Her approval washed over him like a Tumsea's wake, uplifting and life-affirming, leaving him feeling renewed. The anger that followed was a storm that twisted the currents of their conversation into a dangerous whirlpool, but Hadama knew the risks of the Flood's name and he was braced for the tempest. He held himself still within the water, shoulders up and eyes upon his goddess, solemn but unflinching in the face of her bitterness.
Perhaps it was not the same story that Sunjata had told him, but that did not mean there was not truth in it.
In the end it was her pride and her unwillingness to break her principles that tilted the balance. He was pragmatic enough that he would bargain for all that she was willing to grant him for the fight ahead. He was her servant, but he had his own pride, and his own determination to survive the battles awaiting them. Given what had already transpired on Starfall, he desired every blade that he could grasp.
But true loyalty could not be bought. That truth resonated in his chest and he bowed respectfully before her, the bond filling with a quiet gladness that she felt the same.
As he rose again he accepted her correction with a thoughtful nod, for she was right. But Dahlia's imperviousness to astral magic was still a matter of great concern, and the question what was posed in return held a hook beneath the silken words. She offered great power... but in the current tides it was not without great risk. Still, he tilted his head up at her, a rising swell of curiosity in his breast at what she foresaw as his place beneath her stars. "Mmh. I am no equal to Noah or Ronin," he agreed without shame. His decision was very nearly made, but there would be no going back once he spoke the words and so there was one last thing he needed to know. "What would you make me into, as your demigod?"
Perhaps it was not the same story that Sunjata had told him, but that did not mean there was not truth in it.
In the end it was her pride and her unwillingness to break her principles that tilted the balance. He was pragmatic enough that he would bargain for all that she was willing to grant him for the fight ahead. He was her servant, but he had his own pride, and his own determination to survive the battles awaiting them. Given what had already transpired on Starfall, he desired every blade that he could grasp.
But true loyalty could not be bought. That truth resonated in his chest and he bowed respectfully before her, the bond filling with a quiet gladness that she felt the same.
As he rose again he accepted her correction with a thoughtful nod, for she was right. But Dahlia's imperviousness to astral magic was still a matter of great concern, and the question what was posed in return held a hook beneath the silken words. She offered great power... but in the current tides it was not without great risk. Still, he tilted his head up at her, a rising swell of curiosity in his breast at what she foresaw as his place beneath her stars. "Mmh. I am no equal to Noah or Ronin," he agreed without shame. His decision was very nearly made, but there would be no going back once he spoke the words and so there was one last thing he needed to know. "What would you make me into, as your demigod?"
