They say blood makes you related but
loyalty makes you family
At the slightly sharp tone in Amalia’s voice, Astra and Loren both gave her concerned looks. The summoner held up his hand in a placating gesture, realizing he must’ve struck a nerve, somehow. ”I apologize. I meant no offense to any of the gods. I simply meant to say that the closest I’ve ever been to them was at your puppet show, and I, personally, have never interacted with them. Trust was the wrong word, I’m sorry.” His tone was truly contrite, and he watched the baker carefully, hoping she wouldn’t be too upset by his seeming blasphemy. At her next question, he gave her a sheepish grin and ran a hand through his hair. ”Honestly? Basically just their names. As I said, I’ve never encountered them personally, so all I know is bits and pieces I’ve picked up from others. I take it you are more familiar with them?” He made that last sentence into a question and tilted his head, curiosity clearly writ large on his features.
At her pointed question about his abilities, he chuckled and shook his head, chagrined. ”No, no, definitely not. I probably can’t maintain the spell for more than a few hours, and that’s if I’m sitting there doing nothing else. Even if I had the fortitude, I’d need to sleep, and my magic requires active concentration and focus or else my summoned creature disappears.” It’s small, in the grand scheme of what they were facing, but every little bit had to help. ”But there are the amulets, so others can take over when I falter. And...well...there is always the Ascended’s ability to copy the talents of others.” Loren couldn’t help the hint of fear that crept into his voice at the possibility that he’d need to have someone drink his blood, but if that’s what it took to keep people safe, he’d do it. His own discomfort didn’t really matter.
When Amalia revealed that she knew as much as Loren—and Jigano and Remi did—the Launceleyn breathed a sigh of relief. ”Oh. Good. That’s useful. Sorry for being cagey earlier, I just...well. I didn’t know where you stood, given the tensions with the Ascended, and it wasn’t my secret to tell.” But it seemed that the baker was more aware of what was going on than the summoner, which wasn’t surprising, all things considered. So you know that they’re Ascended, sort of, although incomplete. I know this sounds silly but...I had a thought that my healing magic might be able to help them, make them whole again?” It was a stupid and dangerous idea, and he wouldn’t risk himself or others to test it, but they’d been people, once upon a time, and maybe they retained some of that even now.
At the baker’s offer to take Loren to the Fae, he smiled. ”Thanks. I would have taken you up on that, but I already sent Remi a note. If he says no, though, I’ll reach out.” When Amalia—and Jyoti—gave permission to pet the flying fish, Loren grinned and reached up to give Jyoti a good rub. She was surprisingly warm and pleasant to touch for a fish, who were usually cold and clammy. Astra, seeing that the other companion in the room was getting more attention, gave an anxious bleat, and Loren laughed and reached down with one hand to scratch behind the luxere’s ears. ”You’re both adorable, don’t worry.” However, he frowned when Amalia mentioned Auni and Kiada. ”I think I’ve seen them both, but I’ve only officially met Kiada. Is she uh ill or…?” He let his voice trail off, not wanting to voice the possibility of another blighted individual. ”I’ll definitely have to introduce Astra to Auni, though.” It sounded like it would be good for both of them.
At her pointed question about his abilities, he chuckled and shook his head, chagrined. ”No, no, definitely not. I probably can’t maintain the spell for more than a few hours, and that’s if I’m sitting there doing nothing else. Even if I had the fortitude, I’d need to sleep, and my magic requires active concentration and focus or else my summoned creature disappears.” It’s small, in the grand scheme of what they were facing, but every little bit had to help. ”But there are the amulets, so others can take over when I falter. And...well...there is always the Ascended’s ability to copy the talents of others.” Loren couldn’t help the hint of fear that crept into his voice at the possibility that he’d need to have someone drink his blood, but if that’s what it took to keep people safe, he’d do it. His own discomfort didn’t really matter.
When Amalia revealed that she knew as much as Loren—and Jigano and Remi did—the Launceleyn breathed a sigh of relief. ”Oh. Good. That’s useful. Sorry for being cagey earlier, I just...well. I didn’t know where you stood, given the tensions with the Ascended, and it wasn’t my secret to tell.” But it seemed that the baker was more aware of what was going on than the summoner, which wasn’t surprising, all things considered. So you know that they’re Ascended, sort of, although incomplete. I know this sounds silly but...I had a thought that my healing magic might be able to help them, make them whole again?” It was a stupid and dangerous idea, and he wouldn’t risk himself or others to test it, but they’d been people, once upon a time, and maybe they retained some of that even now.
At the baker’s offer to take Loren to the Fae, he smiled. ”Thanks. I would have taken you up on that, but I already sent Remi a note. If he says no, though, I’ll reach out.” When Amalia—and Jyoti—gave permission to pet the flying fish, Loren grinned and reached up to give Jyoti a good rub. She was surprisingly warm and pleasant to touch for a fish, who were usually cold and clammy. Astra, seeing that the other companion in the room was getting more attention, gave an anxious bleat, and Loren laughed and reached down with one hand to scratch behind the luxere’s ears. ”You’re both adorable, don’t worry.” However, he frowned when Amalia mentioned Auni and Kiada. ”I think I’ve seen them both, but I’ve only officially met Kiada. Is she uh ill or…?” He let his voice trail off, not wanting to voice the possibility of another blighted individual. ”I’ll definitely have to introduce Astra to Auni, though.” It sounded like it would be good for both of them.
LOREN
