Well, he'd asked. He just hadn't expected... you know. That. Tal blinked and opened his mouth, then slowly closed it again, not knowing what to say to that particular revelation. There were questions, but they bubbled without falling into coherent order and in his confused silence she continued, adding more details that might have had him bristling a few years back.
Now? Well. The Ascended had lost the War, lost their goddess, and as stubborn as Tal was, his vendettas still needed fuel to keep them burning. Even if he'd had the energy to spare to stay mad in the months and year of rebuilding that had followed the cracking apart of the continent, he had lost it in the past few weeks, as a second round of rebuilding from the waves that had rocked the world had sent fresh devastation over the land.
"That, uh... that sounds rough, lady." The sheer surprise at the unfolding tale did more to shake him out of his anger at the Enenra than anything else could have, and though he still shot occasional scowls over his shoulder, it was softened by his sheer puzzlement with the Ancient as she shifted into a molten tiger.
Tal didn't quite flinch, but he had very distinctly unpleasant memories of trying to get molten stripe drippings from a tiger once, as part of another pain-in-the-ass delivery for someone in Torchline, and he swallowed hard and watched as she moved in to take over the digging. Oddly, he looked completely unfazed by the heat rolling off her--
Until he saw the leaves on the nearby rosebush starting to curl. "Shit!" He made a dive to scoop it up by its root ball and pull it a safe distance away, but he didn't quite manage it without a few scratches on his arms for his trouble. Boreal just huffed and shook her broad, heavy head at him and finally padded over to see what the tiger was up to, adding her own taloned scratching to a nearby and completely unrelated hole as she 'helped' the proceedings along.
The big paws might not have been ideal for digging, but they were big enough that it didn't take long for the hole to reach a depth that looked more or less suitable. "Hey, thanks. Y'ca n stop now, uh..." His nose wrinkled and he scowled at the tiger in perplexed consternation. "What's your name, anyways?" Not that he'd offered his yet, either...
Now? Well. The Ascended had lost the War, lost their goddess, and as stubborn as Tal was, his vendettas still needed fuel to keep them burning. Even if he'd had the energy to spare to stay mad in the months and year of rebuilding that had followed the cracking apart of the continent, he had lost it in the past few weeks, as a second round of rebuilding from the waves that had rocked the world had sent fresh devastation over the land.
"That, uh... that sounds rough, lady." The sheer surprise at the unfolding tale did more to shake him out of his anger at the Enenra than anything else could have, and though he still shot occasional scowls over his shoulder, it was softened by his sheer puzzlement with the Ancient as she shifted into a molten tiger.
Tal didn't quite flinch, but he had very distinctly unpleasant memories of trying to get molten stripe drippings from a tiger once, as part of another pain-in-the-ass delivery for someone in Torchline, and he swallowed hard and watched as she moved in to take over the digging. Oddly, he looked completely unfazed by the heat rolling off her--
Until he saw the leaves on the nearby rosebush starting to curl. "Shit!" He made a dive to scoop it up by its root ball and pull it a safe distance away, but he didn't quite manage it without a few scratches on his arms for his trouble. Boreal just huffed and shook her broad, heavy head at him and finally padded over to see what the tiger was up to, adding her own taloned scratching to a nearby and completely unrelated hole as she 'helped' the proceedings along.
The big paws might not have been ideal for digging, but they were big enough that it didn't take long for the hole to reach a depth that looked more or less suitable. "Hey, thanks. Y'ca n stop now, uh..." His nose wrinkled and he scowled at the tiger in perplexed consternation. "What's your name, anyways?" Not that he'd offered his yet, either...
