He hadn't expected the stranger to understand - most people didn't - but at her words he exhaled and breathed a little easier. He gave her a grateful nod, and his own mouth quirked towards a wry, rueful grin of encouragement as she searched for her own place to call home.
The compliments that followed, however, were things he still wasn't good at dealing with and he ducked his head again to hide the spreading flush that crept down his neck and threatened his cheeks. Thank Safrin it was dark and the flickering torchlight could hide it! "Um. 'anks," he muttered, jamming his hands into his pockets as they walked before his fingers could betray him by twisting together.
Distracting Cat with shops was as much a survival mechanism as a kind gesture, and he tried not to be too obviously relieved when it worked. "Yeah, they've got pretty reliable ones. But like everyone else here, y'gotta be a good bargainer or they'll take y'for everythin' y'got," he warned. "Seein' th'world's good, but always count your fingers an' your toes after makin' a deal in Kaiholo, t'make sure y'didn't accidentally trade 'em away!"
The compliments came back, but Tal managed to deflect most of them. "Nah, you're not just dreamin'. I mean, y'already made it all th'way t'Torchline! You're a proper traveler now, too!" She'd already taken the hardest step - the first one, leaving the comforts and known dangers of home to step into new and unfamiliar ones.
The compliments that followed, however, were things he still wasn't good at dealing with and he ducked his head again to hide the spreading flush that crept down his neck and threatened his cheeks. Thank Safrin it was dark and the flickering torchlight could hide it! "Um. 'anks," he muttered, jamming his hands into his pockets as they walked before his fingers could betray him by twisting together.
Distracting Cat with shops was as much a survival mechanism as a kind gesture, and he tried not to be too obviously relieved when it worked. "Yeah, they've got pretty reliable ones. But like everyone else here, y'gotta be a good bargainer or they'll take y'for everythin' y'got," he warned. "Seein' th'world's good, but always count your fingers an' your toes after makin' a deal in Kaiholo, t'make sure y'didn't accidentally trade 'em away!"
The compliments came back, but Tal managed to deflect most of them. "Nah, you're not just dreamin'. I mean, y'already made it all th'way t'Torchline! You're a proper traveler now, too!" She'd already taken the hardest step - the first one, leaving the comforts and known dangers of home to step into new and unfamiliar ones.
