She could have gathered all the luxere about herself and left the rest of them stranded outside the Guild, had she been of a purely selfish mind. She hadn't; had remained as long as she could hold the animals, until all but the last had escaped, and those last being Amalia and Deimos, well... that was a pair that could take of themselves, even on LongNight. Still, he let her hold her distance, giving only a nod of acknowledgment .
"I knew her only briefly, and I suspect her sacrifice was more for the Greatwood than for those of us in the Hollowed Grounds," he admitted. "She loves the Wood fiercely, but she is... she was a remarkable woman. We might have been secondary to her purpose, but I don't think we were accidental to it." Not least because infected humans could have re-infected the Greatwood's plants and animals. Arduinna was an efficient woman if nothing else, and she could be grateful for services done for her, but he was under no illusion that she would have done as she had if only humans had been infected.
She said nothing about Caiside, so he assumed she had not known the Loreseeker-smith. Jigano nodded gratefully as she began to clean things up into piles that would be much easier to deal with separately. He turned back to fixing the hinges, lip twitching up in a ghost of a smile at her question. "Looks can be deceiving," he quoted back to her, trying to find a match to her lightness from the gloom he had been sunk in. It wasn't perfect, but at least he was trying. "Beauty doesn't mean a lack of strength, after all. And those lovely hands might wield a jeweler's tools as deftly as Caiside wielded a hammer for making swords."
He hesitated again, but under Lily's determined cheer he did his best to keep his sadness from his tone. "Our fathers were both smiths, you see. Caiside was a better student of the trade than I was, though. He was helping me re-learn the craft before..." He trailed off, but shook his head as if to chase the shadows back. "And you, fair Lily? Were you lady's maid, once upon a time? Or a maker of fine clothing, in addition to a songstress?"
"I knew her only briefly, and I suspect her sacrifice was more for the Greatwood than for those of us in the Hollowed Grounds," he admitted. "She loves the Wood fiercely, but she is... she was a remarkable woman. We might have been secondary to her purpose, but I don't think we were accidental to it." Not least because infected humans could have re-infected the Greatwood's plants and animals. Arduinna was an efficient woman if nothing else, and she could be grateful for services done for her, but he was under no illusion that she would have done as she had if only humans had been infected.
She said nothing about Caiside, so he assumed she had not known the Loreseeker-smith. Jigano nodded gratefully as she began to clean things up into piles that would be much easier to deal with separately. He turned back to fixing the hinges, lip twitching up in a ghost of a smile at her question. "Looks can be deceiving," he quoted back to her, trying to find a match to her lightness from the gloom he had been sunk in. It wasn't perfect, but at least he was trying. "Beauty doesn't mean a lack of strength, after all. And those lovely hands might wield a jeweler's tools as deftly as Caiside wielded a hammer for making swords."
He hesitated again, but under Lily's determined cheer he did his best to keep his sadness from his tone. "Our fathers were both smiths, you see. Caiside was a better student of the trade than I was, though. He was helping me re-learn the craft before..." He trailed off, but shook his head as if to chase the shadows back. "And you, fair Lily? Were you lady's maid, once upon a time? Or a maker of fine clothing, in addition to a songstress?"
