It had been a week since Vell awoke. The days were almost a repeat of the previous ones.
Vell was in the kitchen again. He had once again persuaded the Yellow Mage to let him cook in his kitchen.
He did not have a difficult time persuading the Yellow Mage, as the argument that he was badly wounded was simply too compelling to ignore, though the Yellow Mage had made it clear that he was perfectly capable of preparing breakfast himself.
Vell had ignored that.
He had not let the Yellow Mage do anything of the sort.
He cooked, prepared the plates, poured the drinks, and generally made himself useful in the kitchen while the Yellow Mage was left with little to do but watch.
It was for the best.
The Yellow Mage was still wounded, and Vell had no intention of letting him pretend otherwise.
When everything was ready, Vell looked toward the stairs and called,
"Sonder! Breakfast's ready!"
He heard movement from above and then on the stairs, but it seemed that she took her time.
Eventually she appeared, looking as though she had not slept at all.
"Couldn't sleep?" Vell asked.
"No."
He sighed quietly. He thought that maybe he should scold her, but what was the point?
She would return to normal in her own time.
He couldn't imagine that her journey had been easy, considering that she had to get Endrith's mask, and it was clear that it itself was a piece of work in its own right.
During the night, he had seen her staring out the window by her bed.
She had done nothing for a long time except stare outside.
He had considered speaking to her then, but decided against it.
She had seemed to need the silence.
Perhaps she had been thinking.
Perhaps she was afraid.
Or perhaps she was simply depressed.
Vell wasn't sure.
He knew that there were times when being left alone was useful, but he also knew that there were times when it only gave the mind more room to wander into unpleasant places.
And Sonder had plenty of unpleasant things to think about.
He didn't want her carrying all of that without rest.
"Next time, try and get some sleep, all right? But for now, come and eat."
Vell pulled out a chair for her.
"I have not slept in a long time," Sonder told him.
"Oh? Maybe you thought you didn't need to, or thought you rather shouldn't, but now? Now you can rest all you want. Maybe you just haven't properly tried to? Maybe stop thinking about everyday things or some such and just get some nice dreaming going."
Vell sat down beside her.
For a moment, everything was ordinary again.
Three people sitting at a table, just eating breakfast.
But now that Vell was back, he didn't want them to feel as though they had to go on as they had; alone.
He knew that the Yellow Mage needed him less, but even a rock could be burdened.
And Vell didn't want to simply assume that the Yellow Mage could deal with everything because he always had.
If he wanted help, Vell wanted to be there, but there were other matters that needed his attention more.
He felt bad, but that was just how it was.