There was shared mourning for a friend lost, a quiet grief that silenced them both for a time. Amalia found beauty in the land around them while Jigano took comfort in Isuma's loving presence at his side. Talk of death led to talk of gods, and he nodded slowly at the wisdom she shared from Ludo, seeing the truth in it. A disservice to themselves, as well, he thought quietly, shifting the gryphlet off his shoulder and gently shooing her to go play with Jyoti, a friend she didn't get to see nearly often enough.
"A Shield..." he mused, then shook his head wryly, looking to Amalia and her new crabby friend. "The gifts of the gods don't tend to come with instruction manuals very often." He slipped his guardian sphere from his pocket and rolled it around his hand, examining the glow for hints of darkening. "It sounds a little similar to the advice you've given me before," he teased, but gently. He was intimately familiar with the difficulty in breaking his own habits, and could only assume that Amalia struggled just as much. "What have you been trying to be, that she steered you away from? And... what is it that you want to be?"
"A Shield..." he mused, then shook his head wryly, looking to Amalia and her new crabby friend. "The gifts of the gods don't tend to come with instruction manuals very often." He slipped his guardian sphere from his pocket and rolled it around his hand, examining the glow for hints of darkening. "It sounds a little similar to the advice you've given me before," he teased, but gently. He was intimately familiar with the difficulty in breaking his own habits, and could only assume that Amalia struggled just as much. "What have you been trying to be, that she steered you away from? And... what is it that you want to be?"
