Varin spent a moment in petrified, wide-eyed silence, his hands clapped to his mouth guiltily and his wings wrapping about his person, as if he could hide himself from his own mistep. If he had realized it might have offended her religious sensibilities, he might not have spoken so rashly. Foot, meet mouth. Mouth, meet foot. And the tears! It was not often that he was witness to such a sorrow, especially not when such emotions were his fault for stirring.

“My apologies,” he told her quietly. “I meant you no offense.”

With a heavy, halting hand, Varin reached over to wipe away the stream of tears glistening on her cheeks. He wasn’t certain it was the right move, but he didn’t know what other gestures were proper for the situation. Aynur shook her head, and when he placed a clawed hand against her cheek. He had expected her to shy away, as he might, but instead, she rose a trembling hand to cup his. Offering it a tight and reassuring squeeze as she tilted her face toward his palm, her lips -- accidentally, or intentionally? -- pressing down against his skin. They quivered with yet more tears. She didn't shy away, and so neither did the skittish Drakari. Even Arie went quiet.

“Your hands are filled with calm,” she murmured into his scaled skin.

A shiver worked its way down Varin’s spine. Did she hold the power to know the most exact way to inflict flustered reactions as well as to heal wounds? “That is… good. I am glad.” He allowed her to keep hold of his hand. Her touch was… soft. Not oily, but it had give. Human skin was eerily squishy.

Aynur’s clutched “orb of Alkieh” cast the two in a soft light that flickered steadily as might a candle. It was odd that the orb itself was supposedly a deity -- perhaps it merely held one. Either way, it gave him a strong sense of unease. Arie herself was giving it an uncertain side-eye. Even as she reassured Aynur with her presence, she kept her distance from the sacred object. Still, if it was the healer’s deity, he wouldn’t say anything of it; he would rather keep the sobbing to a minimum.

It was likely his devotion to the gods of his own homeland that gave them such feelings anyway. How likely was it that something emitting such pure light was from an unkind being?

Varin cleared his throat and spoke again. “I do not know much of your Alkieh. But, I doubt he would hold it against you if you were to take a single night to enjoy something fine. After all, it is at a stranger’s behest; you are not indulging yourself selfishly. Does it go against his teachings to accept a kindness from another freely given?”