Valaria said nothing, only nodded when Roe expressed his preferences of moving on a bit more before making camp. She agreed with him; she couldn't bear the thought of sleeping so close to where her family had been killed, buried. She listened as they rode, forcing her exhaustion to the back of her mind in favor of listening to what Mr. Roe had to say about Malachi and Staunton. Staunton himself hardly seemed old enough to raise a son Malachi's age, but she supposed that such a thing didn't matter much when it came to taking in orphaned children. Staunton seemed kind and generous enough in her limited experience with him, so it didn't seem so beyond the pale to her.
She nodded when Roe mentioned Malachi's capabilities, his loyalty, but some small thought in the back of her mind insisted that there was something...different about Malachi, that somehow the 'energy of youth' as Roe put it wouldn't simply fade away when Malachi attained a greater age. She didn't know why she thought that, and while she had some suspicions, none of them had a root reason. Certainly there were oddities, but nothing really so out of the ordinary as to bring those suspicions to the forefront. Valaria decided to put those thoughts from her mind, as it didn't really affect her.
"Perhaps," she replied quietly, staring fixedly ahead of them. The sun was bright, hanging over the horizon like a ripe fruit. She closed her eyes in favor of feeling the warmth of it on her face, warmth that she was unable to help but think that her family would never feel again. Once more she felt the grief like a stone in her throat, choking her air off and remaining in place no matter how much she swallowed against it. It was so hard not think about it, so hard to shove those feelings down until she had a moment to herself when her tears wouldn't trouble anyone else. She tried and failed, but at least her tears were silent. She reassured herself that it was alright, she had all the right in the world to grieve her loss, but all the same she couldn't bring herself to look at Roe again until her tears had run their course and she felt like little more than an empty shell. At that point, all she wanted to do was sleep.
"Could we stop for now, please? I...I cannot go any further. I am sorry," Valaria whispered, no small amount of embarrassment in her tone.