Decline of Discipline

PETER

The glade was not a place Peter found himself normally. As much as he would refuse to admit it, the combination of isolation and green left him off balance. One or the other he could cope with well, and the other places he haunted, the fields, the streets of the sanctuary, had one or the other. Shrines were even more rarely frequented by him, he was not pious, and had not heard much of the Gods, save for stories from others, and he wasn’t sure he could completely trust what they said.

Tonight though, Pet was in need of something, and perhaps a god, or even this place, could provide it. Advice or reassurance, who could say, but there had to be something to help soothe the roiling feeling in his guts. Not quite guilt and not quite fear, but bordering on both of them.

He had brought offerings with him this time, a handful of stones he’d collected from all over, some with interesting stripes and colours, some shiny, some smooth. The most impressive one, balanced neatly on top of the pile when he set it down, had come with him from his home, and had lines of glowing green and copper running through. Once he had the stones arranged nicely, he sat down in front of the shrine.

For a long moment, Peter was silent, content to sit in the natural ambience and stew. That wasn’t why he had come though, and no sooner had that thought come to mind than he was speaking, stumbling words pouring out of him. ”I don’t know... I’ve never felt this before. All of my... my jobs, with... with R-R-Ro... with him, and with Alex, they... it was all... worse. I know that. But I... I didn’t feel bad like I do now.” His hands moved to clutch at his stomach, like he could cradle away the uncomfortable feeling. ”I think... the only thing that... that changed is Adam, I... I’ve never.” Peter felt silent, chewing his bottom lip to a bloody mess while he tried to rein in everything. ”I don’t know what to do.” He mumbled finally, more to himself than to the night air.

And oh, don’t you wanna love?
And don’t you wanna feel?
I remember, you were reckless, you were hungry
You were real

If any listening care at all for Peter's internal emotional struggles, they do not make their presence known. The Shrine remains silent as ever, leaving the abandoned abandoned.