It wasn't that Tal didn't appreciate the contact - he did, usually - but when he was so wrapped up in himself it almost didn't register. But Zavien's stout defense of him, his pure-hearted belief that Tal was good, caught at something in the courier's chest, tugging at a scab that was still fragile. He swallowed hard and reached up to cover the Dragoon's hand briefly, managing a nod that might have been agreement, or at least acknowledgment that the words were heard. "I mean, I can," he pointed out, voice gruff with emotion. He sniffed to clear his sinuses - all the damned steam had him starting to run like a faucet - and released Zavien so the other man could have his hand back. "An' I have been. But I'm... I'm workin' on it." For Alys's sake even more than his own, truth be told. But maybe just getting started was enough.
And then Zavien hit him with the question that haunted his nightmares and Tal froze, swallowing hard. The Compass was only a grab away and then he could teleport out of this conversation and back to the safety of the Peregrine--
Zavien deserved better than that, though. And as much as Tal didn't want to let his friend down, well... He couldn't lie to him, either. He'd already told him that he hadn't known who she was, but maybe part of his penance was confronting that hard truth over and over again. "..no," he whispered, muscles tensing anew as he stared down at his distorted reflection in the rippling water, letting the other man - a genuinely good man - down. "No one in King's End recognized 'er description, at least."
And then Zavien hit him with the question that haunted his nightmares and Tal froze, swallowing hard. The Compass was only a grab away and then he could teleport out of this conversation and back to the safety of the Peregrine--
Zavien deserved better than that, though. And as much as Tal didn't want to let his friend down, well... He couldn't lie to him, either. He'd already told him that he hadn't known who she was, but maybe part of his penance was confronting that hard truth over and over again. "..no," he whispered, muscles tensing anew as he stared down at his distorted reflection in the rippling water, letting the other man - a genuinely good man - down. "No one in King's End recognized 'er description, at least."
