He might have smiled at her completed masterpiece if the conversation topic wasn't so heavy and hard for him to focus on. He continued his own pictorial insinuations until he though he'd captured a truly wicked likeness of the Ascended. Her confirmation of his fears was enough to make him set the poster aside, fingers still curled loosely around the charcoal as he looked down at the table before him with a stubborn tightness of his jaw. "Can I have another one, please?" he asked quietly instead of answering her question immediately. There was a tension in him as he tried to find the words to describe a thread that wasn't over yet that night of fear and flight to someone who had some personal - familial - connection to the Ascended.
"Yes," he said softly at last. "Dangerous and cruel." But if she hadn't seen it already, as close to this Nate as she apparently was, why would she believe him? The word of a stranger against her uncle's partner? He was tired of feeling so adrift and alone in the world, but the few friends he'd made were rarely found and Haulani was full of those like Nate who sought to prey upon the weak.
The strange, mobile gourd was clearly a helpful companion and art critic and Kel watched Fangorn gratefully for the distraction he provided. Bugs made sense, the hunter supposed. Carnivorous plants ate bugs, didn't they? But at the mention of blood he looked to Melita sharply - and saw the grin stretching her lips. He found a small smile of his own in return. "Oh yeah? Whose blood?" People? Animals? Ex-boyfriends?
"Yes," he said softly at last. "Dangerous and cruel." But if she hadn't seen it already, as close to this Nate as she apparently was, why would she believe him? The word of a stranger against her uncle's partner? He was tired of feeling so adrift and alone in the world, but the few friends he'd made were rarely found and Haulani was full of those like Nate who sought to prey upon the weak.
The strange, mobile gourd was clearly a helpful companion and art critic and Kel watched Fangorn gratefully for the distraction he provided. Bugs made sense, the hunter supposed. Carnivorous plants ate bugs, didn't they? But at the mention of blood he looked to Melita sharply - and saw the grin stretching her lips. He found a small smile of his own in return. "Oh yeah? Whose blood?" People? Animals? Ex-boyfriends?
