The woodfolk story sounds like... a kick and a half yet again. Esteban doesn't know how to react to that, other than to let it slip by him as he focuses on the memory Najaran is recalling for his sake.
Not as yummy seems an odd way to talk about a fairy. His eyebrows raise almost to his hairline as he tries to understand her words, but maybe, just maybe he might not want to know what Najaran might mean in that moment. It really makes him wonder what kind of life his friend had lived up to that point, before she mentions Joaquin again, and Esteban shifts his head to the side a bit, glancing back at her.
"Y' mentioned him a few times; who's Joaquin?" Wait-- was he? One of those who recalled the stories of her world? Is that him getting mixed up? Untangling everything from the shards that he catches here and there between Najaran's explanations is a bit of a puzzle, but he still finds it intriguing, prodding and poking and finding out where each piece sits, in his ever-slow progress.
"OH! You said he was one of the Mistrals, right?" Hang on-- "Doesn't that mean that he passed the test?" Did he... get that wrong? He thought the test was to find the Mistrals? But now he's a Mistral and Najaran is not? "Unless-- y' passed the tests together?" Is he getting a better picture here? At least it makes sense in his head.
"So you're a Mistral too?" Just-- making sure they're on the same page here. The unfamiliar terms are a bit of a struggle to keep track of after all. "He's a Mistral, y'r both a Mistral an' a Scepter." A slow nod. "Tell me more about him?"
Anyone who matters to his friends, after all, matter to Esteban as well. He's curious what sort of people Najaran had around her before she came to the train, and he seems less of a sore subject to her than Kigi is.
no subject
Not as yummy seems an odd way to talk about a fairy. His eyebrows raise almost to his hairline as he tries to understand her words, but maybe, just maybe he might not want to know what Najaran might mean in that moment. It really makes him wonder what kind of life his friend had lived up to that point, before she mentions Joaquin again, and Esteban shifts his head to the side a bit, glancing back at her.
"Y' mentioned him a few times; who's Joaquin?" Wait-- was he? One of those who recalled the stories of her world? Is that him getting mixed up? Untangling everything from the shards that he catches here and there between Najaran's explanations is a bit of a puzzle, but he still finds it intriguing, prodding and poking and finding out where each piece sits, in his ever-slow progress.
"OH! You said he was one of the Mistrals, right?" Hang on-- "Doesn't that mean that he passed the test?" Did he... get that wrong? He thought the test was to find the Mistrals? But now he's a Mistral and Najaran is not? "Unless-- y' passed the tests together?" Is he getting a better picture here? At least it makes sense in his head.
"So you're a Mistral too?" Just-- making sure they're on the same page here. The unfamiliar terms are a bit of a struggle to keep track of after all. "He's a Mistral, y'r both a Mistral an' a Scepter." A slow nod. "Tell me more about him?"
Anyone who matters to his friends, after all, matter to Esteban as well. He's curious what sort of people Najaran had around her before she came to the train, and he seems less of a sore subject to her than Kigi is.