He inclined his head in pleased acknowledgment of the compliment, the hint of a smile finally warming the corners of his eyes to see her eating food they had prepared together. The tears in her eyes were met with a silent understanding and he turned his attention to the next slice of meat, picking it up in his fingers and dipping it carefully into the boiling pot.
He listened to her answer, and learned more of what life had been for her. What it had become. What it meant to her now, after all she had been through.
He pulled the strip of meat out - mostly cooked through, except where his fingers had pinched it - and ate it, chewing slowly. What he thought he kept to himself for the moment, unwilling to judge one way or the other without knowing more.
"Has it been worth it? Changing from Ascended to Ancient?" Isla, he recalled, had remained an Ascended for many seasons after the Voice had been vanquished. Though in the end she, too, had made the choice to become something new.
He listened to her answer, and learned more of what life had been for her. What it had become. What it meant to her now, after all she had been through.
He pulled the strip of meat out - mostly cooked through, except where his fingers had pinched it - and ate it, chewing slowly. What he thought he kept to himself for the moment, unwilling to judge one way or the other without knowing more.
"Has it been worth it? Changing from Ascended to Ancient?" Isla, he recalled, had remained an Ascended for many seasons after the Voice had been vanquished. Though in the end she, too, had made the choice to become something new.
