Just a stirring in my soul

Amalia A simple smile can change a day An understanding look can say I know exactly how you feel "Welcome to Devas bakery." It has become as easy as breathing, those four simple words. A welcome shield against her thoughts, she wields them with something approaching confidence, her melodious alto masking just how strange it feels to be the one behind the counter, the voice in charge. There is an ease in the routine of it, a fulfilment in sending customers on their way with a fresh loaf of bread and a quiet goodbye. And so when th door jingles open she speaks them before looking up, her back to the pair as she pushes into the oven a fresh loaf of rye. Wiping her hands on her apron, Amalia turns around and stops, the sight of Remi giving her pause. "Remi..."  The last time she saw him was that day, with the Spire Monster defeated at the cost of what she could only assume to be his friend. Now she hesitates, the weight of the strange turn of the world hanging around her, Rory's words and the conflict at the Spire. The desire to hide pulses inside her... But then her eyes fall on the baby, and everything shifts. "Oh," she gasps, a quiet delight brightening her narrow face. Almost unconsciously she slips around the counter, bending down to look into the child's starlit eyes. "Hello, little child of Vi." Her voice is a singsong coo, and there is wonder in her gaze as she looks up at Remi. Infants are rare in the barrier, and Amalia has always loved children. "What's her name? She is Safrin-touched."