The arched brow was joined by its mate as Jigano regarded the young woman with an air of surprise. ”That is not what I said, Phoebe, and well you know it,” he corrected gently. ”No, not every Northhavener, just like not every Natural, but when a few bad apples ruin the barrel, can you really be upset at other people for feeling as prickly as you do, now that it has affected you personally?” He shook his head, watching Isuma try to cheer the girl up, and felt a chill, bony finger of age slide down his spine.
”I admit, I remember that meeting… differently, I think. Rory was upset with Ronin’s plan, even then. And how many other Naturals were there? Or was it a meeting of mostly Outlanders – and more than half of them Northhaveners, even so?” he asked, not accusingly, but softly so as to jog her memory. ”Afterwards Rory was upset because he hadn’t intended the meeting to be one of attacking the spire demon. He’d called it to warn people that the demon had killed someone, meant it to be a lesson in respecting boundaries and heeding the dangers here. But… Ronin took it, and twisted it to a call to arms, instead.” The bard shrugged a little helplessly. ”Rory was buying time, delaying the attack, trying to get people to calm down and not throw their lives away in Deepfrost and hoping that time to think would cool their urge to violence and martyrdom… not agreeing to the plan.” He smiled wryly, lips quirking. ”But who cares what people like me think?” he ended gently, tossing her words back at her to see if she would catch the lesson.
He tilted her head as she admitted that she didn’t like asking for help, but as she seemed to be thinking it through he didn’t interrupt her thoughts. Hopefully, now that she was aware of it, she might be able to consider why. ”You hold yourself to a different standard than everyone else you meet,” he murmured at last. ”Think about why that is… and why it is such a disservice to yourself, good midwife.”
He fished a square of cloth from a sleeve pocket, offering it to Phoebe silently for her tears. His expression stayed calm, listening, though internally he winced at hearing that she blamed Rory. Isuma paused in her cuddling at hearing Rory’s voice said with such darkness, and catching at Jigano’s mood she Reeped quiet distress and fled the crying girl’s shoulder to hide herself behind the fall of her companion’s hair, snuggling down into his hood for comfort. ”Because he can?” Jigano repeated softly. ”Did you listen to his words at all? Emmett’s anger did not appear to be a momentary thing, either, but something that had been building over time, as Rory’s had. And Amalia’s. And Evie’s. And… well, for most of the naturals that I saw there that day. It was not ‘just this one thing’ that they were upset about. Yes, we have lost everything… but do you take no solace in thinking that, even if you can’t see your family again, that they are living their lives, finding joy, loving each other, even if they are missing you?” There was more to say but only so much he could address at once, and he needed to know how she viewed her own loss before he went much further.
”I admit, I remember that meeting… differently, I think. Rory was upset with Ronin’s plan, even then. And how many other Naturals were there? Or was it a meeting of mostly Outlanders – and more than half of them Northhaveners, even so?” he asked, not accusingly, but softly so as to jog her memory. ”Afterwards Rory was upset because he hadn’t intended the meeting to be one of attacking the spire demon. He’d called it to warn people that the demon had killed someone, meant it to be a lesson in respecting boundaries and heeding the dangers here. But… Ronin took it, and twisted it to a call to arms, instead.” The bard shrugged a little helplessly. ”Rory was buying time, delaying the attack, trying to get people to calm down and not throw their lives away in Deepfrost and hoping that time to think would cool their urge to violence and martyrdom… not agreeing to the plan.” He smiled wryly, lips quirking. ”But who cares what people like me think?” he ended gently, tossing her words back at her to see if she would catch the lesson.
He tilted her head as she admitted that she didn’t like asking for help, but as she seemed to be thinking it through he didn’t interrupt her thoughts. Hopefully, now that she was aware of it, she might be able to consider why. ”You hold yourself to a different standard than everyone else you meet,” he murmured at last. ”Think about why that is… and why it is such a disservice to yourself, good midwife.”
He fished a square of cloth from a sleeve pocket, offering it to Phoebe silently for her tears. His expression stayed calm, listening, though internally he winced at hearing that she blamed Rory. Isuma paused in her cuddling at hearing Rory’s voice said with such darkness, and catching at Jigano’s mood she Reeped quiet distress and fled the crying girl’s shoulder to hide herself behind the fall of her companion’s hair, snuggling down into his hood for comfort. ”Because he can?” Jigano repeated softly. ”Did you listen to his words at all? Emmett’s anger did not appear to be a momentary thing, either, but something that had been building over time, as Rory’s had. And Amalia’s. And Evie’s. And… well, for most of the naturals that I saw there that day. It was not ‘just this one thing’ that they were upset about. Yes, we have lost everything… but do you take no solace in thinking that, even if you can’t see your family again, that they are living their lives, finding joy, loving each other, even if they are missing you?” There was more to say but only so much he could address at once, and he needed to know how she viewed her own loss before he went much further.
