Let it Rain

The sigh sounded like the end of the world - and perhaps it was, for Sam. Jigano could offer his friend a sympathetic ear and a shoulder to cry on, but he was fresh out of wisdom or advice when it came to romance. He had offered the bookmaker what he had... and could only hope it was enough to see the redhead through the days to come. Patience, forgiveness, understanding... Or so the bard had heard. He had never personally navigated such rocky shores or gods-cursed hurdles himself, and could only imperfectly imagine the pain that the Ascended was currently going through.

At least his friend could still smile, and Jigano bowed his head in gracious acceptance of Sam's reassurance that he wasn't about to ask the bard to do anything too physically strenuous. His other suggestion, though, seemed to spark interest in the bookmaker's eyes, and the loreseeker nodded eagerly. "Hopefully it won't crush my hand," he joked. "Maybe I should try and grip it from the sides, so I don't get accidentally trapped underneath it!"

Reaching out to Sam's hands, Jigano wrapped his own firmly around the cube, and then nodded at his friend to slowly remove his grip from beneath the mysterious object.

"Oh, yes." Sam agreed, not having considered the possibility. He very much did not want to be responsible for the leader of the Loreseekers losing all of his fingers. Slowly he removed his fingers until he was only holding onto the cube with one on each hand, then with a final inhale he let go entirely. The cube would instantly feel infinitely heavy to Jigano, would be impossible to keep up without Sam's hands on it. "...D..did that hurt? I didn't hurt you, right?" Sam asked with concern as soon as he heard the thunk on the tabletop, leaning forward to look closer at Jigano's fingers. Samuel He took a step but then felt tired He said, I'll rest a little while But when he tried to walk again He wasn't a child

It was a good thing Jigano had decided to grab the sides and not the bottom! Weak though he knew he was, the cube that Sam lifted so casually should not have pulled his hands down under such great weight - and yet, clearly, it had. Though taken by surprise in spite of his friend's warnings, he was unharmed thanks to that simple precaution. "I'm fine, Sam, and even if I wasn't it would be my own fault and none of yours," he reassured his friend with a distracted smile, though his fascinated gaze stayed on the cube. Tentatively at first he tried tugging on it, then with more effort.

He might as well have been pulling on a chunk of bedrock.

"Curious... and potentially quite useful," he declared at last, sitting back and examining his fingers ruefully. "If you decide to do more tests on it at some point, you should add them to your personal guild journal," the bard suggested. "Though I suppose it isn't something anyone else can use..." He shook his head, grin wry. "Still, for curiosity's sake, if nothing else. And since it seems to be unique to you, you can add it to your own page in the Chronicle book! You'll have to come up with a good name for it," he teased gently.

"I...suppose." Sam considered most negative things that occurred in a five-foot radius of him to be his fault, would have been unable to stop apologising had Jigano actually been hurt. But with him unharmed he could let go of the tension in his chest and only have to think over this moment a hundred times before he could sleep at night. Naming the cube was an entirely new idea. Sam stared at it for a moment, dismissing his first thoughts of 'heavy-cube' and 'metal-surprise' as dumb and wondering what on earth he would call it. "...Janet." He eventually mumbled, the corners of his mouth turning up as he made the joke. Sam went to pour himself some more tea, but when he lifted the kettle he found it empty. Had they really been talking so long...? "Perhaps I should be going...I value my rest at the moment." He said as he stood, suddenly looking quite forward to being in bed and thinking over the words exchanged. Samuel He took a step but then felt tired He said, I'll rest a little while But when he tried to walk again He wasn't a child

"Janet," Jigano repeated, utterly deadpan for about five seconds before his control broke and he started chuckling, waving at Sam and the empty kettle. "Ah, damn, I needed that. Thank you, Sam," he grinned at his friend, laughter trailing off. "And I'm glad we ran into each other today. We need to talk more often, old friend." He stood, collecting the kettle and mugs and carrying them back to the hearth to clean as Sam prepared to leave.

"Of course, take care on your walk home," he admonished his friend gently. "Watch out for any would-be cube-thieves. Janet-snatchers?" he tried, then shook his head with a wrinkle of his nose. "Ugh. Not one of my better tries. My apologies, that you had to hear that." He chuckled again, more at his own expense and the lingering humor over Sam's little joke. "And I'll look forward to seeing how the Chronicle is coming along in a few days, too! So much to do..." he trailed off, muttering to himself as he stoked up the fire and turned his mind to all the research on the Spire still awaiting his attention.