route, Ashitaka had to see it as pragmatic to simply minimize damages.
Another short sigh.]
Follow me.
[And he begins to lead them down the hallway.]