"But the dream, the echo, slips from him as quickly as he had found it and as consciousness comes to him (a slap and not the gentle waves of oceanic tides), it dissolves entirely. His muscles relax as the cold claims him again, as the numbness sets in, and when his grey eyes open, there’s nothing but the faint after burn of a dream often trod and never remembered." --Brigade, written by Laura
Tavani has grown so accustomed to seeing things that are strange to her that she had not thought anything of the differences in the pair with her now, the ones that were more evident in Xii than in Mojave. Except for the eyes - that has been a new, delightful thing that she had discovered upon arriving in Beqanna - the absolutely delightful and beautiful range of colours that eyes could come in. Fortunately, watching the eyes of who you were conversing with was, generally, considered polite so Tavani’s interest in the brilliant green and rich brown of the mother-son pair is not strange.
When her own question is turned back towards her, Tavani does not hesitate to answer with absolute honesty. “All my life, so far.” It does not occur to her that, perhaps, there is such a thing as being too honest with someone you’ve just met. Xii asked, so naturally Tavani told her. More honesty follows, paired with a wistful smile in her black-and-sky eyes. “Neither of my parents were around for very long, and I do not think I have any siblings. I did not know it could be otherwise.” She looks between them, wondering which of their stories (hers or theirs) is normal.
Despite her candid nature, she does not remark that she was very much hoping that she would not be travelling on her own for the rest of her life - because she is happily with company for the moment.
