Robin smiled warmly at Jube's mum, despite the confusion going on in his head. She was a nice lady and she and her husband had been to the forge with tools to be repaired.
Robin nodded when Vivian mentioned bullies. He fought between telling her what her son had done, but couldn't. One, because he'd already told his father a different story. Two, because he couldn't really explain it himself. He couldn't even say Jube had been protecting Kestral.
"That's okay," he said brightly. "I'm sure he's fine, but I'll have a chat to him."
He didn't mention Kes. Even if he said that the boy had found her when she'd fallen out the tree, that would give him the right to see her, like some hero. Right now Robin wasn't sure what he wanted to do, but he was probably the only person, beside Kes, who could decide what would happen next.
He decided not to mention to Vivian the tale of Kes falling out the tree, but tapped patiently on the door.
"Jubilant," he called, then realised he'd been calling him that since the incident. It was too formal, so he added, "Jube."
He didn't want to say anymore with his mum listening. Robin gave her another smile.
"Don't worry, I'll not be long but I'm sure it'll all be fine," he said, trying to convince himself as much as reassure her.