Noctisardor Bypass To the meaning of life

She was nice, and that only made Ashlar choke up a little more.  He'd never been apart from his parents before.  Mama he'd left, but in doing so, he'd been traveling with Gannet and could forget it.  Now that Baba was gone, he missed her more as well, and it was a weird uncomfortable fear that settled deep in the pit of his stomach.  It wasn't fair.  He shouldn't be sad.  Baba had trusted he could do this, so he could do this.

S...sorry. He apologized again, sounding a bit like a broken record.  Ashlar swallowed, and still couldn't look at her.  B... Papa left.  He said he needed to go back to Mama.  He sniffed.  D...d'you need help with anything?  He wanted to stay, to prove that he could and help in the way his parents had raised him.  But he was at a bit of a loss at the moment.  Maybe a job would fix that.