2/11/2025, 1:58 AM
Francis averted his gaze from the faintly glassy gaze Takala sported, giving her a modicum of false privacy to recover her wits if she so chose. He wouldn't judge her for the emotion he could see form just beyond the efforts she took to remain resolute in the face of this disaster.
She fallen asleep beside her husband, and awoke here cold and alone.
It's a harsh season to arrive here in.He murmured. Francis intended to go on, to freely offer the Concord as a refuge for her to find her footing once more in this strange new world, but the words didn't form on his tongue. He thought instead of the last time he'd fallen asleep beside his late wife, and found his throat closing and mind shuttered against any hope of further speech for the moment.
It had been a long time since he'd felt the grief for her so sharp and present, but seeing another experience that same path was...more difficult than he'd expected. Perhaps this land had just made him soft in the heart even if it had forced him to grow more stony in terms of survival. Maybe recent events had simply brought old griefs closer to the surface. In any case, Francis fought the urge to flick his ears and redirect the conversation - he feared it'd be terribly obvious an endeavor, and extremely rude. Not to mention cruel.
I am sorry. Sometimes, those you know will also be transported here. There is a chance to find him again, even if you do not find your way home.Francis finally said, but allowed his voice to remain...somewhat wary. There was also a chance her husband never Arrived.
The snow crunched underfoot, and Francis cast his amber gaze across the hills, draped in downy blankets of frost. He likely wouldn't spot the white ewe amidst the snow easily if she was still - he'd have to hope the sheep had already decided to keep moving and not halt to try to graze or rest, in the hopes his sharp eyesight would catch on the movement.
Takala asked after Francis's own past, and he shrugged lightly as if his first instinct was to sheepishly detour the conversation in other directions - an almost boyish shyness fleeting gripping him before he returned to seriousness.
The Imperium Aurum - our lands were not too dissimilar from these moors. Lots of open plains, rolling hills, and the occasional mountain range. We were one significant power amongst a few in the area, and I their crown prince.
This time, Francis' sigh was airy and pleasant.
Here, I am just Francis, though.
His tail swished, as he glanced between the tracks they followed and the landscape.
If you wish, you can tell me of your homelands, Miss Takala. A piece of it can thrive even here in our memories.