It had been three days since Ninian set away from Earlsbridge. Lucis, in tow at Ninian's side, casted his gaze over his shoulder at the retreating silhouette of 'The Blind Bee' tavern, and with it Goraidh's looming, waving figure gradually slipping out of view.

The road ahead offered little. A single post with dropping arrows and faded lettering passed the pair by, leaving nothing but the barren, anfractuous trail. The cart clinked and bobbed behind them both. Lucis fiddled with the frays in his ragged tunic, lifting his gaze to Ninian upon having an arm drape about his little shoulders.

"How are you feeling, Lucis?" Ninian asked, tone wrought with paternal concern for the young boy. Lucis could not summon enough of a motivation to give an answer, puffing out a sigh through his nose. Ninian's sad smile prompted him to affectionately tussle Lucis's short hair. Ninian wondered if it was the right thing to do, to take Lucis with him. The life of a merchant suited a child far less than one growing in a village. Yet ultimately it had been Lucis who chose to go. Deprived of a home through the trauma of brutal siege, to deprive Lucis further seemed too barbaric a notion to consider.

"...Goraidh," Lucis murmured, much to Ninian's surprise. "He said you were 'finally becoming a father'. You didn't want children?"

Ninian's face scrunched with thought. He tilted his head either side, summoning forth the best explanation to give to a child who had not long lost his own parents.

"Not..." Ninian trailed off. With a long drawl of the morning air, he sighed heavily, bringing Lucis into his side with a cuddle. "I never thought it the right time. Being a merchant meant I'd not be around my children much. Seemed unfair to my wife."

Lucis appeared to understand. A pregnant pause followed the end of Ninian's dialogue. Ninian bit his lower lip, chewing thoughtfully on the soft flesh.

"Fate had a different plan in mind, I reckon," Ninian smiled. Lucis glanced up at him, gaze caught by the sun and bringing the hues of his eyes a spring warmth. Ninian patted Lucis's side, feeling the soft curl of Lucis's fingers into the sleeve of Ninian's tunic. Ninian turned his attention to the road, and chuckled. "Let me teach you a song. As long as you promise me not to sing it in front of Goraidh when we meet him again."

Lucis breathed the slightest laugh, nodding his head.

"I promise."