Curious he might have been, but he wasn't usually suicidal in his pursuit of easing that curiosity. He had no blame or disdain for her hiding from the creatures of the storm, great beasts that no single mortal stood a chance against, not when he would have done the same. Instead of judgment he simply accepted the knowledge that was offered, only bobbing his head in thoughtful agreement that they could have been illusions - something he had not come across in his initial eastern exploration party, when he had been adamant in urging Kiada and Amalia to not get too close to the storms. They had seen the lightning, felt the wind and thunder, and had known better then to risk themselves by flying into the storm itself.
Amalia's team might have kept their distance as well, if not for the humanoid form they'd seen in a momentary break in the clouds that had sent them racing in after it. For better or worse, he still didn't know, but Remi would never have left his sister and Amalia would not have left Remi and Jigano wouldn't have left either of them, and so it had gone.
The raven pulled a final gobbet of warm flesh free and swallowed it down as considered his answer, the meat sitting comfortably full in his first stomach. Hearing the question would do no harm, and he was admittedly curious about what the assassin would ask that required permission. He kept his blue eyes upon her as she looked to Isuma, wary of whether she would threaten the gryphon as she had once threatened his mate, but the question that came surprised him to stillness.
It wasn't a question with an easy answer, as she likely suspected. It was also a question that he found himself curious to know the answer to, and he let the silence stretch between them as he turned his thoughts inwards to try and discern what he felt.
Mistrust for her profession, but unwilling sympathy for how she had been forced into it. Anger that she had threatened Rory, but reluctant gratitude that she had been involved in bringing Ronin back somehow. The knowledge that she was the daughter of a friend, even if she took pride in being a killer.
...Yes... he finally decided, though with reluctance. If I had thought the risk you pose to the people I care for was too great, then I would have left you there. But for Vai's sake, and Remi's, and Ronin's... I do not have to like you or even forgive you to be willing to save you. He considered her soberly before unbending enough to offer her a reluctant admission. I carry enough ghosts. I would not add another to their number without better reason than what you have given me so far.
Amalia's team might have kept their distance as well, if not for the humanoid form they'd seen in a momentary break in the clouds that had sent them racing in after it. For better or worse, he still didn't know, but Remi would never have left his sister and Amalia would not have left Remi and Jigano wouldn't have left either of them, and so it had gone.
The raven pulled a final gobbet of warm flesh free and swallowed it down as considered his answer, the meat sitting comfortably full in his first stomach. Hearing the question would do no harm, and he was admittedly curious about what the assassin would ask that required permission. He kept his blue eyes upon her as she looked to Isuma, wary of whether she would threaten the gryphon as she had once threatened his mate, but the question that came surprised him to stillness.
It wasn't a question with an easy answer, as she likely suspected. It was also a question that he found himself curious to know the answer to, and he let the silence stretch between them as he turned his thoughts inwards to try and discern what he felt.
Mistrust for her profession, but unwilling sympathy for how she had been forced into it. Anger that she had threatened Rory, but reluctant gratitude that she had been involved in bringing Ronin back somehow. The knowledge that she was the daughter of a friend, even if she took pride in being a killer.
...Yes... he finally decided, though with reluctance. If I had thought the risk you pose to the people I care for was too great, then I would have left you there. But for Vai's sake, and Remi's, and Ronin's... I do not have to like you or even forgive you to be willing to save you. He considered her soberly before unbending enough to offer her a reluctant admission. I carry enough ghosts. I would not add another to their number without better reason than what you have given me so far.
