If Tanist noticed any of the bickering and feuding around him, he didn't show it, much less cast his eyes toward anyone outside of Thiele. His was a strange and awkward predicament, in that he found himself wrestling with precisely how much he should comfort and otherwise distract his new found partner. There was, naturally, a myriad of tales and other recitations he knew he could garner her attention with, but at the same time, he did not want to completely remove her from the task at hand. It would, after all, be hard enough to speak of what had happened to her land and her people, without being drawn right out of a reverie into what he imagined would be painful questions and worse memories...something, part of him hoped, that she would never have to recount in detail again after this day.
"I was unaware that you had any inclination what it was to be an ox", Tanist whispered, in an attempt at humor. "You must have been an odd looking one, I imagine. Slender, short of stature, and with golden locks... I could not picture a more absurd and beautiful ox."
He gave her a little smile.
"But in all seriousness, the boots are a requirement. If I am to be your protector, I must keep you safe from all things, including the elements. There will be no cold feet on my watch."
Once more, he squeezed her hand.
"But if you comply without a fuss, I will let you sleep in a tree the first night out of the city", he added, thinking about how the same comment, to any other woman, would in almost all cases be taken as an insult. "Promise."