He wasn't sure what he was looking for in her familiar face, uncertain of how to label what he saw there—it was difficult to identify. Hard to pick apart, when he didn't know what had put it there in the first place. It was the kind of tension he only realized had been tension when it eased, recognized by its sudden departure rather than by its presence. No, she said with a laugh. His gut did something complicated.
He knew what she meant, he knew how she felt, and there wasn't a whole lot he could do about it. It was the kind of thing that went deeper, required more time to fix than anything he could do there and then.
She put her arms back around him and he held her again, something cold and infinitely sad pricking at his heart.
The Long Night dark had taken one sister from him, and given him another.
"I'm glad," he replied in a murmur, the low volume of his voice allowing him to hide his heartache. He blinked something warm and wet from his eyes before stepping back, laughing as Isuma abandoned his shoulder in favor of Amalia's.
If it sounded a little fragile, it was because it was.
He returned to find them lavishing attention on the critters present: Jigano scratching Vaya, who probably did not associate him at all with the white fox she'd defended her goats from, and Amalia with Isuma. A crooked smile spread over Rory's face as he watched them select gloves, before pulling on a pair himself. He followed Jigano into the relative dimness of the barn, dumping the unpicked gloves into a nearby (and dry) bucket.
"You could take apart the trough, and see how much of it you can salvage for a new one?" he suggested to Amalia. They were pretty easy to understand and make, so once they knew what they needed, replicating the broken parts wasn't all that hard. "And Jigano and I can bring down the stall wall. There's some tools and nails over there," the last bit accompanied by a wave of his hand in the direction of said tools and nails.
Unless either of them protested he'd proceed to the broken stall and began to work loose the broken boards.
He knew what she meant, he knew how she felt, and there wasn't a whole lot he could do about it. It was the kind of thing that went deeper, required more time to fix than anything he could do there and then.
She put her arms back around him and he held her again, something cold and infinitely sad pricking at his heart.
The Long Night dark had taken one sister from him, and given him another.
"I'm glad," he replied in a murmur, the low volume of his voice allowing him to hide his heartache. He blinked something warm and wet from his eyes before stepping back, laughing as Isuma abandoned his shoulder in favor of Amalia's.
If it sounded a little fragile, it was because it was.
He returned to find them lavishing attention on the critters present: Jigano scratching Vaya, who probably did not associate him at all with the white fox she'd defended her goats from, and Amalia with Isuma. A crooked smile spread over Rory's face as he watched them select gloves, before pulling on a pair himself. He followed Jigano into the relative dimness of the barn, dumping the unpicked gloves into a nearby (and dry) bucket.
"You could take apart the trough, and see how much of it you can salvage for a new one?" he suggested to Amalia. They were pretty easy to understand and make, so once they knew what they needed, replicating the broken parts wasn't all that hard. "And Jigano and I can bring down the stall wall. There's some tools and nails over there," the last bit accompanied by a wave of his hand in the direction of said tools and nails.
Unless either of them protested he'd proceed to the broken stall and began to work loose the broken boards.
