"He was the best man I ever knew," Jill said softly, in total honesty. She loved her father dearly, but compared to her grandfather he wasn't much of a man. Her brother's character was so obviously lesser, that he didn't even make it to the comparison. As soon as she thought so, though, Jill felt a pang of remorse. She oughtn't think so badly of her father and brother, their lives had not been easy. Her granddad had been extraordinary, few other men could shine in comparison with him and she should not think so ill of the rest of the men in her family.
Jill was not great with tact or with subtle hints, and when she spoke it was more because she remembered Lillie's words about her lover, than because Jill picked up any hints that Lillie was thinking about him. "If things were not..." she couldn't recall the exact word Lillie had used, and opted for something neutral. "...complicated, would you go back to your love in Denerim?" she asked, almost timidly. She was unused to discussing the matters of the heart (she had scoffed for years at Lena's attempts to do so) with anyone, and even though it was easier to divulge things about herself, she didn't want to come on too strong when it was a matter of Lillie's feelings. Jill had very free manners, used to taking many liberties with the ones she thought of as friends, but she was not totally insensitive. "I don't think anyone would know. You're smart and kind and a powerful mage. I see no reason why anyone would know, or even care, what you had done for a living! I bet you would do a much better job at it too, being royalty I mean!"
"Yes, he...eh...I'm...we...er...it's not..." With a sigh she shut her mouth, her disjointed attempts at an answer failing. It was hard to explain this, since it was mere moments ago that she had identified her own sudden attachment to Garrett. She had just seen him as a very special friend, one that was not at all like her other ones. She had attributed this to being because he was a werewolf, but the suggestion that it might be for other reasons made her confused. "He is a friend," she admitted slowly, blush still evident on her cheeks. Lowering her eyes to look at the road under Salma's hooves, Jill nibbled at her lip, trying to find something to say. Finding words to describe Garrett Edgewalker was like trying to capture dreams and trap fairies. After all, Jill herself had thought he was a spirit of the woods when she first met him. "His name is Garret and he is a..." breaking off again, she realised that she couldn't very well go around telling Garrett's secret, he had been so unsure when he changed his shape around her the first time, thinking that she was going to flee or hate him. Telling Lillie that he was an exiled werewolf was certain to dampen her friends interest, and besides it wasn't her secret to tell. But then, what could she tell?! "He lives in the wilds," she began anew. "The first time I met him I was bathing in a little stream, and he nearly scared me to death by appearing out of an bush." So far, it was the truth, just not the whole of it. Breathing a little easier, a slight smile being born on her lips as she thought of that spring day, Jill continued. "He likes stories, and his hair always looks a little tousled, and even though Salma doesn't, I like his company. There isn't much more to tell," she finished, smile disappearing as she frowned. She didn't want Lillie to get any wrong ideas, she was not in love with Garrett, she just liked his...company. And that he understood her, in some way that no one had ever been able to. The notion that she would be in love with him was ridiculous, they had not know each other long at all!