(SE) left my home on hollow bones

gently she leads you out into the darkness //

She nods the second the offer is made, following neg him toward the kitchen table to slide into the chair opposite of Fox, leaning her elbows on it as she focuses her iceberg gaze on him. “Sounds like a plan.” She flashes a softer smile toward him, the harder conversation in the past for the most part.

“A comfortable port in a storm.” She agrees gently, before she leans back and crosses a leg over the other. “Would you stay if given the option to go somewhere else?” She asks curiously, head tilting as she scans him to see his response. “Or would you want to build this back up for your own future?” She would help with that, if he wanted her to.

KIADA

\\ and makes you drink rain

totally sniped from odd ilu

A comfortable port indeed, and as Fox lets his eyes flick to the flames dancing within the wood burner, he seems to relax into his seat all the more. "Mm, you mean here at the farm?" he asks. "...I think so. I know I couldn't leave the Grounds - there are too many people here still trying to rebuild their lives who could use the help. And I suppose I'd be a lot more central if I went somewhere like the Inner Quarter, but..."

He glances around at his warm, cluttered, homely little space - at the herbs hanging to dry from one of the beams, the mismatched plates and cups he know hide in the cupboards, the initials carved into the doorframe - and he doesn't see himself anywhere else. Clearing his throat as if suddenly weighed down by the past, Fox glances across at Kia as if remembering her predicament afresh.

"You know," he says hesitantly, "the main part of the farmhouse burned down, but this place has an extra bedroom upstairs. If you wanted to stay out Deepfrost somewhere warm."

welcome to the desecration, baby

we built you up and we'll tear you right down

gently she leads you out into the darkness //

“Both.” She supplies easily – curious of whether he’d stay in this house or even the Grounds in general. There’s no judgement as she watches his face, counting along the little scars and the hidden horns under his crop of dark hair as he answers. She nods, though, understanding glimmering as she meets his gaze again, briefly, before he’s glancing around the room at his life. His home. Him. “So long as they know how to find you, it shouldn’t matter too much where you are. Right?” Post signs up in the Inner Quarter saying where to find him and suddenly people might reach out more often than they do now.

She hasn’t looked away from him despite how he looks around the home, though, focusing on keeping her gaze on him like he’s the flame to her moth. And it adds to her surprise when it breaks across her face to hear the offer, huffing a soft little laugh as she starts to shake her head. “That’s a very kind offer Fox… I just... Don't want to intrude.” Her problems weren’t his problems yet. She didn’t want to seem like she’d be leeching off of him.

KIADA

\\ and makes you drink rain

totally sniped from odd ilu

"That's how I see it," he murmurs, nodding his agreement. "I check the notice boards in town as often as I can, and word of mouth does a lot, too. There are other farms out here, and they all know me - they tell others." It's only now that he's thinking about it properly that he realises what a tight little network he's built for himself, and it teases a quick smile across his face.

One that grows a little more amused to hear her polite refusal, and he tilts his head to her. "It isn't an intrusion if I'm offering," he points out to her. "I have the space, and it will save you crawling directly into a fire next time..." Because although they laugh about it, that could be more dangerous than just wandering in the snow.

"You're welcome to stay," he adds slowly. "I'd like it, if you did."

welcome to the desecration, baby

we built you up and we'll tear you right down

gently she leads you out into the darkness //

“Word of mouth is all that matters, then.” She assures him softly, glad that he can see it that way too. And perhaps, with so many knowing where he was for help, uprooting now would do more harm than good. So she understands completely now, relaxing somewhat into her seat as she can start smelling the scent of the stew as it starts to meld all the ingredients together.

It distracts her from the surprise of his offer, a softer edged smile blooming on her face to see his own and his teasing. “Hey, it worked!” She protests with a soft laugh, still intending on declining his kind offer until he tells her that he would like it if she stayed. It stills her, all rebuttals dropping from her tongue as she regards him for any cracks in his appearance, picking out whether or not he’s lying to her. And when she finds none, she concedes. “Thank you, Fox. I think I will.” She agrees softly, looking around once more to take in the interior of what would be her new home, looking at it in a new light.

KIADA

\\ and makes you drink rain

totally sniped from odd ilu

The scent of the stew prompts Fox to rise to his feet, checking on it and giving it a stir. "I suppose it did work," he agrees with a soft laugh, not that he's ever tried something like that for himself. (And he doesn't plan to either, thank you). "It'll do in a pinch, I guess. But if you stay you won't have to worry about that any more." Shrugging and turning to face her again, the sudden stillness on her face surprises him.

The words is everything alright remain locked and loaded behind his teeth, but before he can let them out Kiada is agreeing to stay, and another warm smile finds its way onto his lips. "I'm glad," he murmurs - not just for her safety, but for personal reasons too. Rubbing at the back of his neck, because this is a lot of real all at once, he gestures vaguely to the door. "Should we, uh, get that firewood then?"

welcome to the desecration, baby

we built you up and we'll tear you right down

gently she leads you out into the darkness //

Her eyes follow him as he stands to stir the stew, as her protest follows him and gains his agreement even as they both share in the amusement of it. She props an elbow up on the table and rests her cheek on it as she continues to watch him, allowing the moment of stillness to come over her face as she really truly considers his offer and accepts it.

And she’s glad to see the smile that grows on his face, finding it easier to reflect it on her own so long as she doesn’t feel like a burden with it. She doesn’t know what else to say, though, thankful for him to ask her if they should get the firewood now. And she bobs her head in agreement, standing immediately to stretch out her now thawed bones, before she steps forward to reach for his hand to head toward the door to get that firewood they need for LongNight. "I think we should."

- FIN <333

KIADA

\\ and makes you drink rain

totally sniped from odd ilu