The bard nodded thoughtfully at Deimos's mention of trade, considering how quickly Delah had ended their dealings with the basketmaker. But... "I'm not sure... that they aren't open to it," he began slowly, feeling out the words as he spoke them, testing them to see if they felt right. "Or at least, that they won't become open to it. It's just that, at the moment, they're too wary of outsiders... and too afraid of their warchief to risk her wrath by trading with us openly," he decided with a faint grimace. "It's probable that they have stories of when the barrier was raised, of why it was raised, and who was trapped inside it. To them we might seem like bogeymen, or at least the descendants of bogeymen. Perhaps even heretics or traitors, for bringing down the barrier and unleashing that which their gods tried to contain and isolate for all those years." He offered a slight shrug, a frown furrowing his brow as he looked out across the parts of the Village that he could see from where they sat, and listened for a moment to the bustle and distant conversation of the nearby Bodega.
What else would they consider? The mention of Ianto deepened the bard's frown, but he swiftly smoothed it away, remembering Amalia's pleading for the fox's case. Traitor or coward, he had put himself in Jigano's poor graces either way, but one was more forgivable than the other... he supposed. "Participate respectfully, yes, though getting information on how to be respectful might be difficult while they avoid talking to us," he admitted wryly. "At least some of them seem to be a bit more adventurous... starting with those and showing we have good intentions is something, at least, even though it might mean things move slower than we might like!" But that was how diplomacy sometimes worked, as he well knew. Patience and persistence... and plenty of both!
Not unlike his conversation with Deimos, and he curved the subject back around to Kiada, nodding when Deimos mentioned winter, the cold and ice, the darkness and fear, the death and loss that had awaited them all at its ending.
"She is a magnificent bird," he agreed, admiration in his voice. "I don't think I've seen larger. Certainly not here amongst the Attuned!" The Sparkbird was in a league all its own, of course!
What else would they consider? The mention of Ianto deepened the bard's frown, but he swiftly smoothed it away, remembering Amalia's pleading for the fox's case. Traitor or coward, he had put himself in Jigano's poor graces either way, but one was more forgivable than the other... he supposed. "Participate respectfully, yes, though getting information on how to be respectful might be difficult while they avoid talking to us," he admitted wryly. "At least some of them seem to be a bit more adventurous... starting with those and showing we have good intentions is something, at least, even though it might mean things move slower than we might like!" But that was how diplomacy sometimes worked, as he well knew. Patience and persistence... and plenty of both!
Not unlike his conversation with Deimos, and he curved the subject back around to Kiada, nodding when Deimos mentioned winter, the cold and ice, the darkness and fear, the death and loss that had awaited them all at its ending.
"She is a magnificent bird," he agreed, admiration in his voice. "I don't think I've seen larger. Certainly not here amongst the Attuned!" The Sparkbird was in a league all its own, of course!
