The smile was as welcome as sunrise, and it drew an answering expression to his own face as her light chased away his darkness for a moment. A moment was all he had, however, as the mention of Deimos had him flinching. "I... was hoping it could be just the three of us," he said quietly. "Like old times." Simpler times, when they had all borne fewer scars and more hope for their world. Now, though... now the blight bubbled in his veins and Amalia looked like she was falling apart, piece by piece. As much as his sould cried out for a little selfishness it was a luxury he had lost the right to, however, and he took an unsteady breath as he tried to force the blight back into the shadows of his thoughts. "But if Deimos wants to come, he can. Don't worry about bringing anything, dear one. Just let us treat you like the royalty you are in our hearts." It was weak teasing to try and cover his lack of grace, but it was better than nothing... he hoped.
Distracted by his own ambivalent feelings for the Sword and his attempts to retrieve the key from his pocket with shaking fingers, Jigano missed the telltale shifts of Amalia's expression. He had chosen to trust her as much as he did Rory, which was to say with all his heart. It did not occur to him that she might lie, not to him. That she was capable of it, that he had no doubt... but never to him. "She is lucky to have a worshiper as devoted as you," he said with a lopsided smile as he finally fit the key to the lock and pushed the door open. His heart struck an odd chord in his breast at the familiar room, with Isuma's bed in the corner and the windows letting in only a dim blue light through the snow that packed their wells.
"The only book I know of with Safrin's origin is... here," he murmured, reaching out with a trembling hand to pull the great tome they had found in the Underground library loose and move it to the desk. "Kiada and I got the books moved back down here before we..." he trailed off with a grimace, for Amalia knew well what had happened to Harpy and Bard both.
Distracted by his own ambivalent feelings for the Sword and his attempts to retrieve the key from his pocket with shaking fingers, Jigano missed the telltale shifts of Amalia's expression. He had chosen to trust her as much as he did Rory, which was to say with all his heart. It did not occur to him that she might lie, not to him. That she was capable of it, that he had no doubt... but never to him. "She is lucky to have a worshiper as devoted as you," he said with a lopsided smile as he finally fit the key to the lock and pushed the door open. His heart struck an odd chord in his breast at the familiar room, with Isuma's bed in the corner and the windows letting in only a dim blue light through the snow that packed their wells.
"The only book I know of with Safrin's origin is... here," he murmured, reaching out with a trembling hand to pull the great tome they had found in the Underground library loose and move it to the desk. "Kiada and I got the books moved back down here before we..." he trailed off with a grimace, for Amalia knew well what had happened to Harpy and Bard both.
