Hotaru's gentle concern slipped beneath the defenses he'd already lowered, and the empathy in her expression touched Kel's wounded heart like rain to the desert. "I wasn't alone," he hurried to reassure her, an unexpectedly powerful urge to ease the pain from the expression of the nymph-like beauty at his side. Warrior queen though she was, her kindness meant even more to him than her flawless pedigree. "My mother fostered me to her closest friend. A dryad of the Guithair Grove." His smile returned, softer but still sad. "They... were more than friends, I think, when they were younger. But she took me in and loved me like her own. I grew up with more cousins and aunts than most. Even a few uncles," he added, a touch ruefully. "Male dryads aren't very common, but most of the Grove treated me like one of their own." In spite of being half-human; a sticking point for a few that he'd never been able to overcome. "And mother came back to visit a few times every year, to tell me stories and teach me about being anemoi... well, half," he amended with self-conscious honesty.
Her kindness extended to more than a willing ear; the offer of material goods, clothing that would help him fit in better, seemed almost too good to be true. Even so, he had to start trusting someone sooner or later, and she had enchanted him with the silk that wrapped her regal core of steel. The coral glow of her cheeks had him looking away self-consciously, even as he curled his fingers loosely against the hem of his tunic, a quiet yearning for the pink pipestone he had once ground to make a shade that would almost do the rosy hue justice; a light watercolor wash over the simple charcoal lines he would have used to capture the elegant lines of her face... he could never afford the jade that would do her eyes justice, but maybe malachite...? He blinked, realizing that she'd made a suggestion, and he nodded hurried agreement, knowing that he'd make time for whenever she asked it of him.
"Once a queen, always a queen," he said shyly, listening to how her laugh echoed and chimed within the cathedral, creating a bittersweet harmony with the music of the wind. "At least, where it counts." He tapped his chest, stumbling over the right words but hoping she understood what he meant. "Thank you for telling me. Did you have... was there a consort? Or... did you have children?" Cautiously asked, he hurried to add: "We can talk about something else if that's... if you don't want to." If it was too painful, too prying, he hoped to reassure her, wanting to know more about her but not to open old wounds.
Her kindness extended to more than a willing ear; the offer of material goods, clothing that would help him fit in better, seemed almost too good to be true. Even so, he had to start trusting someone sooner or later, and she had enchanted him with the silk that wrapped her regal core of steel. The coral glow of her cheeks had him looking away self-consciously, even as he curled his fingers loosely against the hem of his tunic, a quiet yearning for the pink pipestone he had once ground to make a shade that would almost do the rosy hue justice; a light watercolor wash over the simple charcoal lines he would have used to capture the elegant lines of her face... he could never afford the jade that would do her eyes justice, but maybe malachite...? He blinked, realizing that she'd made a suggestion, and he nodded hurried agreement, knowing that he'd make time for whenever she asked it of him.
"Once a queen, always a queen," he said shyly, listening to how her laugh echoed and chimed within the cathedral, creating a bittersweet harmony with the music of the wind. "At least, where it counts." He tapped his chest, stumbling over the right words but hoping she understood what he meant. "Thank you for telling me. Did you have... was there a consort? Or... did you have children?" Cautiously asked, he hurried to add: "We can talk about something else if that's... if you don't want to." If it was too painful, too prying, he hoped to reassure her, wanting to know more about her but not to open old wounds.
