They don’t owe them anything! And silence is more damning at this point. Feldspar watches Hornfels race up the stairs, then smirks at Gossan and leaves to find Slate out in their work station.

Years of fires have banished Slate out away from the village and most of the trees, but Feldspar knows they’ve always liked it better than way anyway.

Besides. Slate won’t press them about Kent. They usually like to wait until after work’s done to chat about personal stuff, and Feldspar appreciates that now more than ever.