"Tag, you're it," the bard responded dryly, but amused as well, in a foxy way few others on Caido could appreciate.
He had hoped that his companion had caught scent of something useful, though he hadn't expected it so soon. His eyes brightened with hope at hearing that Ianto had found something herby to point them towards, but of course it wouldn't be that easy. Jigano nodded ruefully, resigned to a long hunt but not surprised at it. He had come prepared for a full day in the maze, and the grumbling in the back of his thoughts was subdued enough that he felt confident in continuing on with company, at least for now.
That was the problem though, wasn't it? He felt fine until he suddenly didn't, and then he snapped. It was exhausting, trying to keep himself civil and putting up the facade that things were mostly alright. And it wasn't always a facade; there were good hours and bad ones. But the bad ones were getting more frequent, and steadily worse.
"Mmm. You have a point there. I don't think the Labyrinth is anyone's friend." The bard looked around sardonically as their fuzzy grey escorts called coaxingly for them to follow deeper into the hedges. "I had a hypothesis that it's symbiotic with the squirrels and boggarts..." He trailed off, chuckling with a touch of morbid humor. "Ah. Perhaps that is a better conversation to have after we're safely out of it again." Ianto didn't seem like the budding biologist type, though he'd have to try and bring Caiside here sometime if they all survived the coming season. The smith was interested in the flora and fauna of Caido, and the Labyrinth might count as both!
Perhaps he shouldn't have admitted that he wasn't feeling well, but Ianto deserved to know who - what - he was traveling with. It wasn't something Jigano enjoyed talking about, and there were still many of his close friends he hadn't shared it with, not knowing how to deal with the sympathy and fear in their eyes. Fear of him? Probably not. But fear for him... he didn't want to cause them that pain, even if they had every right to know. It was a thorny impasse with no easy answer, but he oddly had fewer reservations about admitting it to those he was less close to. They had less to lose, after all.
"And soon we'll be joining them, I hope," Jigano said, his usual wry humor sounding only a little forced as he put on a good face. "Or at least contributing to the efforts, however long a shot the Efas Herb is. Who knows? Maybe we'll find some other useful plant in here while we're looking for the Efas. The Labyrinth doesn't exactly allow for easy exploration, so we might get lucky and find something new." And hopefully that 'something new' wasn't full of pointy teeth and a taste for fox meat.
He had hoped that his companion had caught scent of something useful, though he hadn't expected it so soon. His eyes brightened with hope at hearing that Ianto had found something herby to point them towards, but of course it wouldn't be that easy. Jigano nodded ruefully, resigned to a long hunt but not surprised at it. He had come prepared for a full day in the maze, and the grumbling in the back of his thoughts was subdued enough that he felt confident in continuing on with company, at least for now.
That was the problem though, wasn't it? He felt fine until he suddenly didn't, and then he snapped. It was exhausting, trying to keep himself civil and putting up the facade that things were mostly alright. And it wasn't always a facade; there were good hours and bad ones. But the bad ones were getting more frequent, and steadily worse.
"Mmm. You have a point there. I don't think the Labyrinth is anyone's friend." The bard looked around sardonically as their fuzzy grey escorts called coaxingly for them to follow deeper into the hedges. "I had a hypothesis that it's symbiotic with the squirrels and boggarts..." He trailed off, chuckling with a touch of morbid humor. "Ah. Perhaps that is a better conversation to have after we're safely out of it again." Ianto didn't seem like the budding biologist type, though he'd have to try and bring Caiside here sometime if they all survived the coming season. The smith was interested in the flora and fauna of Caido, and the Labyrinth might count as both!
Perhaps he shouldn't have admitted that he wasn't feeling well, but Ianto deserved to know who - what - he was traveling with. It wasn't something Jigano enjoyed talking about, and there were still many of his close friends he hadn't shared it with, not knowing how to deal with the sympathy and fear in their eyes. Fear of him? Probably not. But fear for him... he didn't want to cause them that pain, even if they had every right to know. It was a thorny impasse with no easy answer, but he oddly had fewer reservations about admitting it to those he was less close to. They had less to lose, after all.
"And soon we'll be joining them, I hope," Jigano said, his usual wry humor sounding only a little forced as he put on a good face. "Or at least contributing to the efforts, however long a shot the Efas Herb is. Who knows? Maybe we'll find some other useful plant in here while we're looking for the Efas. The Labyrinth doesn't exactly allow for easy exploration, so we might get lucky and find something new." And hopefully that 'something new' wasn't full of pointy teeth and a taste for fox meat.
