She hesitated at answering and Tal wrinkled his nose in embarrassment as he realized he'd maybe asked something he shouldn't have. Again. Everything he asked seemed to be a problem and he tried to hide his discomfort behind his tiny teacup.
The mention of the Hollowed Grounds a moment later made a lot more sense, then, and the courier relaxed, feeling a little less guilty. The Grounds had a certain reputation thanks to the Ascended, but now that the War was over that was all water under the bridge as far as Tal was concerned. Lots of bridges, in fact, given how the Grounds had shaken apart into all those islands.
Death was never far on Caido, though that didn't make it hurt less. He winced in sympathy as he set his teacup back down, a shiver running down his back at how close he'd come to dying himself earlier that day. "Oh. I'm, uh... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to--" Bring up a bad memory? He scowled at his reflection in his tea and took a deep breath. Get it together, Tal! Hurrying past the awkward moment he looked up with a forced grin on his face. "Me? I'm from Halo, born an' bred." He tugged at his dragon's horns fondly. "Her, too. Her name's Boreal. We run a courier service, deliverin' packages an' letters people don't wanna risk with th'ravens." Raven mail usually got where it was going... unless the bird got eaten or taken out by bad weather on the way. Sometimes the human touch was just a little more dependable if something absolutely had to get where it was going.
The mention of the Hollowed Grounds a moment later made a lot more sense, then, and the courier relaxed, feeling a little less guilty. The Grounds had a certain reputation thanks to the Ascended, but now that the War was over that was all water under the bridge as far as Tal was concerned. Lots of bridges, in fact, given how the Grounds had shaken apart into all those islands.
Death was never far on Caido, though that didn't make it hurt less. He winced in sympathy as he set his teacup back down, a shiver running down his back at how close he'd come to dying himself earlier that day. "Oh. I'm, uh... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to--" Bring up a bad memory? He scowled at his reflection in his tea and took a deep breath. Get it together, Tal! Hurrying past the awkward moment he looked up with a forced grin on his face. "Me? I'm from Halo, born an' bred." He tugged at his dragon's horns fondly. "Her, too. Her name's Boreal. We run a courier service, deliverin' packages an' letters people don't wanna risk with th'ravens." Raven mail usually got where it was going... unless the bird got eaten or taken out by bad weather on the way. Sometimes the human touch was just a little more dependable if something absolutely had to get where it was going.
