"Careful what y'offer. I might take y'up on it," Tal mumbled, trying to turn the poignant sincerity of Zavien's kindness into something a little more lighthearted and easier to deal with. Not that he didn't appreciate it! But such clear, unvarnished selflessness could be a little overwhelming and, well, made the courier a little uncomfortable and uncertain how to respond to it.
He didn't know how to accept such kindness when it wasn't cloaked in rough teasing or good-natured insults!
The shared trauma of having lost their mothers drew an understanding nod from the courier and he reached out again to clap Zavien awkwardly on the shoulder, giving his arm a supportive squeeze before clearing his throat and extending his own invitation. It just felt right after that sliver of sharing of personal trauma.
He was still half-expecting to be turned down, truth be told. Zavien seemed to always have a direction he was going in, confident and with his head to the wind, so that the courier figured he probably already had other plans. The unexpected shift to blushing and stammering caught Tal by surprise but before the other man had even finished his protests a grin had started to chase away the morose expression their earlier topic had left on his face. "Y'don't need t'bring anythin', they've got plenty," he assured the Breaker with the cheerfulness of someone who wasn't the flustered one in a conversation for once. "An' they can't know you til they meet you!" He wrinkled his nose at the last effort, leaning forward to give a testing sniff before snorting. "I doubt anyone'd notice much, what with all th'dogs, but we can swing by a place t'clean y'up first," he decided with a sharp nod. "Th'hot springs are maybe a li'l far out, but Ru's old spa is still up an' runnin'. We can pop in there for a quick scrub an' soak." And Ru wasn't there to tease him about going in, so really, there was no downside!
He didn't know how to accept such kindness when it wasn't cloaked in rough teasing or good-natured insults!
The shared trauma of having lost their mothers drew an understanding nod from the courier and he reached out again to clap Zavien awkwardly on the shoulder, giving his arm a supportive squeeze before clearing his throat and extending his own invitation. It just felt right after that sliver of sharing of personal trauma.
He was still half-expecting to be turned down, truth be told. Zavien seemed to always have a direction he was going in, confident and with his head to the wind, so that the courier figured he probably already had other plans. The unexpected shift to blushing and stammering caught Tal by surprise but before the other man had even finished his protests a grin had started to chase away the morose expression their earlier topic had left on his face. "Y'don't need t'bring anythin', they've got plenty," he assured the Breaker with the cheerfulness of someone who wasn't the flustered one in a conversation for once. "An' they can't know you til they meet you!" He wrinkled his nose at the last effort, leaning forward to give a testing sniff before snorting. "I doubt anyone'd notice much, what with all th'dogs, but we can swing by a place t'clean y'up first," he decided with a sharp nod. "Th'hot springs are maybe a li'l far out, but Ru's old spa is still up an' runnin'. We can pop in there for a quick scrub an' soak." And Ru wasn't there to tease him about going in, so really, there was no downside!
