Ah. There it was. The shoe that was bound to drop, and Jigano winced in sympathy at the bare statement of fact, hiding what could only be a wealth of pain beneath. He let the silence sit for a few moments, curious as always but uncertain what was safe to ask, when any answer could only lead to sorrow and memories best left behind.
Sunjata surprised him by continuing even without urging. And it was worse than Jigano had wanted to hear, though not surprising after how Korofi had been previously described. Still, he had no doubt that those few weeks had been filled with torture. Probably physical, certainly mental and emotional. And though the girl had died, Sunjata had lived. Lived and gotten his revenge, or at least tried to, before the Voice's portal had plucked him away from a world that sounded hellish to the bard, above and beyond the harshness of the desert.
He exhaled slowly into the winter air, breath frosting in a brief cloud as he took it all in and tilted his head back to let the snow fall on his lashes. He let the silence stretch between them for long moments before he tilted his head just enough to watch the other man from eyes that still looked closed. "Would you go back, if there was a way?" he asked at last. "Or is Caido something of a welcome new start for you... the blight notwithstanding," he added dryly, dark humor lacing his voice at the end.
Sunjata surprised him by continuing even without urging. And it was worse than Jigano had wanted to hear, though not surprising after how Korofi had been previously described. Still, he had no doubt that those few weeks had been filled with torture. Probably physical, certainly mental and emotional. And though the girl had died, Sunjata had lived. Lived and gotten his revenge, or at least tried to, before the Voice's portal had plucked him away from a world that sounded hellish to the bard, above and beyond the harshness of the desert.
He exhaled slowly into the winter air, breath frosting in a brief cloud as he took it all in and tilted his head back to let the snow fall on his lashes. He let the silence stretch between them for long moments before he tilted his head just enough to watch the other man from eyes that still looked closed. "Would you go back, if there was a way?" he asked at last. "Or is Caido something of a welcome new start for you... the blight notwithstanding," he added dryly, dark humor lacing his voice at the end.
