Kalaya had held that brown-black gaze for a heartbeat, feeling the manic energy in her subside. It wasn't gone - but like water that had cooled just below the boil, the roiling, bubbling surface that threatened to spill over was beginning to still. To be contained.

She drops her gaze back to the fire, giving it a half-hearted prod with a stick.

"It's not just about honour." she replies, and is she pouting or just tiredly petulant? "Leaving you out here just ... wouldn't be the right thing to do." 

"And as for food? I ..." she continues, thinking back over however many hours that day had been. "Breakfast probably, unless you count a cup of tea around lunchtime."

A half-remembered image of shaking hands placing a cup back on a table prompts the realisation that she never actually got to [i]drink[/i] it in the end.

[i]Darn, it had been a good blend too.[/i]

Accepting the food with a genuine "Thank you", she eats in silence - enjoying the warmth, the flavour of the spices and texture of the tofu while allowing her mind to wander. It's not a full balm on the troubles that ail her, but it's a start and the effort is appreciated.

"So." she begins, after a suitable amount of time has passed. "I can get not wanting to talk about certain things -"

She gives an acknowledging nod to whatever it is you're poking under that cloak. Giving you the same courtesy she'd extended to Ven just a short while ago. After all, if people don't want to talk about things then Kalaya is not the kind to press the issue.

[i]That said, what is with people and fidgeting with hidden stuff under their cloaks lately?[/i]

"But is there anything you [i]can[/i] tell me about what you were doing before I came along? What happened to you? Where are you going? Do you have a hometown, a family?"

"I'm not wanting to pry this out of you, although I'd be lying if I said I wasn't curious about why a scribe is out here in the middle of nowhere - particularly when long distance walking seems to be out of the question - I'm just trying to figure out what to do next.

"Were you headed to Turtlehead? Are you [i]from[/i] there? (Didn't think they had much cause for scribes) Or do you also have business at Kingeater?"

She says the last with a laugh because she [i]thinks [/i]she has a good read on you, but with how her day has been nothing is out of the realm of possibility. Also, is it rude to just address your disability like that? Will you call her out on it or is the frankness appreciated?

"Orrrr, I dunno. We can just keep sitting here and talk about the weather. That's good too. I mean, hey - what about that rain? It sure is ... wet?" she finishes, gesturing around with her bowl.

[Feel I should prompt Fengye here to either try to Read Kalaya or to go ahead with an emotional support roll]