Well, Damn! I Didn't Expect That for a Homecoming

Colt gave him another knowing look. Yeah. You don’t. So next time you go in there, or he comes up to you, you stand your ground and tell him you’re stayin’. It might not work, but Colt was confident that seeing the lad stand up, and without the words trembling too much, Nairn could be swayed into giving him a chance.

It was a shock to hear Haulean say he’d used his own life to bargain. Foolish. Short-sighted. But Colt understood the where it came from, desperation. He hadn’t ever been quite in the same situation before - Not yet, anyway - but he’d let his anger and rage get the better of him during one. He remembered his mother’s face when she looked at him. Fear, and Colt hadn’t snapped that badly since.

Studying his face, Colt could only sigh heavily once finding the truth in it. The kid was an open book in this state. Kid. You know better than most, this is probably a knee-jerk reaction from him. ‘Member all the aggro over his Missus, Meg? Change came slowly, painstakingly in Nairn’s case. And don’t say bullshit about dying. You think he’d just send you off randomly. Na. You know the boss. He always has a plan to where folks fit, where they best at, but he takes your feeling into the mix. Part of it might have been a sudden quickly rushed decision on Nairn’s part, but maybe he’d also been looking to gauge a reaction? Colt couldn’t comment on the Boss’s true intentions, but he’d help dust the kid off and cheer him on for when round two came.

There was a sudden knock at the door and a half-hearted and irritated voice called out from the other side. ”Haulean?... Yes this is the right door…. Haulean Oruven?

Colt groaned, muttering under his breath, Of course he sent the fuckin’ healer… Glancing to the lad, the locksmith’s brows shrugged. Doors open, Ruth.

@Haulean Oruven