Boreal raised her head as Sunjata and Petronella came into view, rumbling a happy greeting and slapping Tal's shins with her tail so that the courier winced and wriggled in his seat like there was a spider down his shirt until the Flood gave her a hello of his own. She huffed contentedly and settled back down, warming the feet of both men and never mind that it was still Longheat.
Tal's greeting to his Archon was more subdued, his smile weak as the other man got his drink and settled in. There was relief and gratitude in his eyes, however, when Sunjata didn't make him dance around with pleasantries and jumped right into the heart of the matter, and the courier offered a toast with his bottle before he took a deep drink and then a big breath.
"So... y'know the Hollowed Grounds?" Dumb question; Sunjata had lived there long before Tal had ever left Halo's borders. "I was lookin' for a shrine to pray at, t'the Old Gods, when I was havin' some trouble on a delivery run. There's a shrine t'Dygra there. I should know, I helped build it," he added, nose wrinkling at the memory of blood. "But I couldn't find any others. An' I thought that was weird. So... I dunno. I got t'thinkin' maybe someone should do somethin' about it. An' since I was th'one bothered, maybe it should be me." He shrugged, conflicting emotions chasing across his face, not least among them regret and feeling like an idiot saying the embarrassing words out loud. "I tried prayin' here, at the Celestine. T'all th'Old Gods 'cuz, well, I figured one shrine t'all o'them in th'Grounds would be easier on everyone than a whole bunch o' little shrines scattered around. But... it was Frey that answered. Sex Frey. T'other one, I get on real good with. But Sex Frey..." Tal grimaced and rubbed the back of his neck, pausing for a drink before plunging ahead. "Never really felt comfortable with 'em," he admitted. "So... it was weird that they showed up? An' they didn't seem all that interested in a shrine. At first I thought they were gonna send me t'Safrin or Vi, but then they gave me a quest for it after all. I gotta get permission from everyone already livin' in th'Grounds which... sure. Makes sense. An' then I gotta build the shrine. But then..."
Now he paused, looking down as the flush spread from his neck to his ears. "But, uh. Then I gotta...'christen' it. In a manner 'befittin' sex Frey.' An' I'm not really the, uh... th'performin' type. Not in public, y'know? An' even if there's no one else around, I'm not really comfortable jerkin' off outdoors for anyone else's amusement. Even a god's. An' I was kinda hopin' y'might have some suggestions about if there's anything else I could do, that Frey would accept? 'Cept... I'm also kinda worried... th'way they want it christened, well... it sounds more like a Frey shrine than a shrine t'all th'gods? But they went an' disappeared before I could ask 'em about it."
Finally winding to the end, he drew another deep breath, held it for a few seconds, and then expelled it with a sharp nod to indicate that he was done.
Then he tilted up his bottle and chugged it dry in several long, desperate swallows, trying to ignore the faint tremor in his hands from the anxiety over sharing something he was afraid would sound stupid to a demigod.
Tal's greeting to his Archon was more subdued, his smile weak as the other man got his drink and settled in. There was relief and gratitude in his eyes, however, when Sunjata didn't make him dance around with pleasantries and jumped right into the heart of the matter, and the courier offered a toast with his bottle before he took a deep drink and then a big breath.
"So... y'know the Hollowed Grounds?" Dumb question; Sunjata had lived there long before Tal had ever left Halo's borders. "I was lookin' for a shrine to pray at, t'the Old Gods, when I was havin' some trouble on a delivery run. There's a shrine t'Dygra there. I should know, I helped build it," he added, nose wrinkling at the memory of blood. "But I couldn't find any others. An' I thought that was weird. So... I dunno. I got t'thinkin' maybe someone should do somethin' about it. An' since I was th'one bothered, maybe it should be me." He shrugged, conflicting emotions chasing across his face, not least among them regret and feeling like an idiot saying the embarrassing words out loud. "I tried prayin' here, at the Celestine. T'all th'Old Gods 'cuz, well, I figured one shrine t'all o'them in th'Grounds would be easier on everyone than a whole bunch o' little shrines scattered around. But... it was Frey that answered. Sex Frey. T'other one, I get on real good with. But Sex Frey..." Tal grimaced and rubbed the back of his neck, pausing for a drink before plunging ahead. "Never really felt comfortable with 'em," he admitted. "So... it was weird that they showed up? An' they didn't seem all that interested in a shrine. At first I thought they were gonna send me t'Safrin or Vi, but then they gave me a quest for it after all. I gotta get permission from everyone already livin' in th'Grounds which... sure. Makes sense. An' then I gotta build the shrine. But then..."
Now he paused, looking down as the flush spread from his neck to his ears. "But, uh. Then I gotta...'christen' it. In a manner 'befittin' sex Frey.' An' I'm not really the, uh... th'performin' type. Not in public, y'know? An' even if there's no one else around, I'm not really comfortable jerkin' off outdoors for anyone else's amusement. Even a god's. An' I was kinda hopin' y'might have some suggestions about if there's anything else I could do, that Frey would accept? 'Cept... I'm also kinda worried... th'way they want it christened, well... it sounds more like a Frey shrine than a shrine t'all th'gods? But they went an' disappeared before I could ask 'em about it."
Finally winding to the end, he drew another deep breath, held it for a few seconds, and then expelled it with a sharp nod to indicate that he was done.
Then he tilted up his bottle and chugged it dry in several long, desperate swallows, trying to ignore the faint tremor in his hands from the anxiety over sharing something he was afraid would sound stupid to a demigod.
