"She's...another friend," he explained. Which was the truth. It wasn't as if she was anything else exactly. Just someone Asbel had spent an awful lot of time thinking about over the past few months - at least before the whole "Heroes of Light" thing. (Not that he would admit as much.)

It was almost a relief when he saw Sophie smile at last, considering how troubled she had seemed back home. Still, he couldn't help but feel a little guilty, a little in over his head. Even so, he wasn't about to back out on his promise.

This time Asbel let his palm drop gently down to the top of her head.

"Yeah, me too, Sophie. And I'm glad--" His smile thinned a little, expression conflicted even as he did what he could to grab onto anything resembling a returning smile. "I mean, it's just. It's good to see you right now, that's all."

Finally he glanced back at Taiga. "And yeah, that sounds like a good idea. All of the Heroes are pretty accommodating, and they've been a big help to me since I arrived. I can give you my house number, too, in case something comes up."

"You can visit whenever you want to."