Tegwen was surprised. She thought for sure that would not be what was on his mind. It took a moment to gather her composure; meanwhile, she placed her hands on her lap, entwining her fingers together. Her head dropped with a heartbreaking sigh. She felt she had three solid options: tell Bushroot everything, tell him enough to appease him or flat-out lie. But -- for being a mutant and supervillain -- Tegwen thought he was trustworthy for some reason. At least, that is, trustworthy enough to divulge what she hoped would keep him from asking anything more.

And after a couple years of dodging similar inquiries, Tegwen had learned a good response that typically turned people off from any further questioning.

Focusing on her clasped hands, she muttered, "They died."

Bushroot felt sick to his stomach watching Tegwen's eyes well with tears at her recollections. That was more than enough to verify that she was, in fact, the selfsame orphan mentioned as newly found in that morning's newspaper. "I'm sorry," he said quietly in their silence. He could tell she was withholding information but figured there was a perfectly decent reason why and wouldn't press his luck with her further. Not if he ever wanted to, in fact, press his luck with her.



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