Small creature that she was, Isuma was reaching her own limit to how much she could eat, though her stomach had taken on a roundness that made her waddle as much as walk. She still peeped appreciatively as another morsel appeared before her, though mostly she was reduced to poking at it half-heartedly as she gravely considered whether or not she had room for one more bite.
Normally Jigano was amused by her kittenish hunger. She was mostly full grown, but less than a year old and still filling out the last bits and pieces of her fluffy, feathery little self. She was beginning to eat less like a little glutton, but when the opportunity presented itself she could still pack a large meal away. Ashetta's presence chilled his usual gentle humor with his companion, keeping him solemn and wary, uneasy and on edge. The question she asked kept him there, the answer he found not one he was entirely proud of, but he saw no reason to lie to her. As he had said, he might not like her profession, and her by association with it, but their mutual connections had become complicated enough that he could no longer dismiss her either.
He watched her frown and think about what he had said, curious as to why it mattered, but even more interested in how she would react to it. Isuma burped and waddled over to him to begin washing her talons and he stretched his wings in a flutter of white feathers before settling next to her, a bright blue eye fixed on the black wolf. He knew her pride, and he knew her ferocity in a fight, but this reluctance and uncertainty were new to him and he wasn't sure he wanted to see it. It was so much easier to hate a stranger who lived up to the worst of their reputation...
The question took a moment to sink in as he blinked in honest confusion. Realization dawned a second later, and he croaked a sound that was almost a laugh, though his raven's voice made it harsher than any human amusement could sound. If I had threatened Kalt, and done so with unsheathed claws to back it up - if I were strong enough to make that threat a serious one - would you be so quick to forgive me, regardless of the reason why I did it? Not the best example; here he was known as a scholar, not a warrior. She had bested him before, and so threats from him were not exactly of the same caliber as a threat from a trained assassin, but the situation was not so different, and she was bright enough to see the trail he was laying. One man had already died. My mate wanted everyone to wait and learn more about the Spire before an attempt was made to breach it. He respected Ronin and knew he would not want others to die from some sort of hasty, misplaced vengeance. And yet still Roana and Edrei and yourself saw fit to push and howl and threaten him when he would not let you have your way with his world. Anger still pulsed in the bard's mental voice as he thought of that day half a year gone, when Rory had come to him and Amalia in the Glade and let tears of fear and anger soak a fox's white fur.
In the end, he couldn't stop Wessex and her people from pushing to free the Voice anyways... and still more people died, in spite of our attempts to pull them out. A bitter admission, especially when Jigano and Rory and Amalia had gone down to try and rescue the ones in the basement, only to find it too late for one, and then for Roana to throw herself into the portal rather than retreat.
Normally Jigano was amused by her kittenish hunger. She was mostly full grown, but less than a year old and still filling out the last bits and pieces of her fluffy, feathery little self. She was beginning to eat less like a little glutton, but when the opportunity presented itself she could still pack a large meal away. Ashetta's presence chilled his usual gentle humor with his companion, keeping him solemn and wary, uneasy and on edge. The question she asked kept him there, the answer he found not one he was entirely proud of, but he saw no reason to lie to her. As he had said, he might not like her profession, and her by association with it, but their mutual connections had become complicated enough that he could no longer dismiss her either.
He watched her frown and think about what he had said, curious as to why it mattered, but even more interested in how she would react to it. Isuma burped and waddled over to him to begin washing her talons and he stretched his wings in a flutter of white feathers before settling next to her, a bright blue eye fixed on the black wolf. He knew her pride, and he knew her ferocity in a fight, but this reluctance and uncertainty were new to him and he wasn't sure he wanted to see it. It was so much easier to hate a stranger who lived up to the worst of their reputation...
The question took a moment to sink in as he blinked in honest confusion. Realization dawned a second later, and he croaked a sound that was almost a laugh, though his raven's voice made it harsher than any human amusement could sound. If I had threatened Kalt, and done so with unsheathed claws to back it up - if I were strong enough to make that threat a serious one - would you be so quick to forgive me, regardless of the reason why I did it? Not the best example; here he was known as a scholar, not a warrior. She had bested him before, and so threats from him were not exactly of the same caliber as a threat from a trained assassin, but the situation was not so different, and she was bright enough to see the trail he was laying. One man had already died. My mate wanted everyone to wait and learn more about the Spire before an attempt was made to breach it. He respected Ronin and knew he would not want others to die from some sort of hasty, misplaced vengeance. And yet still Roana and Edrei and yourself saw fit to push and howl and threaten him when he would not let you have your way with his world. Anger still pulsed in the bard's mental voice as he thought of that day half a year gone, when Rory had come to him and Amalia in the Glade and let tears of fear and anger soak a fox's white fur.
In the end, he couldn't stop Wessex and her people from pushing to free the Voice anyways... and still more people died, in spite of our attempts to pull them out. A bitter admission, especially when Jigano and Rory and Amalia had gone down to try and rescue the ones in the basement, only to find it too late for one, and then for Roana to throw herself into the portal rather than retreat.
