He tilted his head at her first question, realizing that the Fae simply didn't know much about the humans of the Barrier. Which might be why Delah was so set against them. Then again, maybe it was because Delah did know about them that she was so adamant at keeping them out of the Woods, to protect Fae like Hazel. His lips quirked towards a wry smile at her immediate follow-up, before he could even begin to answer her first question, but he nodded at both of them as he gathered his thoughts.
"The answer is different for Isuma than it is for me," he began, smiling wryly as he felt her through the bond, filling her belly until she was too fat to fly. "From what we know of the Barrier, nothing could go in or out of it, so I assume that held for those nature spirits trapped inside it as well. Her egg was given to me by a... a frost-fairy, for lack of a better term, after I had been here for little while. So she was born here, at least." He glanced over his shoulder, gaze fond as she burped and then began waddling back to them, leaving the fox to finish its meal in peace.
When he looked back at Hazel his expression was more solemn, though his eyes remained warm. "For myself, and for most Outlanders I've spoken with... well, we weren't given much choice in the matter." He scooped the stuffed gryphlet into his lap, tickling her ears as she peeped sleepy contentment. "A portal opened up beneath my feet as I was walking down a forest path on my world, and I fell through it to... here. Near the Spire," he clarified, nodding in the general direction of the Hollowed Grounds. "My ability to use magic was gone, as were all of my enchanted items and most of what I had been carrying in my enchanted pack." That was said with a wistful tone of lament. "My mandolin, as well... but though I did not choose it, I have come to be glad for it. This world is not my own, but there are people here - in all shapes and sizes," he added, chuckling at Ismua's smug chirrup, "who I have come to care for quite deeply. Who I would not have met, if I had stayed on my world."
He hesitated, then looked up at Hazel again, and this time the smile faded slowly, leaving nothing behind. "Unfortunately, it was not the old gods who opened those portals, kidnapping Outlanders and depositing them here, whether we wished it or no," he said, voice becoming quieter. "But we didn't learn that until after the Barrier had fallen, and by then it was too late." He hesitated, pushing a length of wet hair back as he regardedHazel solemnly. "The records of the humans who lived in the Barrier are incomplete, damaged, or simply lost. There is much we didn't know of what led to the Barrier being raised... much we still don't. Can you tell me what you know of that time? I would like to hear the story from the Fae perspective, if you're willing to share it."
"The answer is different for Isuma than it is for me," he began, smiling wryly as he felt her through the bond, filling her belly until she was too fat to fly. "From what we know of the Barrier, nothing could go in or out of it, so I assume that held for those nature spirits trapped inside it as well. Her egg was given to me by a... a frost-fairy, for lack of a better term, after I had been here for little while. So she was born here, at least." He glanced over his shoulder, gaze fond as she burped and then began waddling back to them, leaving the fox to finish its meal in peace.
When he looked back at Hazel his expression was more solemn, though his eyes remained warm. "For myself, and for most Outlanders I've spoken with... well, we weren't given much choice in the matter." He scooped the stuffed gryphlet into his lap, tickling her ears as she peeped sleepy contentment. "A portal opened up beneath my feet as I was walking down a forest path on my world, and I fell through it to... here. Near the Spire," he clarified, nodding in the general direction of the Hollowed Grounds. "My ability to use magic was gone, as were all of my enchanted items and most of what I had been carrying in my enchanted pack." That was said with a wistful tone of lament. "My mandolin, as well... but though I did not choose it, I have come to be glad for it. This world is not my own, but there are people here - in all shapes and sizes," he added, chuckling at Ismua's smug chirrup, "who I have come to care for quite deeply. Who I would not have met, if I had stayed on my world."
He hesitated, then looked up at Hazel again, and this time the smile faded slowly, leaving nothing behind. "Unfortunately, it was not the old gods who opened those portals, kidnapping Outlanders and depositing them here, whether we wished it or no," he said, voice becoming quieter. "But we didn't learn that until after the Barrier had fallen, and by then it was too late." He hesitated, pushing a length of wet hair back as he regarded
