He hugged her back, of course. He'd wanted to since arriving home, but it had felt strange to do so after she'd been a year without him. He took her embrace as an invitation to react in kind, and as his arms met around her shoulders, he let out a sigh which could mean nothing but relief.
"I understand if you worry, you know. But now, you can do something about that worry. And I'll do my best to come and find you too, OK? You don't have to do all the finding. You'll see me around a lot and maybe, soon, you'll get used to seeing me again and so the worries won't come to often."
That was his hope, anyway. And to him, it seemed like no effort at all because only eight or so days ago, he was doing just that. Poking his head into the Library to see if he could spot that telltale green hair of hers peeking over the top of a book, or wandering toward the greenhouse with a couple of apples, thinking that maybe she'd be there. (And if she wasn't, it just meant he could sit there and eat two apples instead of one, so, y'know. Win-win.)
The secret is to add a little orange juice to your smashed bananas.
"I understand if you worry, you know. But now, you can do something about that worry. And I'll do my best to come and find you too, OK? You don't have to do all the finding. You'll see me around a lot and maybe, soon, you'll get used to seeing me again and so the worries won't come to often."
That was his hope, anyway. And to him, it seemed like no effort at all because only eight or so days ago, he was doing just that. Poking his head into the Library to see if he could spot that telltale green hair of hers peeking over the top of a book, or wandering toward the greenhouse with a couple of apples, thinking that maybe she'd be there. (And if she wasn't, it just meant he could sit there and eat two apples instead of one, so, y'know. Win-win.)