[center][h2]Anne Mayer[/h2][h3]??? — Hunter's Lodge[/h3][/center]
Anne knew how it went. She'd gone through at least a dozen variations of this talk before, and had been on the receiving end of her fair share. Psychologists talked about desensitization, about hearts that turned to stone under the weight of too many deaths, but she'd never really felt that way—the pain persisted, every time. It just got harder to cry.

There was no sword skill or negotiating tactic to resolve this situation; all she could do was give Alvin the truth. She spoke softly, so that the others would not overhear. Clearly, so that he would not misunderstand. "Ywain died in the early stages of the attack. Fighting the Raven Heralds, as I understand it." She bowed her head slightly, feeling the need to pay her respects to the man. From the sound of it, he'd protected his home until the last, and it may have been because of his bravery that Alvin and Millie had even been able to escape at all. By extension, every villager in this lodge right now owed their lives to the commander.

Except that wasn't what really mattered, right now. A brother and sister had been left without a father, and no number of lofty accolades would ever fill that hole.

"Kendrick was going to tell you," she said, as she raised her head to once again meet Alvin's eyes. "He'll know more than I do... But please don't be too harsh on him. The loss hit him hard as well." The guard had been worried the boy might hate him, but Anne remembered what he'd said before that. [i]Ywain did his damn best to raise them—and a lot of us under him did our best to follow.[/i] If there was anything that could help these kids now, it would be the bonds they shared with the rest of the town, the family that had cared for them in their own way since the very beginning.

[@PKMNB0Y]