It's the same never-ending argument—he proclaims that your efforts are fruitless; she declares that they are not. He says that they are doomed to die; she says they will live yet.
Finally, frustrated, she asks, "Xan, why won't you admit that our situation might not be as hopeless as you think?"
He sighs, and shakes his head. "Kher, that is as likely as the sun shining at night."
And with that, he walks off, leaving her to think.
~.-.~
Several hours have passed since then in which she has been uncharacteristically quiet.
He would occasionally catch her watching him intently, making him both wonder at and dread the reason.
They have made camp as night fell, and he is thinking of that very subject as he sets about arranging his possessions safely.
On cue, his ears perk up as he hears, "Xaaan… oh, Xaaaan?"
He turns his head from where he stands, and is greeted with the sight of Kher bounding up to him.
She stops a foot away and grins up at him, arms folded behind her back as she rocks on her heels.
"Xan, I've solved it."
He replies wearily, "solved what?"
Rather than answer, she points to the sky, where an almost-full moon shines down on the campsite.
Almost a full minute passes while she just looks at him with that wide grin on her face before she announces, "the moon doesn't emit any light."
He blinks, wondering what prompted that. "What—"
She cuts him off, speaking rapidly. "Actually it reflects light from the sun. What we call 'moonlight' is actually none other that sunlight, albeit sunlight that's gone a different path. It looks different because it doesn't reflect it like a mirror, but from the portions of its surface which the Sun strikes."
He stares at her, stunned into silence, and this gives her time to continue.
"So… in actuality, the sun is shining at night. And if something as impossible as that can happen, then there is no reason why we can't make it another day."
He takes one look at her earnest expression and his face softens. He shakes his head ruefully, "Estel'amin…" and she laughs.
A smile appears on his face as well as he looks at her, then a thought crosses his mind. "Kher… how did you know that?"
She reaches up to ruffle his hair, though she has to stand tiptoe and stretch to do so. "Xan, I grew up in Candlekeep. It's not a town with a library, it's a library with a town. It's the most extensive library this side of the Sword Coast."
She grins, "but it took some time to figure out how to say it right. So Xan? What do you think?"
He groans, though his tone is light when he speaks. "…maybe it is not so hopeless after all." Then he mutters, "especially if you confounded our enemies like that."
She laughs lightly at this and draws him into a hug which he's quick to respond to.
Maybe it's not hopeless.