Witch's Marsh A Toad's Memory

marten gives her a gentle smile. don't be, i'm... i'm okay, he answers. he's not sure if he's lying or not. he's certainly not great, but he knows that indra wants him to keep going -- she must, anyway -- and so he's holding himself together just fine. he's cried and grieved all he could within the month, and now he needs to move on. not emotionally, not right away, but physically -- marten needed to move on. eventually this hole would heal, he knew, but there was no point in prolonging it just by moping.

he wants to ask who she'd lost, but he didn't, knowing it would be useless to bring up wounds any further. he shakes his head. no, i don't think so, he says with a small shrug, but pauses, kind of uncertainly. where... where do you live? he asks, ears flicking, i was trying to find a fresh start but... i don't think i could leave this valley, i've lived here my whole life. not that that was too long.