Carson'e eyes cooled at her mother's words. He felt a very unfamiliar thing in that moment. Dislike. He generally allowed people to say what they pleased to or about him without allowing it to offend, but her mother--her mother who had<i>abandoned</i>her--warning her that Carson would not be reliable? He gazed with eyes that were generally reserved for raiders and mutants until the woman left them be, and his arm tightened around her, holding Malia as closely as he could. He nodded when she said it was time to go, and let her step out of his embrace, looking down at the grave site covered in fresh dirt. He knelt and reached down, using his fingertip to draw a circle in the soil, then a single line from the center to the edge that pointed north. The symbol of the Striders.<br/><br/>He followed her closely back, at which point he removed his weapons, coat, and armor, and rather than invade her personal space again he leaned next to her and settled his arm around her shoulders again. "Let's take today off and just do nothing," he said. "Just rest, for one day. Planning, action, it can wait a while longer yet. Right?"