”A cat? Huh… weird, but th’gods work in mysterious ways.” Tal’s scrunched nose indicated what he thought of cats; Zavien would have been familiar with the Seawright penchant for dogs after his visit to the family residence in Halo. The question that followed had him looking back over the side of the ship, but at least it was with a more thoughtful furrow to his brow. ”I mean… Safrin ‘n Ludo ‘n Frey… they’ve all helped me out a lot,” he said slowly. ”Safrin’s been really nice about stuff, an’ she helped me get this charm for seein’ Void-infected stuff for my Goggles.” He reached up to flick the unsettling purple star that hung from the strap by the side of his face. ”Ludo’s… uh. Kind’ve a bully? But it’s helped me out with my armor an’ with makin’ my Dagger more dangerous. [b]”I used t’pray t’Frey a lot. Th’Nature one,” he added with hasty clarification. ”Always figured I’d swear t’them someday, y’know? But…” He hesitated, a flush of discomfort rising to his ears. ”There’s two sides of ‘em. An’ th’sexy side, well…” He exhaled and shook his head. ”They, uh. Made it pretty clear they didn’t much care for my last prayer. An’ they gave me an impossible quest. An’ I… I haven’t been able to face ‘em again since I failed at it. But they had t’know it was impossible when they gave it t’me an’ it just felt… kinda petty. I’d rather take Ludo’s bullyin’ any day o’ th’week. At least it’s honest about it!” The courier grumbled, ducking his head and glaring down at the ground below.
Which was about the time the dissonant music of the echo ferns filtered up to them and the courier got an odd look on his face, momentarily distracted from his misery with the gods. ”Uh… wait, are those will-o-wisps?” He squinted down until he could pick out the twisted purple ferns and then snorted. ”Oh. Huh. Dunno what those are, but we should be high enough up t’be safe for now.” Boreal huffed in annoyance at not being allowed to follow the pretty music, but Zavien’s offering was met with interest and she landed on the deck between the men to accept the bribe happily enough. Still, Tal moved back to the tiller to bring the ship a little higher above the reaching branches of the trees… just in case.
Which was about the time the dissonant music of the echo ferns filtered up to them and the courier got an odd look on his face, momentarily distracted from his misery with the gods. ”Uh… wait, are those will-o-wisps?” He squinted down until he could pick out the twisted purple ferns and then snorted. ”Oh. Huh. Dunno what those are, but we should be high enough up t’be safe for now.” Boreal huffed in annoyance at not being allowed to follow the pretty music, but Zavien’s offering was met with interest and she landed on the deck between the men to accept the bribe happily enough. Still, Tal moved back to the tiller to bring the ship a little higher above the reaching branches of the trees… just in case.
