There was no right answer, Arlo had concluded aloud, to the question of Mixiebelle's knockers, or the comparison between them and those of any other woman. Including Vega's. No answer at all that was going to, on the one hand, keep him out of trouble. Or on the other hand make him look like a liar.
The simple fact was, the part he didn't say aloud, was that Mixiebelle's knockers were a natural phenomena of epic proportions. Really epic proportions. And there was no man alive who had eyes to see with, who wouldn't look and be awestruck. What he did say however, was a parting shot delivered with a lopsided grin. "Gravity probably won't be very kind to her in the end, if it helps."
"We both know you started it." The shoulder bumping, he'd meant. Not that trial of course, but she'd started it the very first time she'd ever done it. "What he said," Arlo said, back in the present when the little tunawa explained who Ymiden was. "He and Moseke are thick as thieves, as I understand it," he added, referring back to the time they'd spent in Desnind. "In fact, rumors are it's usually the most likely place to cross paths with him." When Vega worried though that Kanji might be frightened by even the flickering flame at the tip of his finger, Arlo frowned curiously. He hadn't thought of that really, though it certainly made sense to wonder about it.
So the tunawa's grandfather had been a bow? And before that, what, a tree? Arlo frowned again and scratched curiously behind his ear. He just wasn't sure how all this tunawa business worked. But he guessed he didn't really need to know, and asking seemed like prying when someone was talking about the family they'd lost. "Thanks," he said, smiling when Kanji offered his condolences. "It's been an arc or so now. I still miss her." Probably, he always would. As for him, "Yes, just my fingernail," he confirmed. "But it doesn't hurt. My nail doesn't burn up in the process. I'm not sure I could even light anything else on fire with it, now I think of it. Its a flame in a sense. Looks like one...but it's different." At any rate, "Don't worry. I'll be very careful with it."
"You should understand though," he explained as they reached the edge of Bastard's Grove. "If a spirit has moved on to the next place, I can't call them back. And if a spirit is say, haunting a castle off in Scalvoris, I can't call them to us. It doesn't work that way. If he's there in the Grove, I'll see him. I might even be able to speak with him if he wants it. And he'll know I'm able to, even before my finger catches light." In short, when it came to this sort of thing, Arlo wasn't in charge. The spirits were and the only way he'd be able to see or hear Kanji's grandfather, was if he hadn't moved on, and he wanted to be seen. As for the map? Well since Kanji was determined to put some distance between them, and he couldn't blame the tunawa after all, he'd let Vega take a look at it. In either case he was fairly sure they were headed in the right direction.
The simple fact was, the part he didn't say aloud, was that Mixiebelle's knockers were a natural phenomena of epic proportions. Really epic proportions. And there was no man alive who had eyes to see with, who wouldn't look and be awestruck. What he did say however, was a parting shot delivered with a lopsided grin. "Gravity probably won't be very kind to her in the end, if it helps."
"We both know you started it." The shoulder bumping, he'd meant. Not that trial of course, but she'd started it the very first time she'd ever done it. "What he said," Arlo said, back in the present when the little tunawa explained who Ymiden was. "He and Moseke are thick as thieves, as I understand it," he added, referring back to the time they'd spent in Desnind. "In fact, rumors are it's usually the most likely place to cross paths with him." When Vega worried though that Kanji might be frightened by even the flickering flame at the tip of his finger, Arlo frowned curiously. He hadn't thought of that really, though it certainly made sense to wonder about it.
So the tunawa's grandfather had been a bow? And before that, what, a tree? Arlo frowned again and scratched curiously behind his ear. He just wasn't sure how all this tunawa business worked. But he guessed he didn't really need to know, and asking seemed like prying when someone was talking about the family they'd lost. "Thanks," he said, smiling when Kanji offered his condolences. "It's been an arc or so now. I still miss her." Probably, he always would. As for him, "Yes, just my fingernail," he confirmed. "But it doesn't hurt. My nail doesn't burn up in the process. I'm not sure I could even light anything else on fire with it, now I think of it. Its a flame in a sense. Looks like one...but it's different." At any rate, "Don't worry. I'll be very careful with it."
"You should understand though," he explained as they reached the edge of Bastard's Grove. "If a spirit has moved on to the next place, I can't call them back. And if a spirit is say, haunting a castle off in Scalvoris, I can't call them to us. It doesn't work that way. If he's there in the Grove, I'll see him. I might even be able to speak with him if he wants it. And he'll know I'm able to, even before my finger catches light." In short, when it came to this sort of thing, Arlo wasn't in charge. The spirits were and the only way he'd be able to see or hear Kanji's grandfather, was if he hadn't moved on, and he wanted to be seen. As for the map? Well since Kanji was determined to put some distance between them, and he couldn't blame the tunawa after all, he'd let Vega take a look at it. In either case he was fairly sure they were headed in the right direction.
