Eight Intertwined

127 - Son

When Primrose got back to the inn, she felt better in some ways and worse in others. On one hand, it had been nice to talk to Arianna again, but on the other, her doubts about her revenge mission had come rushing back in the instant she let her guard down. It was a natural consequence of her own actions, but given that Primrose hadn't been preparing herself to have a moral crisis today, she couldn't help but wish she had handled things a bit differently. There was no changing it now though, so she would simply have to live with it.

All in all though, Primrose felt this had been a net positive. She felt better after talking to Arianna, and even if she was uncertain about her revenge plans nowadays, that could hardly be blamed on Arianna. In fact, Primrose was confident she had done the right thing for Stillsnow by deciding to kill Rufus. It may not have been for the sake of helping the people there originally, but after seeing how drastically the town had changed, Primrose was sure it had been the best decision. The people were finally able to live on their own and come out of their shells, and Primrose was beyond glad she had been able to be a part of that.

She stepped into the inn carefully and closed the door behind herself. She didn't know where the rest of the travelers were, but she figured that she would be able to find them soon enough. First and foremost though, Primrose wanted to speak with Therion. It wouldn't hurt to get a bit of confirmation as to if he had really been the one who had spread out the money from Rufus' estate throughout the town. Primrose knew the truth already, but she wanted to hear him say it. Chances were high that it would embarrass him, but Primrose wasn't going to shy away from a challenge like that. She had told Arianna she would pass along her thanks, and Primrose intended to stick to her promise.

When Primrose started toward the hallway leading through the segment of the inn where the travelers were staying, she noticed one of the doors was cracked slightly. In fact, it was the door to Alfyn and Therion's room. Primrose had no idea how she was supposed to respond to that, but she pushed the thought away and instead knocked on the doorframe. Somebody had to be in there if the door was open. Neither Therion nor Alfyn was careless enough to just leave the door open when they went out. 

Sure enough, a light hum from inside the room a moment later told Primrose that Therion was, in fact, waiting for her on the other side of the door. She took that as her cue to walk in carefully and slowly so as to not startle him. When she did, she saw Therion laying on his bed with his legs hanging off the side so his feet could rest on the floor. He was staring blankly up at the ceiling with a muted scowl on his face, though Primrose knew better than to think it was directed at her. She sat down next to him carefully, already able to tell this conversation was going to be a doozy. If Therion was already in a sour mood, then getting him to open up would be much easier said than done.

Primrose knew better than to start off with asking if Therion was alright though, having learned ages ago that the direct approach never seemed to work when it came to talking to Therion about his feelings. He hated being honest with how he felt since that left him open to vulnerability, and the truth of that statement only doubled when he was upset. Primrose's best bet was to play this from the side and see where Therion wanted to take it from there. It was hardly a foolproof plan, but she could figure it out with time.

"Arianna told me something interesting when I went to see her," Primrose began as she smoothed out her skirt. "She said a few people around town saw you wandering around on your own when we were last here... They figured out just what you did for them. You did more than just grab leaves to fund our travels. You gave money to the rest of the townsfolk to help them crawl out of the rut Rufus left behind." 

Therion, unsurprisingly, said nothing, but he did close his eyes, and Primrose knew he was listening. She took that as her cue to continue. "I don't think I've seen Arianna looking that happy in years. It was like she was an entirely different person compared to the last time we were here. Everyone in town is feeling better now, as a matter of fact. You must have noticed just how many children were running around when we were near the front of the city. Everybody is in a much better place than they were when we were last in Stillsnow. Even if you don't want to admit to it... I know it's because of you. You couldn't stand to see them suffering, so you did what you could to help them." Primrose offered him a light smile he could hear in her voice at that. "You're a good person, Therion. I'm glad you were there to do something like this for them. I know everyone here needed it."