Broken Boulder i believe in symmetry

he tenses at her question, but tries to obscure it -- failing, of course, given his tendency to wear his heart on his sleeve, but nonetheless. olive surely does not know because if she did, seabreeze would know, and alarian would know, and everyone would know and it would be a trial and indictment and (he cannot imagine it would be a show of support for him, after all, the world's worst father-figure).

delight is not ready to talk about it. so he lies: "i am doing better," and "they're okay." sure he can't control the way his face twists slightly over the word okay, but he is clever enough to obfuscate. "my -- their mother, ah, recently came back out of the blue," delight murmurs, hoping this will suffice as an explanation for his expression (after all, it is not a lie that queenie's arrival has disrupted him, either). "she abandoned them some months ago, and i didn't think i'd see her again, so it was unsettling to say the least." 

ugh. he doesn't want to talk about that. "but, um, how are you and yours? i'm sorry for the chaos of the past month," he adds, sheepish. a hell of a sanctuary, rotted cat flesh and the stink of urine and half of leadership nearly dying in his own bile. he is surprised and grateful seabreeze and olive remained at all.