Tal didn't hate Sah's habit of humming when he was thinking something over, but he'd be damned if he admitted it. Instead he pretended to ignore it while he waited for the hunter to gather his thoughts, resting his eyes on the nearby fire and watching the dance of flames. His fingers toyed with the glass between them, restless at being inside again after spending so much time there already this week.
The Academy brought a twitch to Tal's lips; neither a smile nor a frown but a bit of both. It mattered a lot to Ru - and yes, Sah too - but it was a world he'd never be part of and couldn't help with. Which fuckin' sucked, but he'd been learning some hard lessons about jealousy and he wasn't about to let those feelings see the light of day this time.
"Makin' stuff would be pretty cool," he conceded, the grin finally winning out as he looked back to Sah. "'specially magic stuff. Maybe you could finally make the girls a magic chew toy that'd last more than two days!" He glanced back at the happily tussling companions, fondly exasperated with Boreal's habit of thoroughly destroying anything she could fit in her mouth that satisfied her need to crunch things. Which wasn't too often, thankfully, but he'd pulled the weirdest stuff out of her teeth before.
He probably should have expected the return volley but when it came it caught him off guard. His gaze dropped to the table, brows knitting together as the habitual scowl fell back over his face while he thought. "Um. I've actually been thinkin' that maybe it's time to reclaim Whitebrim. Or, well, try, at least. The Waystation's out there, but I'm gonna get some folks together an' see if we can't make a start at rebuildin' it, come Flowerbirth." He picked his glass up, looking back to Sah with a wry smile. "Been thinkin' about movin' out on my own for awhile now. Hopefully this'll be the year it actually happens." He tossed back his drink and exhaled a puff of satisfaction from his mouth before reaching for the jug to pour round three.
The Academy brought a twitch to Tal's lips; neither a smile nor a frown but a bit of both. It mattered a lot to Ru - and yes, Sah too - but it was a world he'd never be part of and couldn't help with. Which fuckin' sucked, but he'd been learning some hard lessons about jealousy and he wasn't about to let those feelings see the light of day this time.
"Makin' stuff would be pretty cool," he conceded, the grin finally winning out as he looked back to Sah. "'specially magic stuff. Maybe you could finally make the girls a magic chew toy that'd last more than two days!" He glanced back at the happily tussling companions, fondly exasperated with Boreal's habit of thoroughly destroying anything she could fit in her mouth that satisfied her need to crunch things. Which wasn't too often, thankfully, but he'd pulled the weirdest stuff out of her teeth before.
He probably should have expected the return volley but when it came it caught him off guard. His gaze dropped to the table, brows knitting together as the habitual scowl fell back over his face while he thought. "Um. I've actually been thinkin' that maybe it's time to reclaim Whitebrim. Or, well, try, at least. The Waystation's out there, but I'm gonna get some folks together an' see if we can't make a start at rebuildin' it, come Flowerbirth." He picked his glass up, looking back to Sah with a wry smile. "Been thinkin' about movin' out on my own for awhile now. Hopefully this'll be the year it actually happens." He tossed back his drink and exhaled a puff of satisfaction from his mouth before reaching for the jug to pour round three.
