[ Reynir's smile dims, when he sees that wave of anxiety come over Onni. Evidently, worrying and imagining catastrophe was something he had done even before his village was lost. Reynir hadn't known that, before. He wonders if there was ever a time when Onni just felt easy. But perhaps it was naive to think there would have been. Onni is still Onni. The place he grew up was still dangerous, in its own way, compared to Iceland.
He swallows, silent for a few moments as he weighs his choices. He isn't going to lie to Onni, but Reynir isn't going to go out of the way to inform him of the terrible things that had happened, between what he remembers and the present. So he merely says: ]
Onni... remember, a lot of time has passed, and a lot's changed, years and years have passed, and things are different to how you remember them. It seems shocking but that's just because you haven't got the context. Okay?
[ None of it untrue, but none of it answering the real questions. Not saying his mother and father hadn't objected because they'd died. Not saying that it was dangerous even in the place Onni had thought was safe. Not saying Tuuri had gotten herself killed, after all.
Reynir reaches out and sets a hand on Onni's wrist, a firm grip even as he rubs it softly with his thumb. ]
This has to be so scary and unfair, I get that. But... but imagine a version of you even younger than now. If... if you when you were only five years old showed up, and you told him about some of things that had happened and the ways you'd changed and the stuff you'd done since then. He would probably be scared too, right? And from where you are, you'd be able to see why he shouldn't be. So... try to imagine that in the opposite direction, but almost twice as much time.
[ And as for that last question, he can answer at least a little: ]
You left on your own to try to track down an enemy. Something... really scary that's been giving everybody a lot of grief. You did this whole: 'Oh, I'm Onni, I'm this big strong badass super-mage and I don't need anybody's help' move and ran off, but we didn't want you to face it all on your own. So we're trying to catch up with you. So we can help. So we can keep each other safe.
no subject
He swallows, silent for a few moments as he weighs his choices. He isn't going to lie to Onni, but Reynir isn't going to go out of the way to inform him of the terrible things that had happened, between what he remembers and the present. So he merely says: ]
Onni... remember, a lot of time has passed, and a lot's changed, years and years have passed, and things are different to how you remember them. It seems shocking but that's just because you haven't got the context. Okay?
[ None of it untrue, but none of it answering the real questions. Not saying his mother and father hadn't objected because they'd died. Not saying that it was dangerous even in the place Onni had thought was safe. Not saying Tuuri had gotten herself killed, after all.
Reynir reaches out and sets a hand on Onni's wrist, a firm grip even as he rubs it softly with his thumb. ]
This has to be so scary and unfair, I get that. But... but imagine a version of you even younger than now. If... if you when you were only five years old showed up, and you told him about some of things that had happened and the ways you'd changed and the stuff you'd done since then. He would probably be scared too, right? And from where you are, you'd be able to see why he shouldn't be. So... try to imagine that in the opposite direction, but almost twice as much time.
[ And as for that last question, he can answer at least a little: ]
You left on your own to try to track down an enemy. Something... really scary that's been giving everybody a lot of grief. You did this whole: 'Oh, I'm Onni, I'm this big strong badass super-mage and I don't need anybody's help' move and ran off, but we didn't want you to face it all on your own. So we're trying to catch up with you. So we can help. So we can keep each other safe.