He didn't quite have the energy to smile, but he leaned to the side briefly to bump Hawthorn with his shoulder, quietly glad of his handsome friend's presence. With Alys on one side and Thorn on the other, Tal was as comfortable as he could be given the weight of grief still on them. And yet...
And yet. The hairs on the back of his neck wouldn't stop prickling and he kept having the urge to look over his shoulder, but all he ever saw was the quizzical - and eventually slightly annoyed - face of the old lady sitting behind him. It wasn't quite as bad as that day at the Castaway Exchange with Soh, but it was getting under his skin and making him shift uncomfortably. At least until Hotaru spoke up, her answer stunning him back into stillness.
He barely heard Thorn's vote as his fingers twined more tightly with Alys's and he swallowed past several lumps in his throat. Denial was chief among them, but already anger and grief were vying for their share of his attention, and none of them were helpful right now. Even Tal had to admit that this was neither the time or place for dealing with it, but...
Fuck, it was hard to keep it bottled up.
"Barrows," he rasped out, before swallowing hard and trying to get a deep enough breath to explain. "Because th'people in th'Refuge won't be able t'defend themselves. Not like folks in Mourn can. An' 'cuz I really don't want t'risk th'Void gettin' into any o' those old graves an' makin' th'daemons an'villi more dangerous'n they already are."
And yet. The hairs on the back of his neck wouldn't stop prickling and he kept having the urge to look over his shoulder, but all he ever saw was the quizzical - and eventually slightly annoyed - face of the old lady sitting behind him. It wasn't quite as bad as that day at the Castaway Exchange with Soh, but it was getting under his skin and making him shift uncomfortably. At least until Hotaru spoke up, her answer stunning him back into stillness.
He barely heard Thorn's vote as his fingers twined more tightly with Alys's and he swallowed past several lumps in his throat. Denial was chief among them, but already anger and grief were vying for their share of his attention, and none of them were helpful right now. Even Tal had to admit that this was neither the time or place for dealing with it, but...
Fuck, it was hard to keep it bottled up.
"Barrows," he rasped out, before swallowing hard and trying to get a deep enough breath to explain. "Because th'people in th'Refuge won't be able t'defend themselves. Not like folks in Mourn can. An' 'cuz I really don't want t'risk th'Void gettin' into any o' those old graves an' makin' th'daemons an'villi more dangerous'n they already are."
