Ah. Jigano drew in a slow breath, his heart twinging - both for the boy and for himself. His parents were buried on a distant world he would never see again, their bones and ashes mixed in a mass grave with the other victims of the myrmidon's 'lesson.' He would never visit it again, though they had friends in the community, surely, who would say a prayer for them now and then...
The bard cleared his throat as well, nodding gruffly to the boy. "I could walk you there, if you'd like," he offered quietly. "Make sure no one else tries to pounce on you. But I'd understand, too, if you'd rather go alone." Some things were a private matter. A family matter. Nosy as he could be, he wouldn't intrude on such a personal grief, even if that grief had the edges worn off by time and the need to survive.
"I'm Jigano, lad," he said on impulse, though revealing his disguise to anyone was a risk. Still, the boy didn't look like the type to go telling tales to Zariah. A mouse knew to stay far away from the talons of an opportunistic vulture like the Queen. Not all scavengers were polite enough to wait until their prey was dead to begin their meal, and some were more than happy to help nature along. And a little honesty might go a long way someday, with a clever little mouse who had survived so long on his own.
Or maybe the white fox was just getting sentimental in his old age.
The bard cleared his throat as well, nodding gruffly to the boy. "I could walk you there, if you'd like," he offered quietly. "Make sure no one else tries to pounce on you. But I'd understand, too, if you'd rather go alone." Some things were a private matter. A family matter. Nosy as he could be, he wouldn't intrude on such a personal grief, even if that grief had the edges worn off by time and the need to survive.
"I'm Jigano, lad," he said on impulse, though revealing his disguise to anyone was a risk. Still, the boy didn't look like the type to go telling tales to Zariah. A mouse knew to stay far away from the talons of an opportunistic vulture like the Queen. Not all scavengers were polite enough to wait until their prey was dead to begin their meal, and some were more than happy to help nature along. And a little honesty might go a long way someday, with a clever little mouse who had survived so long on his own.
Or maybe the white fox was just getting sentimental in his old age.
