Tears had their place and purpose, but it was also true that for Hadama this was not their time. It would come, and perhaps not when he might choose, but for now he still had work to do and people he hoped to save. Those who could be rescued from the wreckage had been, and every day the hope of finding survivors faded further, but for those who had lived through the disaster there was still the issue of the new plants and animals that had begun to prowl the islands, from the sandy shores to Apopo's molten slopes.
"Safrin... has returned," he said, the words slow and quietly painful in their own right. "Defeated. Weakened, Deimos says. I have not seen her." He lapsed into silence a moment, head bowing slowly beneath the weight of all he carried. When he spoke again his quiet voice was even softer, and what he had to say was not without pain. "If she is recovering, I do not wish to interrupt her healing." Prayers for her recovery, yes. Prayers for her presence, for gifts of items or power? No. Deimos's brief letter had been worrying enough. And if Safrin was not helping Torchline in its hour of greatest need, it was because she could not.
Which was frightening enough in its own right.
Just what had landed in their ocean?
"Safrin... has returned," he said, the words slow and quietly painful in their own right. "Defeated. Weakened, Deimos says. I have not seen her." He lapsed into silence a moment, head bowing slowly beneath the weight of all he carried. When he spoke again his quiet voice was even softer, and what he had to say was not without pain. "If she is recovering, I do not wish to interrupt her healing." Prayers for her recovery, yes. Prayers for her presence, for gifts of items or power? No. Deimos's brief letter had been worrying enough. And if Safrin was not helping Torchline in its hour of greatest need, it was because she could not.
Which was frightening enough in its own right.
Just what had landed in their ocean?
