Tal strained his ears to hear, but the story wasn't unfamiliar, at least in its broad strokes. People went missing for all sorts of reasons. Sometimes they were found again - rarely alive - but most of the time the mystery remained to haunt those left behind. "Sorry," he said, gruffly sympathetic. "Were you close?" Cousins, aunts, uncles... extended families could be close as siblings or feuding worse than sworn enemies.
Though Tal winced when he thought about why anyone would bother making a lantern for someone they weren't close to. "Uh... sorry. Dumb question," he mumbled, fingers stuttering a little as he added another side to the lantern's skeleton and began to fit the final one together. "Do you want to, um, talk about her?" An offer made more from guilt at his verbal stumble than any more altruistic reason, but sincere enough in spite of that.
Though Tal winced when he thought about why anyone would bother making a lantern for someone they weren't close to. "Uh... sorry. Dumb question," he mumbled, fingers stuttering a little as he added another side to the lantern's skeleton and began to fit the final one together. "Do you want to, um, talk about her?" An offer made more from guilt at his verbal stumble than any more altruistic reason, but sincere enough in spite of that.
