Shady

Talia grimaced. “Still. It must be hard for you.”

“…what do you think we should tell her, then?” Zander asked after a moment, deciding to hear him out even though he didn’t agree. “You know she’s going to have ...

Zander sighed and was quiet for a moment, then said, “I think — unfortunately — the cat is already too far out of the bag for us to keep this ...

Talia sobered, realizing it must have been one of the boys in the harem. “…I’m sorry.”

“I’ll tell them,” she threatened.

“…you know I’ve almost been wondering if it’d be good to tell the girls together,” Zander said after a moment. “Jerica is going to throw an unholy fit over it.” ...

“No, I don’t ,” she said firmly. “Do you think Tove would appreciate it, either? Having an entire village angry at her father?”

“That’s sweet… what’s he like?”

“I’d rather not potentially leave this in his hands,” Zander said after a moment, voice quiet. “She needs to know how much you love her and that all of this ...

“Oh… so you’re the overprotective big brother then?” She smiled a little.

“These didn’t move in near you,” she pointed out disapprovingly. “They’ve lived here for a long time quietly. You’re just visiting. Leave them alone.”

Zander nodded slowly, then sighed. “Well this does complicate things. Significantly.”

“You’ve got a brother?” Talia asked curiously.

"I actually think that's rather relevant to what we're thinking about," Zander said thoughtfully. "I expect he'd delight at the chance to mess with her head?"

(Okay that works lol) Talia nodded. "A little overprotective. But I'm told that's how big brothers are supposed to be, I guess."