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The statement hadn't been meant to sting, but it did; a little, at least. It certainly was true - he was better at fire - but for Zhol that wasn't necessarily a good thing. He smiled past it, though. Words were like wood, and moments like this were the splinters: minor annoyances and irritations that were never intended and couldn't be avoided. You didn't disown a gift just because it gave you a splinter; you fixated on the good, the generous intent behind it, the design, the craftsmanship. Zhol knew Khara's words, and the discomfort that accompanied them, were all about her own doubts and self image, and how they connected to him hadn't even been considered; there was no room for malicious intent.
"Seems like you've got everything under control," he offered warmly, letting his gaze and his smile linger on Khara for a few extra moments before he moved, quite deliberately striding away from her, making it clear he had absolutely no intention of interfering or subverting her efforts. It didn't matter that he could start a fire with a thought; she could, too, she just happened to need a flint and tinder instead of her bare hands. That was the thing about Zhol using his reimancy for tasks as mundane as this; it wasn't special, it wasn't impressive. It was lazy, and easy; but that didn't make it better. So what if he was better at starting fires than Khara was? She was better at shooting targets than he was; that didn't mean she stepped in and shot so that he wouldn't have to. Besides, Khara had managed on her own in the wilderness just fine before; he was eager to help, but not when she didn't need or want it.
Bringing himself to the entrance of the cave, he peered out at the sky, now an almost uniform shade of glowing grey. Zhol doubted that anyone could have spotted where Syna was right now; that caused a shift of discomfort in his stomach, though more because he knew how anxious it would make Khara when she realised how precarious their timekeeping now was - if any. He wasn't sure if Khara had been somehow keeping track of time, or if they were simply intending to reach the rendezvous as swiftly as possible and just hope that they were there first; but while trudging down the mountain was in theory easier, and not needing to be quite so vigilant for tracks meant their pace did not need to be so cautious, it would still be slow and perilous going. Unless this rain let up soon, Zhol wasn't sure they'd make it at all, let alone on time and uninjured.
"There's a lot of rain in that cloud," he mused, feeling his insides squirm; knowing the Ivak's advocate statement he was about to have to make. "If it doesn't let up soon, we might have to wait out the night, and try our luck and the rendezvous tomorrow."
The statement hadn't been meant to sting, but it did; a little, at least. It certainly was true - he was better at fire - but for Zhol that wasn't necessarily a good thing. He smiled past it, though. Words were like wood, and moments like this were the splinters: minor annoyances and irritations that were never intended and couldn't be avoided. You didn't disown a gift just because it gave you a splinter; you fixated on the good, the generous intent behind it, the design, the craftsmanship. Zhol knew Khara's words, and the discomfort that accompanied them, were all about her own doubts and self image, and how they connected to him hadn't even been considered; there was no room for malicious intent.
"Seems like you've got everything under control," he offered warmly, letting his gaze and his smile linger on Khara for a few extra moments before he moved, quite deliberately striding away from her, making it clear he had absolutely no intention of interfering or subverting her efforts. It didn't matter that he could start a fire with a thought; she could, too, she just happened to need a flint and tinder instead of her bare hands. That was the thing about Zhol using his reimancy for tasks as mundane as this; it wasn't special, it wasn't impressive. It was lazy, and easy; but that didn't make it better. So what if he was better at starting fires than Khara was? She was better at shooting targets than he was; that didn't mean she stepped in and shot so that he wouldn't have to. Besides, Khara had managed on her own in the wilderness just fine before; he was eager to help, but not when she didn't need or want it.
Bringing himself to the entrance of the cave, he peered out at the sky, now an almost uniform shade of glowing grey. Zhol doubted that anyone could have spotted where Syna was right now; that caused a shift of discomfort in his stomach, though more because he knew how anxious it would make Khara when she realised how precarious their timekeeping now was - if any. He wasn't sure if Khara had been somehow keeping track of time, or if they were simply intending to reach the rendezvous as swiftly as possible and just hope that they were there first; but while trudging down the mountain was in theory easier, and not needing to be quite so vigilant for tracks meant their pace did not need to be so cautious, it would still be slow and perilous going. Unless this rain let up soon, Zhol wasn't sure they'd make it at all, let alone on time and uninjured.
"There's a lot of rain in that cloud," he mused, feeling his insides squirm; knowing the Ivak's advocate statement he was about to have to make. "If it doesn't let up soon, we might have to wait out the night, and try our luck and the rendezvous tomorrow."
"Pavi" | "Common" | "Nari" | "Symenos"
Dad Thoughts | Dinah Thoughts | Khara Thoughts
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This template was made by Khara, the letter Q, and the numbers 87 and 13.