"Us?" Jigano asked quietly, eyes catching the motion of Remi's fingers. A curious gesture, and one that had him narrowing his eyes in concern. "Slave cuffs?" Far from unheard of in Numeria, but there had been no slavery in his home town of Torch, and he had been raised with a clear disgust for the practice.
His own story was still vague, but Remi listened patiently and with enough interest to keep the bard talking. Trust, but not too much trust. Honesty, but not the whole truth. It was still more at any one time than he'd shared with almost anyone else and it still felt strange to be talking to Remi about it, of all people. But... there was no denying that the young man had been through several life-changing events in the past season alone, and he no longer seemed quite as reckless as he once had.
He wasn't sure what he'd been expecting when he finished, but something in Remi's soulful eyes spoke of understanding even more surely than his words a moment later, and Jigano dipped his head in acknowledgment. There was something compelling in the way those two words were spoken, and he trusted his instincts when they said that the alchemist truly did know what it was like to hide such an integral part of himself.
The offer to listen more was even more surprising, and Jigano blinked before a ghost of a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "Well. Perhaps I may take you up on that someday," he found himself agreeing. "And if you feel like sharing more of your own as well... well. You know where to find me, now." The smile freed itself, wry but sincere as he considered the strange and fragile bridge they were building.
///
"Mmm. I admit, I prefer sentimental things that have been created from hands and skill, but I won't deny it's a damn useful skill to be able to make the right object for the moment, or to bend earth or fire to your will," he agreed. "I wasn't strong enough to break them even with tools when I was a child, so I used hot fire and cold water to crack them. But it tended to shatter them into several chunks and sometimes the smaller bits would go flying..." He chuckled ruefully at the foolishness of his youth. Honestly he was godsdamned lucky he hadn't lost an eye, but he'd definitely learned his lessons quickly!
"I wonder if you could transmute the outside of the rock to the same type of crystals as the inside?" he mused thoughtfully.
His own story was still vague, but Remi listened patiently and with enough interest to keep the bard talking. Trust, but not too much trust. Honesty, but not the whole truth. It was still more at any one time than he'd shared with almost anyone else and it still felt strange to be talking to Remi about it, of all people. But... there was no denying that the young man had been through several life-changing events in the past season alone, and he no longer seemed quite as reckless as he once had.
He wasn't sure what he'd been expecting when he finished, but something in Remi's soulful eyes spoke of understanding even more surely than his words a moment later, and Jigano dipped his head in acknowledgment. There was something compelling in the way those two words were spoken, and he trusted his instincts when they said that the alchemist truly did know what it was like to hide such an integral part of himself.
The offer to listen more was even more surprising, and Jigano blinked before a ghost of a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "Well. Perhaps I may take you up on that someday," he found himself agreeing. "And if you feel like sharing more of your own as well... well. You know where to find me, now." The smile freed itself, wry but sincere as he considered the strange and fragile bridge they were building.
///
"Mmm. I admit, I prefer sentimental things that have been created from hands and skill, but I won't deny it's a damn useful skill to be able to make the right object for the moment, or to bend earth or fire to your will," he agreed. "I wasn't strong enough to break them even with tools when I was a child, so I used hot fire and cold water to crack them. But it tended to shatter them into several chunks and sometimes the smaller bits would go flying..." He chuckled ruefully at the foolishness of his youth. Honestly he was godsdamned lucky he hadn't lost an eye, but he'd definitely learned his lessons quickly!
"I wonder if you could transmute the outside of the rock to the same type of crystals as the inside?" he mused thoughtfully.
