"Hey!" Tal ducked as a crow dove past, scowling after it as it made its escape with a small cracked bottle that was still shiny in spite of the alley's grime. He scowled after it for a moment, but turned back to Thal when he realized it wasn't bursting into flame or suddenly sprouting a thrown dagger. The Captain's indifference to the insult said volumes about her mood even before she gave him a vague shrug.
He huffed a sigh and headed over to grab a discarded bit of sacking. The hole in it was small enough that the bottles wouldn't fall out, at least, and if he held it carefully he could use it for the broken glass, too. He continued to tidy things up in awkward silence until he had enough to join Thalassa at the bigger container she'd found to hold the trash--
Then he realized that she was having some sort of moment. He dumped his sackful of crap and started to reach out to touch her shoulder but then hesitated, remembering what Maea had done to him during their training. Maybe startling a freaked-out Ancient wasn't the best strategy when he had no idea what Thal was capable of? "Hey," he said again, but this time his gruff voice was low and attempting to be reassuring. "Thal? Y'still with me?" His hand hovered, close but not touching until he was sure she knew who he was.
He huffed a sigh and headed over to grab a discarded bit of sacking. The hole in it was small enough that the bottles wouldn't fall out, at least, and if he held it carefully he could use it for the broken glass, too. He continued to tidy things up in awkward silence until he had enough to join Thalassa at the bigger container she'd found to hold the trash--
Then he realized that she was having some sort of moment. He dumped his sackful of crap and started to reach out to touch her shoulder but then hesitated, remembering what Maea had done to him during their training. Maybe startling a freaked-out Ancient wasn't the best strategy when he had no idea what Thal was capable of? "Hey," he said again, but this time his gruff voice was low and attempting to be reassuring. "Thal? Y'still with me?" His hand hovered, close but not touching until he was sure she knew who he was.
