King Elk Forest bittersweet

At her first comment, Archer really did seem displeased - she could tell it wasn't aimed for her, but Grace's shoulder came up in a shrug. Even knowing the kind man, she was still surprised as he launched into a righteous speech that made her heart ache for Esaro - it was those kinds of things he'd believed in, too. Everyone deserves to be happy.

A smile lit up her face, one more bright and real than she'd felt in months - this man was someone she wanted to keep close. She would not loose him like she'd lost Esaro and, well, everyone else. 

                             "You remind me a lot of my old friend, Esaro. I lost him a while back, like everyone else, but he drove it into my brain that everyone deserves to be happy."

Archer seemed surprised at her own praise - or maybe it was her profession - and returned it with more sincerity than they had before. The sober mood lifted then, and his crooked smile encouraged her to bump shoulder-to-shoulder into him happily.

                                                                    "I'm glad we can agree we're both good looking people."

Next, he called her clever - again, her pelt heated in a blush. He went on about how hard it had to be to be a healer, and not once did she disagree: it WAS hard to be a healer, to memorize not only all the sicknesses but also which herb did what for it - plus she had to remember HOW each one was given, in what doses, and which plants were actually poisons. PLUS she was learning how to grow each one - that was a task in itself. Archer was even more surprised to find she was a hunter - the pride she felt was spilling over in heaps at all his praise.

                                                                                                                        "None of it was easy, I can agree there. My adopted mother taught me to hunt with it tucked up - its out of the way, and even if my balance kind of sucks, it doesn't slow me down."

He said he wasn't even good at hunting, surprised he'd survived: Grace took this as a chance to maybe-sorta-kinda flirt with him, even daring to send a wink his way with her words.

                                                                                                                                                                     "Lucky you have me now, then - I'll feed you!"