i think that they could be the better half of me.

The change in her demeanor was palpable. It was as though in spite of all that was brewing around them and had been just snuffing out between them, she found a fuel to make that flame grow. It was perhaps then that Mordecai realized he did not remember the last time she had seemed eager about things. Perhaps it had been with the Spine, when they had been steadfast in their preparations for winter. Maybe it had been never — it really was too difficult to recall.

Still, he listened in with what she said, allowing her to paint a picture for him. He could fathom the feelings that she spoke of, even when the whole picture was truly far from clear. Her admittance of rambling on only prompted a fond smile out of him; he could hardly blame her for having issues with holding the excitement of things. "It sounds like quite the place," he concluded in soft agreement. "Sounds like a large territory, at that. Are you sure that it's something we should do now?" The query was not meant to stonewall her. His concerns were genuine with intrigue; Mordecai was keen to fret over the seasons that would be approaching them.

And more importantly was the budding concern of just how to approach the topic of leaving. The plateau was not suffering by any means, but they had suffered their share of loss. He was wont to give them any more reason to endure additional strain, though the inevitably of such was as piercing to him as the concept laid out by Harlyn.