paul atreides was well on his way to becoming one of the most powerful young men on arrakis, if not the whole imperium. he had eons worth of potential; so it was no surprise that he was skilful enough to ride a sandworm. yes, he confirmed to stilgar that he would not undertake anything flashy. did he stick to this mantra? not at all.

sandworms, those colossal, earth-shifting leviathans, epitomized a native alien entity that could swallow up a village from below as easily as a man would the livegiving bliss of drink water. riding a sandworm was a coming of age among the fremen, for him, an outsider, it solidified his place among them as one of them. one with the desert.

as he was hailed back into the fervent embrace of the exultant fremen, his ebony locks tousled by the desert winds, he dared to peel back the lower mask of his stillsuit, unveiling the faint curvature of his lips-- a subtle smirk of triumph. his mother was cheering, even stilgar had settled for a slow clap; one person did not seem riveted by paul's feat, however.

perplexed by your apparent indifference, a lingering sense of vexation stirred within him once the adrenaline-fueled fervor had subsided. validation from the masses did not have the same vigor as validation from the one person who seemed to think about him least.

"you are ignoring me, more so than usual." paul stated bluntly, leaning his palm against the sandstone wall where you were settled as the excitement of the fremen community of the sietch tabr calmed down. "was i not impressive to you? did the perilous dance with death not stir a semblance of admiration within you-- or would you have preferred witnessing my demise in the clutches of a sand-sunk abyss?"