There Is No Joy in Sorrow

Shale had spent a good couple of days debating whether he wanted to come and see Zora yet, unsure whether his presence would be beneficial or negative. In truth, he had never been much of a fan of Broen, not having entirely let go of the abrasive and seemingly purposefully rude way he carried himself. However, that held no bearing now. Zora was family, and he felt an obligation to at least attempt to make himself available to her now.

He'd walked over to the hotel she was staying at instead of walking, his wings still rather sore and not suited to extended flights. Taking a moment in the stairwell to collect himself before approaching her door, the teenager took a seat on a step and pinched the bridge of his nose. A low sigh escaped him; he was frustrated at his lack of experience in the heartfelt consolation that Zora surely needed right now. He was well aware that his perspective on death was one not shared by very many, especially his age, but perhaps his detachment was for the better.

After a few minutes of mental preparation, Shale climbed the remainder of the steps, paused in front of the door to make sure he wasn't interrupting a conversation, then gave a couple solid knocks. As the door opened, the rather somber gargoyle gave his older cousin a very strained, sad smile, his pupilless golden eyes meeting hers. "Hey..." Shale spoke very softly, his hands shoved deeply in his pockets for a few unsure moments, before he took them out and postured himself to gently embrace her if she seemed open to it.

@Zora

The abruptness of Zora's movement to hug him mildly shocked the gargoyle, and he blinked a few times while processing before slowly wrapping his own arms around the woman. He held her firmly, albeit still gently, slowly rubbing a hand back and forth across her upper back in an effort to further soothe her. The crying caused him to furrow his brow somewhat, giving him a painfully clear image of just how distraught she was.

Not wanting to rush her, Shale gave her a good thirty seconds before slowly releasing Zora and stepping inside. "I, ah...I wasn't sure if you were ready for anyone to come and see you. Hopefully I'm not intruding." He quietly closed the door behind him and moved a few more steps into the hotel room. It was clear that Shale didn't really know what to do with himself, glancing to a pair of chairs by the wall, and then the bed.

Shale nodded stiffly at her response about the time, knowing all too well that that was the case. He settled into one of the chairs after Zora indicated for him to sit, both his ring fingers tapping rhythmically on the arms. "No thanks. Came here after a workout, so I already took care of food afterwards." Unsure when would be the ideal time to give her the gift he'd made, he opted to bring it out now so that the rest of their talk could go unimpeded.

"Ah, I uh. Made you something last night." Pulling his bag up onto his lap, he opened it up and pulled out a spherical, cloth wrapped object, setting it down on the side table for her to open up herself. Inside she'd find one of his sculptures, the first thing he'd made for her beyond some simple earrings a couple months back. It was primarily a sparkly, smooth polished cloud of rose quartz, interlaced with little bands of cobalt and a variety of tiny stars and other celestial bodies nestled on top of the cloud, made of a variety of stones and metals. "I know it's kind of...abstract, but I had a bit of a hard time focusing. Hopefully it's at least something to look at and take your mind off of things from time to time."