Tal didn't really know what to say to her experiences, so for once he wisely didn't say anything at all, just giving a cautious nod here and there. He knew that some Ascended had wandered around for a while after the War ended, godless and adrift, but he hadn't heard of any left at this point. They'd all become Ancients in the end, if Caido's nastier fauna hadn't gotten them first after their upgrades stopped upgrading.
But he didn't really know what happened when an Ascended became an Ancient. Edmund had prayed for it, but Edmund had been as human as Tal was before he changed, so the courier just shrugged and told Maea what he thought of her race, colored by the conversations he'd had with Fox and Edmund, mostly.
He hadn't expected her to get all weirdly emotional about it, though. Boreal pressed against her hip with a reassuring croon, but the courier cleared his throat awkwardly and looked away, rubbing a dirty hand against the back of his neck as he fought to remember something else she'd mentioned that he could use to change the subject.
"Raving? Nah. The lunatic part, though... might be," he admitted with a snort, remembering the Maverick's little casual strip show when they'd gathered under the red moon and shit had gotten weird. Danta hadn't been the only one acting strangely that night... but then, Tal hadn't been able to tell if he was just acting normal. Normal for Danta, at least. Which was a completely different definition than everyone else used!
He stretched out his hands automatically to let Maea pour water over them so he could rinse the dirt off at last. At her gratitude he just gave an uncomfortable shrug, looking down at his hands as he cleared his throat, his voice gruff. "Yeah, well... whatever. Helped t'pass th'time while we planted th'rose, didn't it? Fair trade for your help with it." He finally glanced up when his hands were clean, shaking them off before wiping them dry on his shirt.
"So, uh. Where are y'goin' from here?"
But he didn't really know what happened when an Ascended became an Ancient. Edmund had prayed for it, but Edmund had been as human as Tal was before he changed, so the courier just shrugged and told Maea what he thought of her race, colored by the conversations he'd had with Fox and Edmund, mostly.
He hadn't expected her to get all weirdly emotional about it, though. Boreal pressed against her hip with a reassuring croon, but the courier cleared his throat awkwardly and looked away, rubbing a dirty hand against the back of his neck as he fought to remember something else she'd mentioned that he could use to change the subject.
"Raving? Nah. The lunatic part, though... might be," he admitted with a snort, remembering the Maverick's little casual strip show when they'd gathered under the red moon and shit had gotten weird. Danta hadn't been the only one acting strangely that night... but then, Tal hadn't been able to tell if he was just acting normal. Normal for Danta, at least. Which was a completely different definition than everyone else used!
He stretched out his hands automatically to let Maea pour water over them so he could rinse the dirt off at last. At her gratitude he just gave an uncomfortable shrug, looking down at his hands as he cleared his throat, his voice gruff. "Yeah, well... whatever. Helped t'pass th'time while we planted th'rose, didn't it? Fair trade for your help with it." He finally glanced up when his hands were clean, shaking them off before wiping them dry on his shirt.
"So, uh. Where are y'goin' from here?"
