It had been rather rough, finding out Henry had met the finally death before he could find him. Rhys had had back and forth negative thoughts for days afterwards, but if they couldn't find him, whoever took him, or lured him, had to be good at hiding things. Better than Amadeus? Maybe it was the way he'd started to really look up to him, but he couldn't imagine tooany people being able to get a one up on him. Then again, the fledgling could have used his own -
There he went again.
He'd been 'reading' this page for how long now? He must have tried to look over the wards at least half a dozen times now. Throwing himself into actual training and learning had been half and half. Half success, half failure. He was doing a lot better than he was, yes, but sometimes it was hard to stay on task. He was distracted - a place he really didn't want to be. It was just him now. Him and the family he'd pieces together, right? He didn't have to worry about Henry being disappointed in him or not anymore. Just scary, fire wielding mentors that didn't share blood with him.
By the time Joseph came to sit with him, Rhys had read the same line five times. At least. A finger folded into the place he was at before closing it and nuzzling Joseph's shoulder with his cheek. He'd been more quiet in the past two weeks, even around him. "A party to lift spirits." It was a little bit funny, lifting spirits when this time of the year was for celebrating the dead. Even so, he really could understand the stress and frustration, in parts, that Joseph was feeling. He'd lost a friend. More than one in those they couldn't save. Rhys didn't have many of those, but he wouldn't know what to do if he lost one of them to unknown causes.