Of all the faces the masked god could have worn, Isla's was one of the least-expected. Jigano drew in a sharp breath as she appeared, his old friend and colleague, and he felt something clench hard in his chest. "Isla..." he breathed, knocked off balance, but of course it was impossible for her to be there. She was back in the settlement with Remi, all four hooves and silky tail and healing horn of her. He had struggled for months to come to terms with the way she had changed, caught between mourning her death and feeling guilty for mourning a woman who still technically lived. In some ways, Ludo's choice of face might be a wounding joke... but in others, it was a release. Permission to mourn one who was truly lost beyond the bard's ability to intervene, if he'd ever had the right to.
The white haired man bowed his head, dragging in a steadying breath past a throat choked with emotion. He managed a tremulous smile as Isuma reep!ed happily and bounded over to greet her medic-friend, and he merely shook his head at the thought of Frey's disapproval. "If it makes you and Isuma smile, it's no waste." And it least it wasn't bouncing around trying to eat anyone, though with Ludo's sense of humor that might well be what happened to it later.
Another breath, trying to collect thoughts scattered by the god's appearance, and Jigano cleared his throat self-consciously. "I am worried," he admitted, the words uncharacteristically simple as his fingers continued to tremble faintly on his knees. "Two of my friends among the Ascended have changed recently. I do not know if it is of their own volition, or if they have been influenced by their goddess beyond what would come naturally to them. And Edy said that Zariah, a powerful Abandoned, was sent on a personal mission from the Voice. And with the blight in the Greatwood... I am worried about what she intends." Not only what she intended, but what he might be able to do about it, to protect his friends from machinations he no longer felt undecided about. He had lost his mask of unbiased neutrality slowly but surely, and he could no longer pretend to stand in the middle. Safrin had asked him a question that he had been unable to answer to her satisfaction once before, and it had gnawed it him ever since.
"Is there a way to strengthen the old gods? And the Old Gods? To reduce her influence?"
The white haired man bowed his head, dragging in a steadying breath past a throat choked with emotion. He managed a tremulous smile as Isuma reep!ed happily and bounded over to greet her medic-friend, and he merely shook his head at the thought of Frey's disapproval. "If it makes you and Isuma smile, it's no waste." And it least it wasn't bouncing around trying to eat anyone, though with Ludo's sense of humor that might well be what happened to it later.
Another breath, trying to collect thoughts scattered by the god's appearance, and Jigano cleared his throat self-consciously. "I am worried," he admitted, the words uncharacteristically simple as his fingers continued to tremble faintly on his knees. "Two of my friends among the Ascended have changed recently. I do not know if it is of their own volition, or if they have been influenced by their goddess beyond what would come naturally to them. And Edy said that Zariah, a powerful Abandoned, was sent on a personal mission from the Voice. And with the blight in the Greatwood... I am worried about what she intends." Not only what she intended, but what he might be able to do about it, to protect his friends from machinations he no longer felt undecided about. He had lost his mask of unbiased neutrality slowly but surely, and he could no longer pretend to stand in the middle. Safrin had asked him a question that he had been unable to answer to her satisfaction once before, and it had gnawed it him ever since.
"Is there a way to strengthen the old gods? And the Old Gods? To reduce her influence?"
