He wasn't sure if she was a real woman or the ideal of one for a moment, her voice soft and musical with gentle laughter as she looked at him with knowing eyes that caught his shy awkwardness and seemed to forgive him for it. Kel nodded quiet gratitude for the gift of her name, and bit his tongue to still the babbling he usually held reserved for his cousins among the Green.
He relaxed a little more at hearing that she was almost as new to the structure as he was, some of the wariness he'd learned at the hands of the Kaiholo residents easing at finding her to be less local than even his own recently-arrived self. Her open wonder at the beauty of the structure brought a smile to his own lips in understanding as he stayed silent to give her a chance to appreciate the cathedral's grace a little longer, but at her questions he found himself ducking his head again, remembering Jiao's warning about Outlanders being disliked, and Nate's cruelty that had borne it out.
"I'm... not from... around here," he admitted hesitantly, and only because she didn't seem to be either. "It's like the music my mother used to make. Wind music. Wild music. Not with instruments." But something in her words caught his attention and the look in his eyes was a mix of hope and uncertainty. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to be rude but... are you an Outlander?" 'Too' seemed to hang in the air after he'd spoken, for all he tried to hide it. Many things, was Kel, but deceptive did not seem to be one of them.
He relaxed a little more at hearing that she was almost as new to the structure as he was, some of the wariness he'd learned at the hands of the Kaiholo residents easing at finding her to be less local than even his own recently-arrived self. Her open wonder at the beauty of the structure brought a smile to his own lips in understanding as he stayed silent to give her a chance to appreciate the cathedral's grace a little longer, but at her questions he found himself ducking his head again, remembering Jiao's warning about Outlanders being disliked, and Nate's cruelty that had borne it out.
"I'm... not from... around here," he admitted hesitantly, and only because she didn't seem to be either. "It's like the music my mother used to make. Wind music. Wild music. Not with instruments." But something in her words caught his attention and the look in his eyes was a mix of hope and uncertainty. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to be rude but... are you an Outlander?" 'Too' seemed to hang in the air after he'd spoken, for all he tried to hide it. Many things, was Kel, but deceptive did not seem to be one of them.
