He had left her openings for questions deliberately, wondering what threads she might pursue in the grand mix of mayhem and loss that the last year had contained. That she ignored the drama and historic clashes for the deeply personal earned a brow arched in curiosity, but he bowed his head in gratitude for her joy on behalf of himself and his lover. He hadn't thought she'd known Rory well; the hunter had given the impression that though he'd been friends with her brother, he'd had little interaction with the sister until the first attempted council had fallen through. Still, she'd been on the periphery of his life enough that Jigano smiled at her attempts to reassure him. He had lived with his mate for a year, and the Rory he knew now was not the man Maea had known as a child.
He ran his fingers along the lily's stem and leaves idly as he listened to his friend. She had already explained about her lack of memories and lost time, but it was good to hear about others she had found. At the news of her farm, though, his expression fell a little and he nodded in understanding. "Yes... we could muster enough hands to repair the damage a year has done to it, but running a farm alone..." he shook his head slightly, knowing how Rory had struggled to do just that after his sister disappeared. Jigano's efforts - especially his ability to coax the animals into line and renew the soil in the fields - helped to an extent, but even so the bard was often in town during the day. It at least made for a socially acceptable excuse for why Rory remained withdrawn. But that was because he wanted to be, at least for now. Maea was more inquisitive and eager to be part of things, the light in her soul still burning brightly with the desire to make a difference.
A light so many of them had lost over the past year, or at least had dimmed.
"Would you like help moving into town instead?" he asked cautiously, unsure of how far in advance she had begun to plan, if at all. "You can, of course, stay in the Guildhall for now. We can set up a cot in one of the reading rooms for you. It will be sheltered, at least, and cool in Longheat. At least until you decide what you'd like to do in the longer term." He smiled and offered her the lily, pale and fragile in the moonlight but stronger than it looked thanks to the Healing magic he'd used to strengthen it's vitality. "You're a Loreseeker, Maea. We help each other. When you know what you want to do, you need only ask and I will be there - others, too. Once we've mourned our dead and dealt with a few jobs that are pending I'll call a gathering so people can introduce themselves and you can meet the newest recruits." So everyone could meet each other - give or take Amalia, wounded and angry, who might not want to be included in such a convocation just yet, though he'd be sure to extend an invitation to her as well.
He ran his fingers along the lily's stem and leaves idly as he listened to his friend. She had already explained about her lack of memories and lost time, but it was good to hear about others she had found. At the news of her farm, though, his expression fell a little and he nodded in understanding. "Yes... we could muster enough hands to repair the damage a year has done to it, but running a farm alone..." he shook his head slightly, knowing how Rory had struggled to do just that after his sister disappeared. Jigano's efforts - especially his ability to coax the animals into line and renew the soil in the fields - helped to an extent, but even so the bard was often in town during the day. It at least made for a socially acceptable excuse for why Rory remained withdrawn. But that was because he wanted to be, at least for now. Maea was more inquisitive and eager to be part of things, the light in her soul still burning brightly with the desire to make a difference.
A light so many of them had lost over the past year, or at least had dimmed.
"Would you like help moving into town instead?" he asked cautiously, unsure of how far in advance she had begun to plan, if at all. "You can, of course, stay in the Guildhall for now. We can set up a cot in one of the reading rooms for you. It will be sheltered, at least, and cool in Longheat. At least until you decide what you'd like to do in the longer term." He smiled and offered her the lily, pale and fragile in the moonlight but stronger than it looked thanks to the Healing magic he'd used to strengthen it's vitality. "You're a Loreseeker, Maea. We help each other. When you know what you want to do, you need only ask and I will be there - others, too. Once we've mourned our dead and dealt with a few jobs that are pending I'll call a gathering so people can introduce themselves and you can meet the newest recruits." So everyone could meet each other - give or take Amalia, wounded and angry, who might not want to be included in such a convocation just yet, though he'd be sure to extend an invitation to her as well.
