She listened to the recitation, frowning slightly as it continued. Were it anybody else, Lottie was pretty sure she'd understand what was going on here. She was sure what was going on on Kray's end of things, but Ninkasi...
There was a lot of hesitation on her part. And fear. Philotes heard a good deal of fear. Was that more of her issue with complications? Is that how she viewed this turn with Kratos? As a complication? No wonder her nephew had sounded as he had when he asked for her help.
"Do you know why you're stuck?" Lottie asked.
Getting up from her side of the booth, she moved over to slide in beside Ninkasi. Once there, she took the woman's hand and squeezed gently. "Look, I can make some educated guesses about a few things that might be happening here. And if it's what I think it is, well... that's scary stuff even if you're ready for it. Believe me, I understand how scary it can be, I really do. But if you're not prepared for it, if it comes at you out of the blue, I bet it can hit you like a ton of bricks. That's got to kind of knock the wind out of you and knock you off your feet for a while. Like, six months to a year or so. But then... then you sort of get your feet back under you and try to sort out what's what, right? Which is what you're doing now. Which isn't any less scary than the other thing, is it?
"Oh, forgot my beer," she suddenly realized, leaning forward to grab the glass with her free hand. "Anyway, Thor has good advice, but putting it in practice can be a little more challenging. So let me ask you this: what things do you think you need to resolve with Kray?"