Koa
Koa hums low in his throat, half in amusement, half in acknowledgment. "You're not wrong," he laughs, giving her a sidelong look. "Though we're more used to tight quarters where you have to navigate bodies. Mazes that shift under your boots aren't our usual speed."
Still, there’s something grounding in the way she says it: we'll all help you. A promise he hadn't asked for, but values even more for it being freely given. Koa sits back in his saddle, letting Beans relax beneath him, and looks past the flickering fire to the maze they'd just come through. Its twisting pathways and shadowed corners feel a little less ominous, knowing he doesn't have to go through them alone.
"You'd think we'd be used to losing things by now," he says after a moment, his voice quieter. "But.. no one trains you for loss. Not really. Not the real kind. The kind where you lose the center of things, and your whole world view suddenly has a gaping hole you have no idea how you're going to fill."
His hand lifts absently to scratch behind his ear, fingers catching in the thick hair that has grown longer than usual. "Gotta keep moving forward though. Doing what we can. Sure, there's gods and demigods fighting the big fights, but at the end of the day it's us little people who have to look after our own." He glances her way again, something unsure tucked behind the smile that pulls at his mouth. "I appreciate the loan of the horse. And the advice. And you. Doing what you can. That... helps more than you probably think."
Still, there’s something grounding in the way she says it: we'll all help you. A promise he hadn't asked for, but values even more for it being freely given. Koa sits back in his saddle, letting Beans relax beneath him, and looks past the flickering fire to the maze they'd just come through. Its twisting pathways and shadowed corners feel a little less ominous, knowing he doesn't have to go through them alone.
"You'd think we'd be used to losing things by now," he says after a moment, his voice quieter. "But.. no one trains you for loss. Not really. Not the real kind. The kind where you lose the center of things, and your whole world view suddenly has a gaping hole you have no idea how you're going to fill."
His hand lifts absently to scratch behind his ear, fingers catching in the thick hair that has grown longer than usual. "Gotta keep moving forward though. Doing what we can. Sure, there's gods and demigods fighting the big fights, but at the end of the day it's us little people who have to look after our own." He glances her way again, something unsure tucked behind the smile that pulls at his mouth. "I appreciate the loan of the horse. And the advice. And you. Doing what you can. That... helps more than you probably think."
Let's fall in love for the night
And forget in the morning
And forget in the morning
