Remi and Ronin were indeed a devoted match, and he was happy for both of them. The merriment and joy they had witnessed during the ceremony was proof enough of that. But there was more than Remi in Samuel's life, and Jigano hesitated over how to say what was in his heart. The words were so much easier when he was telling the stories of other people's lives than when he tried to describe his own emotions.
In the end he said nothing, but he reached out to gently squeeze his friend's shoulder, a sign of physical support as much as it was emotional, and an echo of the bonds of friendship between them.
He did not know whether the bookmaker was agreeing with him because he had been swayed, or because he didn't want to argue further. Jigano listened - really tried to listen this time - to how his friend described his relationship with the Voice, but the emphasis Sam put on the words had the lorekeeper shaking his head again, even if this time his smile held a touch of fierce pride to it. "She changed your body, but you made yourself who are you. Your invisibility, your physical strength, these are things you do, not who you are. She was not the one who tucked the feather into my mane, not knowing if you would survive the cauldron. She was not the one who decided to join a dangerous mission into the Fae woods to retrieve lost friends, knowing the danger and accepting it anyways. She was not even the one who solved my riddles. And you had these things before you met her, Sam, and you have been the one to grow and change, not her."
He paused to consider the rest of what his friend had said, then smiled wanly. "I hope you are right, my friend." Even if the bard didn't think he was. Still, he would hope.
And try to find a way to break the Voice's hold on his first friend on Caido. Just in case his hope was in vain.
In the end he said nothing, but he reached out to gently squeeze his friend's shoulder, a sign of physical support as much as it was emotional, and an echo of the bonds of friendship between them.
He did not know whether the bookmaker was agreeing with him because he had been swayed, or because he didn't want to argue further. Jigano listened - really tried to listen this time - to how his friend described his relationship with the Voice, but the emphasis Sam put on the words had the lorekeeper shaking his head again, even if this time his smile held a touch of fierce pride to it. "She changed your body, but you made yourself who are you. Your invisibility, your physical strength, these are things you do, not who you are. She was not the one who tucked the feather into my mane, not knowing if you would survive the cauldron. She was not the one who decided to join a dangerous mission into the Fae woods to retrieve lost friends, knowing the danger and accepting it anyways. She was not even the one who solved my riddles. And you had these things before you met her, Sam, and you have been the one to grow and change, not her."
He paused to consider the rest of what his friend had said, then smiled wanly. "I hope you are right, my friend." Even if the bard didn't think he was. Still, he would hope.
And try to find a way to break the Voice's hold on his first friend on Caido. Just in case his hope was in vain.
