Blackfeather Woods Earth to Heaven

While she had nodded, Xan's attention had since drifted elsewhere. He didn't like to think of his mother's passing, or any of the memories he had of her. It wasn't painful, per se, but it made him feel strange on the inside. Something inside of him hurt, despite all of the anger he'd held towards her, and thinking back only worsened what was usually nothing more than a dull ache. A part of him was angry with Kendra, too, for having brought his mother up, but the feeling hadn't lived for very long. Quickly had it faded away, replaced with a void of nothingness as his own silence engulfed him. Perhaps he should have walked away by then, and yet, he hadn't even twitched. Near to the girl he had remained, lingering in his own wave of emotions until she'd chosen to speak.

The indirect compliment that she'd given him had slipped by undetected, his mind not in the right place to think so far into things. "I guess she was... I don't know," he'd said, uncertain of how to respond to her words. Had his mother been pretty? He didn't know. She'd been his mother, and then a traitor to his family—that was what he knew, but nearly anything regarding her appearance hadn't left too great of an impact on his life. Yet, he could recall her eyes, their hue having been similar to his own, but not identical. In the end, hers had belonged to her, while his belonged to himself, and that was that. Slowly, he'd shaken his head in an attempt to rid his mind of such thoughts and images, trying to focus on the girl instead. "I'll show you it, then. Sometime later." When, he did not know, but the day of adventure would eventually arrive.