Duskfire Glacier Illusions of the sunlight.

Malachi said nothing; he simply let Njal speak. With every new word the struggle in the man became more real to the youth, and the weight of the situation more apparent. He had little comfort to give - the questions the father raised, though valid, were none he could answer, even if he tried. To say there was hope Njal's lost ones would return was one thing. To say they would with certainty was another entirely.

But if there was one thing Malachi was sure of, it was that he didn't think running away would do the man any good. If his young heart knew anything of sorrow, it was this: that your pain would follow you wherever you ran, no matter the distance you placed between yourself and the source of your misery. A furrow contorted the boy's face at the thought, but he blinked it away to focus on the present. Njal's troubles were more pressing than his own.

"You both deserve better." He finally said, flicking his gaze to rest on Njal. He forced his mind to seek out the strength he'd seen in the man when they'd come to this land, when they'd all been filled with the certainty they were beginning a better life here. It was hidden there, somewhere, Malachi was sure. "Stay here, at least until spring comes. It'll be safer than anywhere out there, especially in the winter." Njal may not have thought the glacier safe, but his alternate options were just as hazardous. If Tuwawi did not return by spring... no. Malachi did not let his mind entertain the thought further. Tuwawi would return - every doubt aside - and they would be safe here, both Maera and Njal, and everyone else who called the mountain home. He would make sure of it.