Amy
Minnah nodded, still smiling somewhat. It did indeed sound like their parents were complete opposites in that regard. She couldn't help but wonder, in what other ways were they different from each other? It would be pretty funny if hers and Idalia's parents just happened to be polar opposites in every way, even if that was unlikely. She was tempted to ask to find out more, but she really didn't want to ruin her mood by talking about her father too much. It always brought with it some amount of sadness.

Unfortunately for her, Idalia didn't know about the memories associated with the man, the pain and the guilt that she felt when she thought of him. Her smile faded somewhat at the question the Genasi asked, and Minnah didn't answer for a little while, turning her gaze towards her lap as she thought of how to best answer it. She didn't want to lie and say he was fine, but the truth... It hurt. Then again, hadn't Idalia done enough for her to deserve the truth by now?

Hesitantly, she raised her hand, and wrote, much more slowly than usually; *He died protecting me. It was my fault.* Minnah could feel tears forming in her eyes and quickly blinked them away, she really didn't want to burst into tears again. Still holding the quill, she brushed the back of her hand against her own left cheek, feeling the leathery texture of the scars that covered it. Hopefully Idalia would understand with that motion that her father passed in the same incident that had left her so scarred, because Minnah really didn't want to explain the events of that night.

More than that, though, she hoped that Idalia wouldn't say that it wasn't her fault, because it was her fault. Minnah was the one that had started the fire, and her father was dead because of it. She knew that it was her fault, her mother had reminded her plenty of times of that fact. Without her, her dad would still be alive to this day, and he might be cooking her meals still even, or at least have taught her how to cook.

_ _
She really was struggling to hold back her tears now as Idalia continued talking. She thought that? Minnah was very much used to people calling her anything but pretty - frankly, since her injury, she hadn't been called anything close to it. She felt like an idiot for getting so emotional over it, and yet, she felt that Idalia wouldn't mind - the Genasi was, from what she'd seen, more than kind enough not to tease her about it.

Wiping at her eyes with the back of her hand, Minnah shook her head at the apology. *It's okay*, she wrote, trying to pull her face into a smile, but failing. *I'm sorry for freaking out so much. And thank you for everything. I mean it.* Once more, she wiped at her eyes, still trying her hardest not to cry. *You're being so great to me. Thank you.*
Bonnie
_For a time the woman only watched the woman from the corner of her gaze, her breath held as she waited for what she presumed to be some kind of rejection, whether it be of her unintentional advance or her curiosity about the girl's family. Only turning to face her and her writing more properly when it became apparent that said expectation was not going to happen just yet, instead the woman had explained about her father and her use of the past tense when talking about him._

_Well that was, really quite sad for the poor girl, the woman letting out the breath she had unintentionally been holding in a sad sigh as she looked down at the woman properly. It seemed the worst case scenario was indeed what had happened, though it was unexpected that Minnah had been the cause. Had she been in some danger with bandits? Or a wild beast? Or... _

_Hold on a moment... The way she had... The scars... The fear of fire.._

_Finally the puzzle pieces seemed to click in the Genasi's mind, her eyes widening in realization as things finally started to make sense. Fire, the burns, he had been saving her from a fire and hadn't made it out. A fire she had started by the sounds of it, perhaps from a cooking fire? No that likely wasn't it, magic made the most sense - though she had not seen the woman use any besides the quill yet. Granted that certainly didn't mean she couldn't use it, many elves were mages of some kind in her experience. Most likely it had been a spell or something gone wrong, and her father had paid the price._

** **
_Her heart went out to the poor girl, she all too well knew how easily magic could get out of control and how dangerous it could be to those around her. All too many times her own father had to rescue her when her own power had spiraled out of control, so many times they had been so very close to disaster when he had managed to save things before they had turned to the Dwarves for assistance. She was lucky though, and it was very apparent Minnah had not been._

_However she needed to actually pay proper attention to the girl's writing, the Genasi blinking a few times as she brought herself back to the present. She could see Minnah was doing her best to put on a smile for her, she was also failing quite badly but she couldn't blame her for that. After all the wee Elf was doing her best to hold back her tears, presumably related to her father and his death._

"Hey, there's no need ta thank me lass - anyone woulda done the same, and if they didn't well... I donnae think they'd be worth knowing between you an me." _She said softly as she smiled, shifting her body as she gently tried to reposition the Elf in her lap into another hug. It was apparent from earlier that she seemed to feel safest crying into her shoulder, so that's what she would try to allow her to do._ "It's alright ta cry ya know? Whether it was yer fault or not I doubt mattered tae him - he did what he did because he loved ya and was trying to protect ya. Thats a damn hero if I ever 'erd of one, but it was still 'is choice ta make and I bet wherever he is he would make the same choice every time. Cause tha's what parents do ya know? They look out for their little 'uns."
Amy
It didn't take much for Minnah to break down once more. Why did Idalia have to be so damn nice and sweet? She couldn't even try to hold back her tears this time, they just started flowing without permission, once more turning her cheeks wet. Luckily, the Genasi already seemed to understand her quite well, apparently aware that Minnah preferred to hide her face when she was crying, judging from the way she embraced her.

Minnah gladly buried her face in Idalia's shoulder once more, left arm still wrapped loosely around the other's shoulders, while she pulled the right closer to her own chest, still carefully holding the quill. Part of her felt bad that she was no doubt ruining the Genasi's clothes, but another part of her was just happy that she was here, right now, with her, helping her deal with all of this. Usually, she didn't really have anyone to hold her when she was feeling this way, and she would just have to find a way to cheer herself up. Unsurprisingly, having someone to support her, helped a lot.

What Idalia said next made Minnah break down fully. She had been trying somewhat to keep her composure, and then those words hit her. About how her father had made the choice to sacrifice himself because he loved her, and how he would have made the same choice every time. Once again, she found herself beginning to sob, her left arm clinging to Idalia almost desperately. Of course, she knew it already, those were the things parents did, or were supposed to do, for their children, but it still hit her right in the feelings to have someone say it out loud like that.
_ _

As if awakened by Minnah's emotions, Azeria's eyes blinked open, and the fox perked up her head from her position on the bed, wondering what was going on. She stood up, stretched, then hopped off the bed, away from her comfortable spot. She didn't want to, of course, yet she and Minnah took care of each other, that was how it had been ever since they'd known each other. So, Azeria walked over to the two women, tail swaying slowly from left to right as she did so. She didn't waste any time, climbing onto Minnah's lap and nudging her stomach gently with her nose. Actually, this spot was far from bad either, with the warmth coming from three sides - the stones to her left, Minnah in front of her, and the Genasi to her right.

Feeling the sudden weight on her lap, Minnah didn't even have to look to know who it was. She lowered her hand to gently stroke her behind the ears, finding the feeling of the soft fur to be really comforting. She still held the quill, carefully making sure not to poke her fox with it, as the tip was decently sharp.

Being held like that and now with the fluffy creature on her lap, Minnah was already beginning to calm down - much more quickly than she usually did. It helped that she wasn't crying because she was feeling bad, per se, just very emotional right now.