Top of the World

I saw my mother. Ronin's eyes widened a fraction - these days he could barely remember his own mother, but he recalled her as a cold woman with impeccable morals and high hopes for her two sons. He was perpetually a disappointment (and while he felt she'd have given grudging praise at his promotion to Captain in Northaven, his new life as a bounty hunter would have taken him right back to square one). Remi's mother, though, he knew little to nothing about, only that she must either be dead or missing for him to mention her so. His story was horrific in more ways that once, and Ronin sipped at his drink just to give his hands something to do. To kill one's own mother, whether or not she was a shade... he couldn't even begin to imagine the pain. "I am so sorry," he murmured, his voice lacing with sincerity, and without thinking he reached out to clasp Remi's shoulder, squeezing it gently. "If ever you need anything, even just an ear to lend... I'm here, okay? Might not know what to do or how to help, but I'll always be here." Safrin's presence in their conversation, it seemed, was something of a balm, and Ronin brightened again as they continued to speak of her. "I wish you could meet her," he admitted, "and see for yourself. This Ludo you encountered... that god does not seem anything like what I experienced." He smiled softly. "She said that she could grant me a weapon, one that would help us to kill the creature once and for all," he murmured. ronin begin again, as the storm