At last he found the strength to arch a brow at the pessimistic declaration that people didn't deserve credit. All those Jigano knew worked hard to help others, giving in time, energy, experience, and more material ways to pull together and protect as many as they could. Sometimes the helpers were the ones who needed help, though. The weight that they took on their shoulders became too heavy and they needed to set it down for awhile before they could take it up again. He had done so, before the blight had stricken him. Rory was doing so now. Loren had as well, and if he had needed more time than most, still he had come back to try again. "You didn't have the burden, perhaps... but you didn't have the personal stake to help, either. And yet you did, doing what you could for complete strangers like myself." It helped, oddly, to worry about Loren and the scholar's mood rather than brooding on his own blight-ravaged psyche. "The fact that you think you need to make up for 'lost time' says a great deal about you," he added mildly.
"Yes." He was here, finally, where he belonged. He hesitated, then turned his gaze back on the moss and the cracks they filled with it. "Last Long Night, I was the lucky one. I came terrifyingly close... but I didn't lose the people I cared for. But they lost people. Family. Lovers. Friends. I don't want to see such grief on their faces again. So I am here. And so are you. Are your reasons for helping so different than mine?" To protect people, even strangers, was no easy task to take on, nor one that everyone would do willingly. Perhaps that was something that the scholar had forgotten.
Loren's offer was generous, though his caveat brought a faint smile to the blighted bard's lips. "That's fair," he agreed, just hoping that the questions the mage came up with wouldn't trigger another blight-spiral. The answer to his first question, however, had him snorting softly. "That's what you want to do, not who you hope to be," he pointed out, voice dry but holding a little genuine amusement. "But I can ask something else, if you'd prefer."
They were finishing the last window as they spoke, so Jigano watched Loren fill in the last crack and then lifted the lighter bag to his shoulder, giving Astra a pat as he collected his walking stick. "We can donate the rest of this to the medics," he explained, savoring the momentary calmness his mood swings had settled at. "It's also good for wrapping around sprains and swellings, or to help bring down fevers. Or we could take it out to the Temple and start filling in the windows there?" There were fewer windows in the main Temple area, but they were larger, and two people would definitely come in handy for that. "Though... if we do that I could use a little break first," he admitted with a faint grimace as his hands continued to shake as if to deliberately get in the way of Long Night preparations.
"Yes." He was here, finally, where he belonged. He hesitated, then turned his gaze back on the moss and the cracks they filled with it. "Last Long Night, I was the lucky one. I came terrifyingly close... but I didn't lose the people I cared for. But they lost people. Family. Lovers. Friends. I don't want to see such grief on their faces again. So I am here. And so are you. Are your reasons for helping so different than mine?" To protect people, even strangers, was no easy task to take on, nor one that everyone would do willingly. Perhaps that was something that the scholar had forgotten.
Loren's offer was generous, though his caveat brought a faint smile to the blighted bard's lips. "That's fair," he agreed, just hoping that the questions the mage came up with wouldn't trigger another blight-spiral. The answer to his first question, however, had him snorting softly. "That's what you want to do, not who you hope to be," he pointed out, voice dry but holding a little genuine amusement. "But I can ask something else, if you'd prefer."
They were finishing the last window as they spoke, so Jigano watched Loren fill in the last crack and then lifted the lighter bag to his shoulder, giving Astra a pat as he collected his walking stick. "We can donate the rest of this to the medics," he explained, savoring the momentary calmness his mood swings had settled at. "It's also good for wrapping around sprains and swellings, or to help bring down fevers. Or we could take it out to the Temple and start filling in the windows there?" There were fewer windows in the main Temple area, but they were larger, and two people would definitely come in handy for that. "Though... if we do that I could use a little break first," he admitted with a faint grimace as his hands continued to shake as if to deliberately get in the way of Long Night preparations.
