"A whale who swims the sky," he mused, continuing his gentle scratches and pets of the joyful little creature. "I... think we had something similar on my world. Celestial whales, they were called. I never saw one, but I read about them. Creatures of great good, who swam the stars of the outer planes, and who could calm emotions and smite evil beings." He shook off his musing of a world lost, no less than Jyoti had lost her own, and turned to Amalia with a smile. "But you flew? On fair and feathered wings? Will you show me, someday? Fly with me, too?" How strange it would be, to fly beside someone he trusted. Remi had mentioned it, and Jigano had been hesitant only because he was unsure of sharing his mind with the alchemist even after he and Caiside had practiced how to shield and protect their thoughts from others. The young man had a great deal more practice with that method of communication than Jigano had...
And a history of forcing his power on the unwilling.
There was light sparkling beneath their fingers, however, and Jyoti's presence was calming and serene, soothing the bard's momentary dip into darker waters. "You are more than enough, dear Amalia," he reassured her fondly. "You hold a cosmos in your heart, and all the night sky in your eyes. Your grandmother saw how you shine... and so do we." He and Isuma, Jyoti and Rory, and all those who came to know her could see the starlight in her soul, no matter how her anxieties tried to eclipse it.
Talk of Arduinna was another bright spot, however fickle and fey she might have been. The woman had led them as she had promised, and though he was a little worried that she hadn't claimed a price, she also hadn't asked for one... He tilted his head with a wry smile, nodding at her hesitant comment. "She might at that, but finding her will be another challenge altogether! With the way the trees moved around her, I doubt they'd let anyone reach her without her permission."
The dryad-woman was a curiosity and a splendor, but so was the connection between the pink-cheeked baker and the grim, glowering beast that walked on two legs. Jigano hid his delighted smile as Amalia blushed prettily, but some of it slipped through as her own smile softened in a way he could not realize mirrored his own expression when talking about Rory. "Ah, but how many friends can he claim as close as you?" he continued gently, eyes sparkling with happiness for his little sister's sweet charm.
Even if he might have hoped she had found someone a little less dour... well. Who could say what shape love would take? Certainly not a world-lost fox who had fallen in love with a hunter!
And a history of forcing his power on the unwilling.
There was light sparkling beneath their fingers, however, and Jyoti's presence was calming and serene, soothing the bard's momentary dip into darker waters. "You are more than enough, dear Amalia," he reassured her fondly. "You hold a cosmos in your heart, and all the night sky in your eyes. Your grandmother saw how you shine... and so do we." He and Isuma, Jyoti and Rory, and all those who came to know her could see the starlight in her soul, no matter how her anxieties tried to eclipse it.
Talk of Arduinna was another bright spot, however fickle and fey she might have been. The woman had led them as she had promised, and though he was a little worried that she hadn't claimed a price, she also hadn't asked for one... He tilted his head with a wry smile, nodding at her hesitant comment. "She might at that, but finding her will be another challenge altogether! With the way the trees moved around her, I doubt they'd let anyone reach her without her permission."
The dryad-woman was a curiosity and a splendor, but so was the connection between the pink-cheeked baker and the grim, glowering beast that walked on two legs. Jigano hid his delighted smile as Amalia blushed prettily, but some of it slipped through as her own smile softened in a way he could not realize mirrored his own expression when talking about Rory. "Ah, but how many friends can he claim as close as you?" he continued gently, eyes sparkling with happiness for his little sister's sweet charm.
Even if he might have hoped she had found someone a little less dour... well. Who could say what shape love would take? Certainly not a world-lost fox who had fallen in love with a hunter!
