I have a very particular set of skills, skills that make me a nightmare

Shit. He'd stumbled over such an easy hurdle in hindsight and Crux forced himself to take a deep breath and refocus. He had slipped too readily into the version of himself he'd developed for survival. He did not easily let his walls come down and they'd been up the whole time. With a deep breath he was forcing them down, at least a little. Widow didn't strike him as quite as kind or trusting as her daughter and the instinct to protect himself was still strong, not to mention he was still keenly aware of exactly who she was and the power she held to keep him from Triss.

When he spoke again, his voice was even but his words were somewhat less careful though still polite. "Yes, I'm not yet an expert and admittedly I'm less familiar with the local plant life but the role of a doctor or medic has been where I knew I belonged for a while now."

He took another deep breath, quick to follow up to avoid cutting Widow off. "Candidly, I learned from a very early age that there would always be wolves out there who were bigger and stronger than me who would hate me for my leg, for being born. Because they are weak or projecting or whatever other reason. I learned to protect myself with my words and I learned to protect my emotions. Family while as a concept very important to me has never equated purely to affection. Family can also mean the only man, to date, I despise with my whole being." Crux grit his teeth at the thought of Azure but pushed onwards. "The number of family members I've trusted and cared for enough to drop my defenses is two. Cryptis, makes that total number three and is the only one who's managed it that I am not related to by blood." His tone and gaze softened. He couldn't help it, just the thought of the little woman made him feel like his insides were jelly.

"Cryptis is more than family to me. She is something much more precious." He smiled lopsidedly as the next thought crossed his mind and went straight to leave his mouth. "Though as a point of fact it is my hope to be a family. For as long as Cryptis will have me." Crux didn't necessarily think he'd really managed to salvage the mistake he'd made, at best slapped a Band-Aid over it. It was a bad habit really, under selling himself, assuming that there might be a limit to anyone's care for him. Not because he thought Triss was callous or the type to simply get bored one day but because he wasn't sure he was worth it. Crux adored her too much to want to push himself on her. He wanted her to be happy one way or the other, even at the expense of his own heartbreak.

"Speech"