Silence fell over their little campsite, but Birch didn't mind. Her life as a warrior had taught her to read silences, to know when to use them and when to break them. This was the silence that came Before, and the only thing it asked of her was patience. Birch continued her work on the snares, stirring the meal, all in measured, calm movements; waiting without the pressure of expectation. When he finally spoke she returned her gaze to him, ready to listen to whatever he intended to share.

Birch's expression was curious as he spoke of his homeland, struggling a bit to picture him in a city without gardens; a scholar tucked away inside. No wonder he seemed out of his element here, in the wilds! A small smile formed on her features at the thought.

She looked at him with a mix of interest and surprise as he relayed that he'd been a thief, a peddler of secrets, but it was mostly the idea that people would pay for such things that gave her pause. Last she'd heard Earth hadn't experienced war for quite some time, but she supposed she knew little of fairy politics - here on Shaman or on Earth. Perhaps there was a conflict she didn't know about? Why else would they pay for such things?

Everything about Birch seemed to melt a little as his story continued, easily putting herself in his shoes. He couldn't have been much older than a boy, facing a cruel world with no help, no support. No one to give him a chance. Birch's heart ached for him, for the man he'd been. There was so much he wasn't saying in those few sentences, but Birch heard it all the same: she knew what it was to be without purpose, without hope, without a future. She'd been feral for years before a chance encounter with Torram's ancestor had changed the course of her life forever, after all. Jacopo wondered how it was that Birch and her children were the way they were, and it all came down to that moment all those years ago, when a little boy held out his little hand to a wild beast and told her to come with him. That family... they'd accepted her, welcomed her; she'd had a warm place to sleep, food to eat... a place and a purpose, when she was the last person in the world to deserve it. She could only imagine where she'd be, what she'd be, if it hadn't been for that family. Jacopo hadn't had anyone to save him, to love him.

"Tsk," Birch said at last, annoyingly near tears at the thought. Of course he hadn't gone through with it, of course he'd returned the boy. Life had dealt him a bad hand, he'd made bad choices, but it couldn't corrupt him: Birch knew, as she had from the very beginning, that Jacopo was a good man. She set her snare aside and stood, moving to where he sat. Her hands went to his cheeks, holding him still while she studied his face. Then she leaned down and pressed her lips to his, gently. Her arms moved to his shoulders, cradling his face close against her chest.

Finally, she spoke. "You've been through so much." Her hand stroked down his back, her cheek against the top of his head. "You've made mistakes, and you've paid for them. You were in a difficult place and you made a difficult choice, but in the end you gave up a piece of yourself for a boy who was a stranger because you didn't see any other path, and that is exactly the man I fell in love with; the one who does right when doing wrong would be so much easier."

Birch sighed a little, pulling back to meet his eyes again, and she pinched his chin lightly. "You won't make this mistake again, will you?" She flicked a brow at him, a small smile on her face. "Family exists to help one another. If one of us is in pain, all of us are in pain. If one of us is lost, all of us are lost. You have people to turn to, people who want to help you; you need only ask. You understand that now, right?"

She studied his face a moment longer, leaning to brush her lips over his, then straightened and placed her hands on her hips, her mind already turned to planning. "What was the wording of the message exactly? Do you remember anything about the paper, the writing? Do you know where they'd keep her - Earth or Shaman?"