His heart stopped in his chest, just to renew. He hadn't expected a genuine revelation; part of him expected a confession of a secret desire to be a nug wrangler, or perhaps some wild impishness. Six words bowled him over. He sat up quickly, leaving the bed. He opened a small desk drawer, and fumbled for a moment. Thren lifted the coverlet that they'd slept on top of last night, and settled beneath it. He lifted the top of the sheet, silently inviting her to do the same.
"This was my father's." He delicately placed the small amulet in her hand. It was a piece of junk, and he knew it. Battered, a dented corner, the stone in the center nearly eroded away. "He wasn't really my father, but he was as good as. Or at least, better than."
Imenry stared down at the amulet in the curve of her palm, the pad of her thumb tracing over it lightly. She wondered why he hadn't had it repaired, or why he didn't wear it, to always keep it close. "I was supposed to get it when he retired," she murmured and reached to put the amulet around Thren's neck, her fingers brushing over his shoulders. She gave him a little half smile. "It suits you."
Thren didn't know if he should directly respond to the bits that she was revealing. Questioning her directly could effectively end whatever this was. She seemed to appreciate the non investigative track, and the ability to answer when and how she saw fit.
The metal was cold over his skin, the weight of it unfamiliar. He smiled at her, the tenderness of her draping it and the half smile left him a little awed. "I haven't worn in it three years... it was almost stolen, and ever since... I just keep it in that drawer." He flopped down against the mattress. Imenry lightly bounced.
She passed a brief look around the house. "Don't you worry it will be stolen while you're away?" she wondered, lightly fingering the chain against his collarbone.
He laughed. A genuine laugh, not a chuckle, or a scoff, or a guffaw. "If I were a thief, and I broke into this house, I wouldn't stay more than a moment." He looked at the sparse decor, it was mostly furniture. "When I get home, I'm just glad the place wasn't broken into. This amulet hasn't been worth anything to anyone but me in a half a decade. I don't think a genuine thief would bother."
Thren brought it up in his hand and smiled. "Seeing it, here, in this house... It's been five years since he died, and I just miss him less here. But I also miss him more sometimes. That probably sounds idiotic." He let the amulet fall against his chest."Can I ask what your father did?" He avoided the 'supposed to', figuring it was some personal tragedy. He knew that the man was deceased. No child held onto inanimate objects, and revealed the origins with such tenderness otherwise.
"He was a guardian... a... warrior in my village." Her eyes drifted to the blade against the wall. "I pried that sword from his dead hands two years ago. And then I packed some things and I left."
She turned her head to look at him again, her fingers curling over the edge of the blanket.