along the way

Distress swamped him at her question. He had breezed past it, mentioning his old friends name without thinking too heavily about it. Already a little unsteady by the fresh wave of mourning he felt for their shared home, he wasn't quite as prepared to deal with it. His second failure. There was nothing he could have done for Illious, and he was helpless to stop whatever had happens to Wren. He tightened his grip on Anthea, feeling a little frantic. It wasn't healthy to associate her with everything he had left with his lost home, but it was hard not to.

"She… something happened to her. I tried to uncover what.." he stopped, and took a steadying breath. Knowing he was going about his answer all side ways. "We found her blood. I tracked her for days… in the end, it was Art who pulled me off the hunt. Convinced me to come here." He explained. Art had saved him from the worst of the despair. She had been more then just his friend. He released his hold on Anthea, leaning back a little. "Well. We didn't get any fish, but we do have everything else for a picnic." He commented, his effort to change the topic not terribly subtle.