Sam nodded at Jigano about the candles, glad to have support for the decision he was likely going to make anyway. Placing them down on the counter, he motioned to the shop keeper and then the candles, silently handing over some pieces of parchment from his bag: it appeared this was a usual accepted trade, because they were taken without argument.
He didn't really understand the distinction made about being in love. Sam had a tendency to barrel through to the utmost extreme of any emotion immediately; he felt if he had a potential lover nearby that he would be devoted almost within the minute.
To hear Jigano's almost-maybe had been married was a bit of a shock. The other man didn't seem the type to be involved in a scandal; though it sounded like nothing had actually transpired. In fact, he found the story quite disappointing. As grand as it was, taking place in lands he had never heard of...it didn't end the right way.
"But...if her husband was d-dead...why didn't you ask her to come with you?" Sam asked, confused about why Jigano would throw away such a wonderful thing as having someone who could love him.
The question directed at him prompted an anxious, shrill laugh. "No, of course not. I-I don't know enough people. And the ones I do know...they...they wo-wouldn't want to do anything with me. So it's best to not think about it."
Jigano raised a brow at Sam's confusion, though his smile turned a little sad. "Because she was the new Sovereign. She couldn't leave her people. She was a ruler in her own right, and she had much to do to repair the damage wrought by the Technic League in her lands. And... those of us who went into the Silvermount did so not knowing how long it would take, or what our chances of survival were. Her people needed her there. And they needed us to continue on, though many of them never knew it." He chuckled, shaking off the remnants of nostalgia reluctantly. "Besides, I don't believe she saw me as anything other than an ally and a friend. For her, physical strength and the ability to fight were as important as mental acuity. The latter I might have in spades, but the former? Well... suffice to say, I simply wasn't her type." He shrugged gracefully, setting the candle he'd been admiring back with a nod for the shopkeeper.
He hadn't expected Sam to react quite so nervously, and the bard looked at his friend in concern that turned to fond exasperation. "You're too hard on yourself," he said gently. "Though I hope you're meeting more people these days, yes? Remi and Isla and Kalt... others too? I know we're only outlanders, but still. You never know when you'll meet someone you want to impress!" The bard reached out to rest a hand on Sam's shoulder, giving it a light squeeze of support before glancing around the nearby stalls. "Was there anything else? Or would you like company on your way home? Might be time for a game of cards yet, before I head to the tavern."
Jigano obviously had stories under his belt, tales of a world far away. They didn't sound happy, particularly, but Sam was interested anyway. Each new word was a delicious hint of something unknown. He was so entranced by the story he nearly forgot to sympathetically nod and hum at the loss of Jigano's potential love.
"She was...wrong. To dismiss you on th-that. You are handsome and smart and kind." These words came easily from Sam because he truly believed them, but he was still a little embarrassed to put them to voice, so he didn't quite look Jigano in the eye as he spoke.
It was true he was meeting more people. Suddenly, in the last few months, he had almost become social. While his stall had suffered (books took time he simply didn't have at the moment) his confidence had increased a little just from the simple knowledge he could speak to people without them running away.
Jigano asked what he'd like to do now that their candle shopping was over. Sam thought about it as he placed the candles carefully in his bag. "...M-Maybe...maybe I could come with you? To the...the..." He realised he didn't know the name of the tavern here, since he'd never had a reason to go. "...The tavern. I want to ask you about your past. It's...It sounds like a good story. I-If you don't mind."
Samuel's defense was as unexpected as it was kind, and Jigano's eyes softened as he smiled at his friend. "Thank you," he said simply. It was easier than trying to explain that she hadn't really dismissed him so much as... well. There had been quite a lot going on at the time, and neither of them could have afforded the distraction, even if she'd expressed interest in trying.
"The Rathskeller?" Jigano filled in automatically, surprised but in a pleasant way. "Well... yes, we certainly could! We can talk until it's time for me to sing. Perhaps you'll see some others you know there. It might be a bit loud... but if it gets too overwhelming we can always go and sit and talk in the Temple upstairs until my shift. Do you want to drop you candles off first, or head there now?"
It was a little strange to be asked about his life when he'd spent several years burying his past, even as he carried its ghosts beside him. There were things he still couldn't share, and things that would be difficult to explain, but the early parts... those, at least, he could speak openly about. From meeting the four who would become his closest companions to the death of his parents... that alone would take half a season in the telling.
