[ the suddenness of her answer startles him — although, he's not offended by it. she may know nothing about the people he loves, but for a sword as distrustful of humanity as he is, hearing her optimism is oddly refreshing.

so perhaps, it's why he's alright with her speaking on their behalf, and why he finds comfort in her words in the first place. ]

Rumors and gossip were how they died, too — when you put it like that... I think that they would definitely understand. [ a smile at her, and then: ] Thank you.

[ and maybe that's a morbid connection to make, but it's a connection nonetheless, and strangely enough, he finds happiness in it; being subject to the same pitfall makes him feel that much closer to them. while being careful not to agitate the injuries on his hands, he brushes stray strands of hair from his face — and maybe across his eyes, along the way. ]

Even if it's not that, there are other things they could be angry with me for — ah, you see... when they were buried, they were placed in mass graves, and I was placed in with them. The ruler of the time had heard of me, so he went and overturned my clan's graveyard, searching for me. And when he found me, he took me without second thought.

Would they still love me for not being able to stay with them?