This was fine. Honest. So what if when Keyleth thought of 'child' now it was Vesper and the twins she saw, and not the faces of the youngest Ashari, making a specific halfling boy near-impossible to actually place? What did it matter if the keen spike of guilt she'd initially felt at skipping out on those responsibilities had dulled to a bone-deep ache, safely ignored as long as she kept busy? It was foolish - beyond foolish, even - to imagine Orym's arrival was some sort of cosmic punishment for daring to settle into a new life here, a gentle rebuke for entertaining - even only in secret - the idea she and Vax might one day be as comfortable as Percy and Vex had evidently become. And yet...
... and yet here she was, feeling more like a child playing dress-up herself than a mighty leader, the Mantle of the Tempest (retrieved from the wardrobe where it had been languishing since she arrived in Night Vale) heavier around her shoulders than it had ever been, the Keyleth staring back from the mirror looking terribly small and confused, not so much enveloped as swamped entirely. Shit. Gods, if only there was time for a glass - or a bottle, a bottle would be good - of wine to steady her nerves, but she could hardly keep Orym waiting, lost and confused as he must no doubt be right now.
Okay. She could do this. She just needed to focus on that instinct - the one that had had her reach out to him in the first place - and not on her racing heartbeat and sweaty palms. What was it Neria had said? Deep breaths. One foot in front of the other. Okay.
A short while later, a slight and scruffy-feathered raven - tiny antlers jutting from its brow - alighted on the concrete beneath the ridiculous glowing hat sign, regarding the halfling sidelong for a moment before seeming to lengthen and almost unfold itself, becoming a familiar-but-also-not-quite-familiar-probably elven form.
"... hi." Yikes, did she always sound that uncertain? Keyleth cleared her throat, forced what she hoped was a suitably confident smile, and tried again. "Orym, right? Kaitiakè, brother."