Arrow Lake shine on

Mahler agreed with Ruenna's statement... although while Rue had ammended herself to point out that all of Diaspora shared commonalities, Mahler's words called attention back to their own easy connection. Something similar to both amusement and shyness flashed in Rue's amber eyes before she dropped her gaze away. "Agreed," she answered simply, and a sudden lightness in her heart pulled further at the corners of her smile. 

Mahler's unexpected compliment elicited a grateful (although somewhat disbelieving) chuckle from Ruenna. "My leaders did hear my advice from time to time," she confirmed, amusement still present in her voice. "Whether it was worth much, that's hard to say." Despite all of her counsel, the leadership in both Blacktail Deer Plateau and Swiftcurrent Creek had been a discordant symphony of poor decisions.  

It seemed that a tendency toward self-depreciation was another similarity the pair shared. Rue tilted her head at Mahler's confession, as if seeing the man for the first time. Truly, his disclosure painted him with more dimension than Rue had thought existed within her somewhat reticent leader. 

"A noble pursuit," she commented, voice softening thoughtfully. "As a trade in general, it's always seemed to me that the healing arts are inexorably bound to pain and suffering. But midwifery.. well, that's more akin to joy and new beginnings, hmm?" In Rue's experience, the male heart strove primarily for dominance and destruction; it was refreshing to hear Mahler speak from a more nurturing masculine perspective.