Manning Thorsen believes in (othala) wrote in repose,
Re: Crust & Crumb - Manning / Iris
There'd been a time when Iris had been growing where he could say how she was feeling with nothing more than a look, no words exchanged. Her mouth, her eyes, they always gave it away - like they did now. She was tired, but why? Did she have nightmares that followed the fog? His own people (his original people) found demons in the fog and there were days when he reached for a weapon whenever he saw it.
Or perhaps it was whatever led to the doors being broken in the first place - he hadn't asked. It hadn't been the time to push then and nor was it now. There were too many people inside and even on relatively normal days, trying to get information out of Iris usually required a mental dance that was half pulling and half pushing and better suited for a quiet bubble between two people rather than the half dozen inside the bakery.
Later, if it was needed, he told himself as TJ brushed her forehead against his cheek. "Hello, Ms Iris," she said quietly, almost shyly, one hand bunching up the fabric of his t-shirt, visible under the open collar of his flannel.
"Iris," he said just as warmly as he walked up to the counter. "How are you doing, Iris?" It was a redundant question, but the manner of her answer added more details frequently.