Kevaraan nodded solemnly, and would place a hand on L'yhta's shoulder in sympathy if she allowed it. "I'm very sorry for your losses..." The fear seemed to creep behind his eyes again.
"Y-yes... I think some night air would do me good; let's not loiter here for any longer. It's convenient we're staying at the same place, though it goes without saying I wouldn't be the sort to invade your privacy in any base manner. I just supposed you'd like the company."
Outside on the forest roads, he walked close but did not touch her. He spoke again, his voice low.
"What happened in Limsa Lominsa...those few months after? I remember a light, and then I was suddenly in La Noscea, after the battle... I had followed my father to Carteneau against his wishes. I thought that maybe a mage had invoked a powerful mass teleportation, or something. But, when I went back to Lominsa, the date on the signs had changed. Please, please tell me it's not just in my head."
Kevaraan stopped walking, almost as if something had frozen him in place. "If the city was attacked, then..." He shook his head, his ears dropping. "No."
After a few exasperated, quick breaths he seemed to regain his composure, snapping back. "Tell me, do you know a woman named Ciselia Annorek--a middle aged Keeper, about this high... long hair, hair and eyes the same color as mine? She worked as an apothecary in the Lominsan markets for a few years when we decided to settle there for a while, and has a.... thick cultural accent, I guess you could call it."
He looked down at the leaves, practically worn into mulch. "She's my mother. We'd assumed the city would be a safe place, even with the military tensions, so we looked into a safehouse there. But, when I went back, the place was empty, and she was gone. If there really was destruction in the city..."
Kevaraan left the rest of the sentence open to the obvious interpretation, and moved to make up for the strides he'd lost in contemplation.
"Y-yes... I think some night air would do me good; let's not loiter here for any longer. It's convenient we're staying at the same place, though it goes without saying I wouldn't be the sort to invade your privacy in any base manner. I just supposed you'd like the company."
Outside on the forest roads, he walked close but did not touch her. He spoke again, his voice low.
"What happened in Limsa Lominsa...those few months after? I remember a light, and then I was suddenly in La Noscea, after the battle... I had followed my father to Carteneau against his wishes. I thought that maybe a mage had invoked a powerful mass teleportation, or something. But, when I went back to Lominsa, the date on the signs had changed. Please, please tell me it's not just in my head."
Kevaraan stopped walking, almost as if something had frozen him in place. "If the city was attacked, then..." He shook his head, his ears dropping. "No."
After a few exasperated, quick breaths he seemed to regain his composure, snapping back. "Tell me, do you know a woman named Ciselia Annorek--a middle aged Keeper, about this high... long hair, hair and eyes the same color as mine? She worked as an apothecary in the Lominsan markets for a few years when we decided to settle there for a while, and has a.... thick cultural accent, I guess you could call it."
He looked down at the leaves, practically worn into mulch. "She's my mother. We'd assumed the city would be a safe place, even with the military tensions, so we looked into a safehouse there. But, when I went back, the place was empty, and she was gone. If there really was destruction in the city..."
Kevaraan left the rest of the sentence open to the obvious interpretation, and moved to make up for the strides he'd lost in contemplation.
