There was something comforting in her surety and smirk and impervious manner, however naturally Jay tended toward worry and and pessimism and doleful thoughts... so, quite in spite of himself, he did suddenly feel lighter.
Affection, in Mr. Fox’s eyes, had always seemed irrelevant; what was more important was how things and people could be of use. But Jay felt a rush of it now, for his sister – because in the end, what did blood matter at all? They were bound by shared history and memory and honesty like this, and blood was nothing, nothing, to that.
“Thank you,” Jay managed more solidly than he had all conversation, which was still only the tip of the iceberg of his gratitude to her today. If he had been a different person, he might have embraced her somehow – but he wasn’t that person, so he only reached out and pressed her shoulder, fleetingly, a ghost of a touch. “You’re never going to lose me, though.” No matter how bad it got.
He gave her a ghost of a smile, too.
Affection, in Mr. Fox’s eyes, had always seemed irrelevant; what was more important was how things and people could be of use. But Jay felt a rush of it now, for his sister – because in the end, what did blood matter at all? They were bound by shared history and memory and honesty like this, and blood was nothing, nothing, to that.
“Thank you,” Jay managed more solidly than he had all conversation, which was still only the tip of the iceberg of his gratitude to her today. If he had been a different person, he might have embraced her somehow – but he wasn’t that person, so he only reached out and pressed her shoulder, fleetingly, a ghost of a touch. “You’re never going to lose me, though.” No matter how bad it got.
He gave her a ghost of a smile, too.
![[Image: 4PrLtDw.png]](https://i.imgur.com/4PrLtDw.png)