[Oh, how he hates to worry her. But it can't be helped. Time spent on the bench has, at least, taken away some of the leaden feeling in his limbs.]

Perfectly all right, Ryne. [He even smiles, taking one of the candied apple slices from her basket and examining it in the light a moment.] Merely a little worn. Nothing a bit of good food and company can't help.

[There is a tiny, quickly buried part of him that suggests he knows he's lying to her. That something is indeed very wrong. But it isn't, he suspects, something he can do aught about, nor will he worry Ryne further with baseless speculation. Such matters are better left to his colleagues, whether here or in the Source.]

I dare not suggest I might be feeling my age, of course, but there is a chance I am feeling the fatigue of long days walking and flying all about. Only a chance, mind. [He summons up a grin and points at her with the apple slice.] We have had more than enough of busy days, have we not?

[And he eats it. The sweetness is just right for this sort of thing, and the apple has a fresh taste that he thinks might settle his stomach.]