Jaune is, among his handful of virtues, a good listener. He knows how to give someone his attention without making it a burden, where to nod and encourage and where to hold himself still. He's not perfect at it, but no one is. When Camilla starts talking, he's primed and ready to hear what she has to say.
At least, he thought he was.
He should have expected it'd be about love. She never uses the word. She doesn't have to, like Palamedes didn't have to when he talked about her. It spills from between the words like light, like water. He doesn't know what kind of love it is, exactly, but there's so much of it he's left half-wondering if there's really a way to take it all and fit it into one sort of thing.
It makes his heart ache, a real, physical tightness in his chest. All the details she's stuck on not being able to recall perfectly don't register for him as anything missing. He understands, or thinks he understands, enough. They're each other's. Cavalier and necromancer, necromancer and cavalier, a pair, a duo, an inseparable bond. No wonder Palamedes looked like something had cut him in half at the grave. It might as well have.
When she's done, taking her sip of water, Jaune looks at her with wistfulness he doesn't know is so clear in his round blue eyes. It's a look too old to fit his face, a look with years stretching into decades in it. As the seconds creep on, he remembers himself, and swallows dryness out of his mouth.
"Okay," he says, softly, "You remember a lot more than I know, so...we should be safe."
It feels like a lousy excuse of an answer to all of that poured out devotion, but Jaune doesn't know what else he could start with. Everything he feels about it is all jumbled up, hopelessly tangled knots he needs to work out himself before he'd even start to have words for it. It's fine, though. He knows what he's going to say next, and he thinks that'll be enough for her to be happy.
"He's doing fine." Jaune smiles, still wistful, but not so weighed down. "As fine as anybody is, anyway, but he's not hurt, and he's been keeping busy. He's been really helpful figuring out everything happening in this town. Organizing meetings, keeping track of things, which makes sense, with the Library and all. But he's missed you a lot. He's going to be really happy you're here."
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At least, he thought he was.
He should have expected it'd be about love. She never uses the word. She doesn't have to, like Palamedes didn't have to when he talked about her. It spills from between the words like light, like water. He doesn't know what kind of love it is, exactly, but there's so much of it he's left half-wondering if there's really a way to take it all and fit it into one sort of thing.
It makes his heart ache, a real, physical tightness in his chest. All the details she's stuck on not being able to recall perfectly don't register for him as anything missing. He understands, or thinks he understands, enough. They're each other's. Cavalier and necromancer, necromancer and cavalier, a pair, a duo, an inseparable bond. No wonder Palamedes looked like something had cut him in half at the grave. It might as well have.
When she's done, taking her sip of water, Jaune looks at her with wistfulness he doesn't know is so clear in his round blue eyes. It's a look too old to fit his face, a look with years stretching into decades in it. As the seconds creep on, he remembers himself, and swallows dryness out of his mouth.
"Okay," he says, softly, "You remember a lot more than I know, so...we should be safe."
It feels like a lousy excuse of an answer to all of that poured out devotion, but Jaune doesn't know what else he could start with. Everything he feels about it is all jumbled up, hopelessly tangled knots he needs to work out himself before he'd even start to have words for it. It's fine, though. He knows what he's going to say next, and he thinks that'll be enough for her to be happy.
"He's doing fine." Jaune smiles, still wistful, but not so weighed down. "As fine as anybody is, anyway, but he's not hurt, and he's been keeping busy. He's been really helpful figuring out everything happening in this town. Organizing meetings, keeping track of things, which makes sense, with the Library and all. But he's missed you a lot. He's going to be really happy you're here."