"Perhaps," Jigano said, but he didn't hide the dubious tone of his voice or the brow that he arched. "And I hope I'm wrong, but... she has reasons to lie, and we have no way of knowing if she's telling the truth. I've found her to be... well. All of the gods seem to have a soft spot for Remi, at least until recently, so I don't know if acceptance of him is a good weathervane." And Ludo had favored him greatly before the boy had lost an item of great power and value to the god. But Sam didn't seem in any mood to hear Jigano's suspicions and so the bard sighed. Remi would say he was being controlling if he forced his opinion on others...
So he didn't. The cube, at least, provided ample distraction and Jigano examined it as Sam held it closer, though he refrained from touching it. "So. An Abandoned and a hybrid... but no Accepted or other Ascended," he confirmed, muttering the information to himself to settle it more firmly in his mind. "Perhaps 108 could help... they had said they would come visit our Hall when we met, but perhaps they have been busy. They are Ascended, though, and... well, I don't think they like anyone," he admitted wryly. "But they don't dislike anyone, either. Their emotions run deep and slow, I think, but then they are very old. I believe they would help you test it, if you asked it of them." Knowing who was Accepted was a far more interesting question, since it was impossible to know just by looking at someone.
He had reached out finally to touch the cube when Sam's question caught him short. He froze for a moment, and then retracted his hand with a sigh, curling his fingers back around his mug as he looked up to meet his friend's eyes. "I've come to understand that such a question can be considered quite rude here," he said, and though he kept his voice gentle for Sam he felt invisible hackles rise at the bold and prying question he had spent his life avoiding answering. "Especially for Abandoned who are trying to pass as Accepted. On my own world it was also considered discourteous. Though many of the races looked wildly different from each other and you could usually tell from a glance, others were more... subtle. And for them, it was information that was offered as a gift, not taken for granted." He gave a slight shake of his head as he sipped his tea, eyes on the cube but attention turning inwards as he contemplated the difference in his reaction to Edy's knowledge of what he was, or Amalia's, versus Sam's.
In the end, he hadn't told them. They had found out in extreme circumstances, and had put information together on their own. Rory had already known that he had to be an Attuned, but telling him in words had been... an experience. One that had shaken Jigano to his core, and the repercussions of that night were still reverberating through his heart and soul. On the one hand, Sam deserved to know as much as Edy did...
But on the other, being asked it so blatantly, so casually, felt wrong, like Magna Vermis slime working its way under his fur.
"I am sorry, Sam," he said quietly. "I would like to be open with you about it someday but... not like this. Not when it does not hold the same gravity or meaning for both of us, for me to say it so... baldly," he finished, hiding a grimace behind another sip of calming tea.
So he didn't. The cube, at least, provided ample distraction and Jigano examined it as Sam held it closer, though he refrained from touching it. "So. An Abandoned and a hybrid... but no Accepted or other Ascended," he confirmed, muttering the information to himself to settle it more firmly in his mind. "Perhaps 108 could help... they had said they would come visit our Hall when we met, but perhaps they have been busy. They are Ascended, though, and... well, I don't think they like anyone," he admitted wryly. "But they don't dislike anyone, either. Their emotions run deep and slow, I think, but then they are very old. I believe they would help you test it, if you asked it of them." Knowing who was Accepted was a far more interesting question, since it was impossible to know just by looking at someone.
He had reached out finally to touch the cube when Sam's question caught him short. He froze for a moment, and then retracted his hand with a sigh, curling his fingers back around his mug as he looked up to meet his friend's eyes. "I've come to understand that such a question can be considered quite rude here," he said, and though he kept his voice gentle for Sam he felt invisible hackles rise at the bold and prying question he had spent his life avoiding answering. "Especially for Abandoned who are trying to pass as Accepted. On my own world it was also considered discourteous. Though many of the races looked wildly different from each other and you could usually tell from a glance, others were more... subtle. And for them, it was information that was offered as a gift, not taken for granted." He gave a slight shake of his head as he sipped his tea, eyes on the cube but attention turning inwards as he contemplated the difference in his reaction to Edy's knowledge of what he was, or Amalia's, versus Sam's.
In the end, he hadn't told them. They had found out in extreme circumstances, and had put information together on their own. Rory had already known that he had to be an Attuned, but telling him in words had been... an experience. One that had shaken Jigano to his core, and the repercussions of that night were still reverberating through his heart and soul. On the one hand, Sam deserved to know as much as Edy did...
But on the other, being asked it so blatantly, so casually, felt wrong, like Magna Vermis slime working its way under his fur.
"I am sorry, Sam," he said quietly. "I would like to be open with you about it someday but... not like this. Not when it does not hold the same gravity or meaning for both of us, for me to say it so... baldly," he finished, hiding a grimace behind another sip of calming tea.
