She nods. And if they get the fire form I can ask them to try to get the water form, too, and give your siblings some spells with that - that's not a complete solution but I expect it'll help.

Eventually we should have more than two mages because people will die a lot in this war and the Enemy will target you specifically. But as a start.

Sigh. Yeah. The usual thing to do with mages is not risk them at all, just use spellbearers and magic items for everything, if we can get away with that it shouldn't be too bad, but it'd be a dumb risk to take.

I think it'd bother Findekáno to have people taking risks on his behalf while he stays safe.

Mm.

Well, getting safety spells on everybody is already kind of in the plan, maybe it won't be so bad once that's done.

Should help. I bet he'll still be that way.

She nods. Kobold status: distressed, but holding it together.

Would you like a hug?

...yeah. She doesn't move.

Well, he still can't walk. He sits up, a little bit.

She goes over and sits next to him - she's not hesitant, exactly, but she is moving slowly and carefully, though not to the point of making it very obvious. Once she's settled, she sits very still, with her hands in her lap.

He puts an arm around her. It is a lot of effort, though he's concealing most of it. He smiles.  Quendi hair is almost as soft as yours but we only have it on our heads and you're not supposed to touch.

She grins, just a little, and doesn't move, though she does relax under the touch. Good to know, thank you.

That's why everyone has it tied up. I will too, once mine is long enough.

Kobolds are pretty casual about touch, except our tails.

Hair might be like tails for us.

Yeah, sounds like.

I'm tempted to keep mine really short but it'll bother everyone I interact with.

Wouldn't bother me, this is as long as my fur ever gets. It's shorter in the summer, even.

To my people it'd be saying that I was damaged, much more strongly than the scars.

She starts to sigh, realizes that this involves moving, and carefully lets the breath out. They're going to have to get used to some of that, if there's going to be a war. But starting with you isn't a very good idea, yeah.

Yep. I need them to listen to me.

Shouldn't be a reason for them not to. She makes a sour face.

People don't always make decisions like that in a conscious, reasoned way. And I don't want them to have to make a lot of extra effort to think of me as anything other than a tragedy.

Mm. That's more or less the opposite of true, though, at least in my experience - I haven't recovered perfectly from the things I've been through, but I think I'm stronger for them anyway; tragic things have happened to me, but that doesn't mean I am one. They might have trouble understanding that about you, and, yeah, we'll need to work with that, but that doesn't mean they're right, it's important to know that.