Philotes beamed. Not only had he told her his name, he wanted her to come with him. That was definitely progress! She was so pleased with that turn of events, she didn't think twice about what she did next. It just seemed natural, at least to her. She hurried to catch up with him, and as she took a spot by his side, her arm slid through the crook of his elbow, linking them together.
“Oh knowing the dark is good,” she nodded with approval. Then she wondered why he'd know the dark when he was from above, and it only took a minute for her to recall the stories. Of his birth. And what happened after. That was the reason for the war, after all. She'd just been thinking about that, so how could she have been so insensitive to bring it up without thought like that.
“I'm sorry,”Lottie immediately apologized. “I didn't mean to make it sound like I approved of why you'd know the dark, because that really shouldn't have happened, that should never happen, to anybody, anywhere, that's an awful thing and I am really not somebody that would advocate war, but I understand that sometimes it's needed, and I think you did the right thing, my nieces and nephews fought too, for the winning side, well my niece always wins, it's her thing, but she fought for the right side, and I got a little off topic here, but my point is I'm sorry if I brought up bad memories, but the silver lining to that is that now you're in a place that's dark and you're comfortable with it which is going to help a lot.”
She gave his arm a little squeeze. “You'll see. There are things about living here that you can't have anywhere else. Is there anything you're curious about? Or anybody? What can I tell you to help?”