It was a lot to take in, Jigano knew. More than anyone should ever have to adapt to, and yet so many of them did. Those that didn't... well. Caido was not a forgiving world, but Rance seemed to be a survivor and his actions on the hunt showed a man capable of the sort of flexibility and resilience that this world required. "I can help with that, at least," Jigano offered. "I ran a lantern-making session last year, for all comers. It'll be easier just teaching one at a time." Despite the grim context he smiled back and the expression turned sympathetic as he nodded at the other man's difficulty in adjusting.
"I felt the same, when I arrived," he admitted. "Though I had it easier than most. I was already a wandering bard without a place to call home. My family was dead and most of my friends, too. I had few ties to regret losing, and Caido offered me a chance to start fresh and try to leave my past behind..." He shook his head ruefully as he stood. "With mixed results, at best. But for those who have so much more to lose, coming here is more painful than I can imagine." Heading back to the table he paused to gather a few odds and ends from his office and the shelves, though when he set the gathered supplies down on the polished wood there seemed to be more there than his rummaging would account for.
Sheets of thin paper, both plain and colored, were placed beside slender wire hoops, lightweight wooden lathes, string, and some different-sized squares of thin metal with sockets at the corners. A pot of bookbinding glue and a small set of paint pots for illumination work joined the crafting pile as he looked over to Rance with a welcoming smile. "You don't need to do this if you aren't ready," he offered, a way out if the other man was too weary for such work at the moment. "I have a few new ones to make, though, and you're welcome to join me if you wish, or just sit and enjoy the quiet for a while if not." Sometimes a quiet place to sit and think, with hot tea and a warm fire, was worth more than gold.
"I felt the same, when I arrived," he admitted. "Though I had it easier than most. I was already a wandering bard without a place to call home. My family was dead and most of my friends, too. I had few ties to regret losing, and Caido offered me a chance to start fresh and try to leave my past behind..." He shook his head ruefully as he stood. "With mixed results, at best. But for those who have so much more to lose, coming here is more painful than I can imagine." Heading back to the table he paused to gather a few odds and ends from his office and the shelves, though when he set the gathered supplies down on the polished wood there seemed to be more there than his rummaging would account for.
Sheets of thin paper, both plain and colored, were placed beside slender wire hoops, lightweight wooden lathes, string, and some different-sized squares of thin metal with sockets at the corners. A pot of bookbinding glue and a small set of paint pots for illumination work joined the crafting pile as he looked over to Rance with a welcoming smile. "You don't need to do this if you aren't ready," he offered, a way out if the other man was too weary for such work at the moment. "I have a few new ones to make, though, and you're welcome to join me if you wish, or just sit and enjoy the quiet for a while if not." Sometimes a quiet place to sit and think, with hot tea and a warm fire, was worth more than gold.
