Witch's Marsh the cry of a loon

"I want to see it too! One day, I mean, maybe, if... If I ever leave this place."

Within that moment, the warmth began to leak. The squint in his eye from his smile dissipated as he watched hers do the same, but with a knot beginning to twist in his gut. The chill that seeped in was foreign and almost seemed to mock his discomfort with its unfamiliarity. The air hung damp, heavy, and frigid but also without breath, without movement, and that's what was most disconcerting of all for him. How could he be expected to breathe in such a still, stifling environment as he felt the walls of guilt begin to close in.

Kukulkan felt his gaze drop to the ground. Even with the brilliant moonlight from above, it seemed particularly dark and abysmal in this instance. He clenched his jaw, the strain tensing and mirroring the emotional distress into the physical.

Sharp inhale.
Slow exhale.

"I'm... sorry..." He hadn't meant to hurt her, then again he hadn't meant to bring back such somber memories for himself either. Leaning forward, he paused for a second before stepping forward gently, trying in a meager attempt to offer some sort of comfort, some consolation, but at her sigh he flushed and stopped. "Your brother?" He'd half a mind to ask about him - where was he? was he okay? - but the air was still heavy and he managed to catch himself before doing something else stupid.

"Ya, I felt 'em..." He felt a shudder down his spine at the thought. He hadn't known them by the name earthquake - they never happened back south. "It... it was like lightnin' was strikin' in th'ground, and made it thunder..." Had the earth gods taken a page from the sea goddess? Their wicked fury had been made known, and despite some time having passed, the thought of it allowed anxiety to tickle the edges of his mind.

Kukulkan was no coward, no challenge was off-limits, no enemy too great.
But when the ground growled and rumbled beneath him, he knew when to sit the fuck down.

Words speaking of safety, of madness, and then the quiet came back. Internal instinct begged for a dose of humor, but when K looked down into Lady Ibis's eyes, the weight silenced him. And, where he hesitated before, he now took that step forward, turning about-face so as to sit side by side with the girl, though he left a respectful distance between them. For a soft moment, he let the silence loom, his thoughts collect - as they rarely ever did - and their breaths collect as fine mists in the late autumn air.

"Y-... ye can't ever... depend on safety..." It was one of the hardest, cruelest lessons of life. But it had been one his mother had relentlessly ingrained in his training, speaking from years of first-hand experience. Though life had brought limited experiences of his own, K preferred to believe that, though these learned lessons, he somehow would gain the coping skills. "It'sa fickle thing, y'know? But..." a soft exhale, "... safety in numbers, yeah?" A small smile returned, his eyes warm as he looked over to her. "I mean, y'seem to know this land, and like y'said I got size on my side. I wouldn't mind helpin' ya..."

Pause.

"If'n ya want..."

@Ibis