Keion was in his sitting room when he heard the knock at his door. He was expecting his nephew, having not bothered to send a reply to the boy's request to meet him. He was a bit amused that his nephew thought he even needed to request an audience in the first place. Quite different from @calliope who just showed up whenever she pleased to butt her head into his day.

Making his way to his door, he'd open it with a bright smile already plastered on his face. "Pietro, it is so good to see you. Come on in and make yourself comfortable. I will fetch us some drinks."

He'd direct Pietro to the sitting room where a small fire was burning to ward off the remaining chill of Hiems. A larger couch along with two bigger chairs were situated around it, with a long, low table in the middle. Keion would return with two glasses of wine, handing one to Pietro before situating himself near his nephew. "Now, to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?" he asked before taking a sip from his drink.

Pietro had a way of always feeling like he was in the way. He had little to offer anyone and regularly felt like his presence was one that just caused people inconvenience. This feeling was only increased by the importance of a person, and the Crown of the family was certainly among the top of that list, probably only second to a member of the royal family. He was a little taken aback with Keion answered the door himself which only made him that much slower to respond.

"Oh, um, okay," he stuttered as he forced his feet to move through the door and trail along after his uncle. He was tall but thin, giving off more of a lanky presence than one of any real substance. He had also used Luxe before coming though which made him at least a bit more at ease than the nerves and shakiness he often got when he needed a hit.

He sat down in a chair closest to the fire and stared into the flames, letting the warmth permeate through him while he waited for Keion to return. When he did, he gave his uncle a sheepish smile as he accepted the wine and took a little sip. "Oh, well, I don't want to take up too much of your time," he began, not making much eye contact as his gaze mostly stared into his wine glass and occasionally darted up to look at Keion. "I've been, um, feeling...stuck." His voice caught and he took another sip of wine to try to loosen his tongue a little. "And I, well, I don't know how to get...unstuck? I guess I was hoping, and I really don't want to bother you, but I, uh, hoped that maybe you could offer some, uh...advice?" He sat with his shoulders hunched as if trying to be a turtle, hiding away his shame in his shell.

Keion made himself comfortable in his chair, his gaze steady on his nephew as he waited patiently for him to explain his visit. He couldn't say he was really surprised by Pietro's concerns. He hadn't quite taken to anything like Calanthe had taken to enchanting and her tutorage under Evander.

He hummed quietly, indicating he was thinking about the question as he took another sip from his wine. "Well, is there anything in particular that you enjoy doing? I know you've never quite had an aptitude for combat. Do you have any particular interest with enchanting?"

His eyes dipped to Pietro's arms briefly. "Perhaps something with tattoos?"

Pietro's heart sank instantly at his uncle's question and his face burned with embarrassment as his palms grew sweaty. He swallowed and dropped his gaze to his own knees as he tucked his hands under his thighs. "Um, well, see-" he tried to begin, his voice cracking. He cleared his throat and tried again. "I think that would be very interesting but I- I have yet to receive enlightenment," he said. He didn't know why he assumed his uncle would already know this when he had so much else on his plate but he hadn't expected to have to say this out loud today.

He quickly launched into hurried explanations, his gaze flickering briefly to his uncle every few seconds though mostly they remained glued to his knees. "Not that I haven't tried. I study and study and study, every single day. I struggle with reading, you see. The words and letters get all jumbled. But I haven't let that stop me! Of course I haven't! I'm still trying. My tutor is getting frustrated. They are trying to hide it but I can tell anyway. All of my sisters are enlightened of course. It's just me. And with Father gone-" he said this all very quickly with only one short inhale in the middle until finally his voice caught and he stopped short.

Patience had always been one of Keion's strong suits, so he settled back into his chair to wait for his nephew to put his thoughts to words. It was not until Pietro finished speaking that Keion began thinking and considering the boy's plight. The Blackwoods expected all of their family members to be the best of the best, this was true. But they also showered their younger generation in love and support, and though Pietro was certainly behind the curve, he was anything but upset about it.

In fact, his features softened when Pietro mentioned Cyrus. "It is alright, Pietro. Not everyone can learn at the same pace or in the same way as others. We must simply figure out a different way for you to learn. I only wish you had come to tell me sooner that you were having difficulties."

His gaze fell upon Pietro, studying him more closely now. After a moment he said, "I am quite certain that in all of our great kingdom's history, there have been others who have faced similar issues that you are. We need but put out some inquiries and I'm sure I could find a different tutor for you. One that would know how to work around your reading difficulties and still help you reach enlightenment." He tapped a finger against the side of his glass before nodding, as if confirming his decision.

"I will do just that. But, let us assume that you have reached enlightenment. Have you ever given thought to what you might do after that?"

It was true that all of Pietro's insecurities were self-inflicted. If he thought back through his childhood he would never find another Blackwood who had given him a hard time or had shown any disappointment in him. Most of that came from people outside of his family and he had simply internalized it to assume that everyone felt the same even if they didn't say so.

When his uncle responded not only with gentle acceptance but also an idea of how to move forward he could feel some of the weight he'd been putting on his shoulders begin to lighten. He too wishes he'd come to his uncle sooner. He didn't know why he had thought he was the only one in the world with this problem. Maybe Keion was right and there was a tutor that would be better suited for him. "That sounds...wonderful. Thank you, uncle," he said with the relief evident in his tone.

"To be honest I guess I've never let myself think too much past that. Aunt Calliope has done some combat training with me and that...isn't something I'm very good at or interested in...but I do really like your idea of pursing work with tattoos. Most enchantments are put into items, it would be neat to see more done like these," he said, looking down at the tattoos on his arms.

Keion's smile was warm and genuine as he continued to regard Pietro. "I will send word to you when I find someone who is better suited for you. For now you may stop seeing your current tutor. Clearly they're doing more harm than good."

He nodded as Pietro studied his own arms, "Tattoos are not something that are very common here in our kingdom, as old fashioned as most of us are. It would certainly be a new frontier for you to explore. I would assume it is something you could work on even before enlightenment. I'm sure it takes time to learn how to apply a regular tattoo to the skin?"