"Hey, Peiter, come now, you know what I meant," Gallus answered calmly, keeping his arms folded. "Look, I can tell you don't want to linger on this, so I'll be straight with you. You have a number of options open to you when we get home. None of them are going to be easy, but you need to decide what's best for you rather than what you think you deserve."

Gallus slowly unfolded one arm, still supporting his elbow with his other hand, and presented a finger. "The first is that you take up a trade or a job that you can still do with one arm, which is more than you might think. Farming, carpentry, masonry, bookkeeping, whatever you can think of. You can learn to do these things with one arm at your own pace." Gallus raised another finger. "The second option is that you go up to the scholar's loft and start expanding on those tricks that Sabine taught you. You never needed two arms to do that, but it's not going to be any easier." Gallus raised a third finger. "The third is something you might not have thought of and is probably the hardest. I've talked to the head blacksmith about false arms that you can strap a shield to. If you can learn to use a spear in your left hand, you can stand in a formation. And we're going to need all the men we can get in the coming years, so don't think you'll be unfair to others if you decide on that."

With a backwards tilt of his head, Gallus slowly folded his arm back against his chest and lowered his voice. "All three roads are hard but you still have a choice to be useful if that's what you're worried about. Your pack will support you in any decision you make." Gallus suddenly raised a tight smile. "So, what'll it be, Peit?"

[hr]
Sabine was looking down, but peered up to Meesei with a bit of surprise. "Take my mind off it all?" she repeated, apparently more confused than saddened at this point. She looked to one side in thought. "When we talked about that three years ago, we went to have a swim. There is no water to swim here." Sabine seemed somewhat lost. "I am not sure that I should just try not to worry, anyway. It does not change..." Sabine trailed off and pursed her lips. In her mind, she knew that Meesei had a point simply because she had argued it first, back when they first entered the Bruma clanhome.

Instead, Sabine tried to think of how she would unwind. Her obvious answer became clear quickly and it was not reassuring. She sat back at a right angle to Meesei and brought her knees up to wrap her arms around them. Then, quietly, she found the words while she looked at her legs. "To take my mind off it, I would...want to be with Peiter and just laugh with him. But...Peiter has not been acting the same." There was a pause where she blinked a couple of times. "He is sad about his arm. I do not know what to do. It just makes me more stressed in the end."