Amalia and Ronin may be ill at ease, but their bondeds, at least, see to feel no such qualms. Jyoti is delighted to show her new friend around, falling into comfortable companionship as they glide and wander through the shop. The baker watches with wistful fondness, wishing she could be so easily at ease. Turning back to Ronin, the girl nods her head, tacit acknowledgment and gratitude for his praise of the starlit calf. She cannot help return his grin, a flash of it upon her features as she thinks of the difficulties she already faces, being conjoined with a mythic child of her own.
But now they find some common ground, the absent Aoife acting as bridge between the distant strangers. Watching as the monster hunter seems to glow, Amalia finds herself smiling in turn, charmed by the man's clear affection for his child. How difficult it must have been, to be gone from her for any amount of time. She nods when he mentions her contribution, pushing hair behind her ear, awkward and pleased. "Is Remi with her now?" she wonders, a slightly speculative tone to her voice. She does not know the relationship between the men, only that the alchemist seems to see the starlit girl as a daughter, and that he spoke of the absent guildmaster with the pain of a lost love.
His request makes her laugh: gaily, not unkindly, surprised and taken aback. Shaking her head, the girl grins in earnest now, a light an easy smile on her face. "I do not know how it was in Northaven, but here a child belongs to us all." So her grandmother had always told her, the old woman more than willing to care for anyone's bairn. "Anything you need for Aoife, I am always happy to give. But I can show you some easy things, for home." She does not add another thing: that she does not want them to no longer need her, to make her redundant with newfound skills, take away all she has to contribute to this world.
But now they find some common ground, the absent Aoife acting as bridge between the distant strangers. Watching as the monster hunter seems to glow, Amalia finds herself smiling in turn, charmed by the man's clear affection for his child. How difficult it must have been, to be gone from her for any amount of time. She nods when he mentions her contribution, pushing hair behind her ear, awkward and pleased. "Is Remi with her now?" she wonders, a slightly speculative tone to her voice. She does not know the relationship between the men, only that the alchemist seems to see the starlit girl as a daughter, and that he spoke of the absent guildmaster with the pain of a lost love.
His request makes her laugh: gaily, not unkindly, surprised and taken aback. Shaking her head, the girl grins in earnest now, a light an easy smile on her face. "I do not know how it was in Northaven, but here a child belongs to us all." So her grandmother had always told her, the old woman more than willing to care for anyone's bairn. "Anything you need for Aoife, I am always happy to give. But I can show you some easy things, for home." She does not add another thing: that she does not want them to no longer need her, to make her redundant with newfound skills, take away all she has to contribute to this world.
Amalia & Jyoti
born from dark water, daughters of the rain and snow
