She didn't leave him waiting, for which he was grateful; even moreso as the bruises and fractures that laced his lanky frame knitted themselves back together in the sweetness of her light. The trembling eased from the courier as he looked up and blinked the sudden wetness from his eyes, relief overcoming him for a moment as he managed a silent shake of his head.
Boreal rumbled encouragingly and Tal hurriedly wiped the betraying dampness away before he tried to speak again. "N-no, not your tasks. Those were-" They had been fun, each in their own way. Tussling with Sah before chasing down a mirage (or trying to); flying on an airship from Torchline to the Greatwood; bonding with Hotaru and meeting a cougar in the Oerwoud. Bright spots of joy amidst the seriousness of War preparations. "They were good. I learned... learned a lot. It was comin' back here that was..." Hard.
He looked down at the roses in their careful bouquet and swallowed again. "There's a hedge maze, full o'roses, not far from here, so I went in t'get some. Hadn't even really been payin' attention, but some weird shi--stuff happened, an' I ended up in th'center. There was a fire there, an' I remembered a story... anyways, I jumped over it, thinkin' it might make the magic in my stuff stronger, but-" Boreal rumbled again, curling her tail around his feet and spreading a wing to drape over his shoulders, and he gave her a grateful glance before looking up to meet Safrin's eyes squarely.
"It was like a portal or somethin', to a place all fire an' smoke. An' there was this big, fiery monster there with one red eye. I, uh..." Mentioning another god didn't seem wise, and Tal reached up to rub the back of his neck awkwardly. "Anyways, its eye got knocked out an' made a 'clinky' noise when it hit th'ground. I thought it might be important so I tried t'find it but..." He shrugged helplessly and nodded to the Goggles. "Couldn't see far enough, in all that smoke. The big... whatever-it-was, it smacked me around a couple of times an'... an' I ended up runnin' away," he admitted, ducking his head again. It might have been the smart thing to do, but that didn't make it the easiest thing to admit to a goddess he was trying to impress.
Boreal rumbled encouragingly and Tal hurriedly wiped the betraying dampness away before he tried to speak again. "N-no, not your tasks. Those were-" They had been fun, each in their own way. Tussling with Sah before chasing down a mirage (or trying to); flying on an airship from Torchline to the Greatwood; bonding with Hotaru and meeting a cougar in the Oerwoud. Bright spots of joy amidst the seriousness of War preparations. "They were good. I learned... learned a lot. It was comin' back here that was..." Hard.
He looked down at the roses in their careful bouquet and swallowed again. "There's a hedge maze, full o'roses, not far from here, so I went in t'get some. Hadn't even really been payin' attention, but some weird shi--stuff happened, an' I ended up in th'center. There was a fire there, an' I remembered a story... anyways, I jumped over it, thinkin' it might make the magic in my stuff stronger, but-" Boreal rumbled again, curling her tail around his feet and spreading a wing to drape over his shoulders, and he gave her a grateful glance before looking up to meet Safrin's eyes squarely.
"It was like a portal or somethin', to a place all fire an' smoke. An' there was this big, fiery monster there with one red eye. I, uh..." Mentioning another god didn't seem wise, and Tal reached up to rub the back of his neck awkwardly. "Anyways, its eye got knocked out an' made a 'clinky' noise when it hit th'ground. I thought it might be important so I tried t'find it but..." He shrugged helplessly and nodded to the Goggles. "Couldn't see far enough, in all that smoke. The big... whatever-it-was, it smacked me around a couple of times an'... an' I ended up runnin' away," he admitted, ducking his head again. It might have been the smart thing to do, but that didn't make it the easiest thing to admit to a goddess he was trying to impress.
