LOREN
Although the other man had spoken softly, the summoner still caught it. Apparently, Abasi hadn’t had the easiest upbringing either. However, Loren was pretty sure it was nothing compared to the Launceleyns. Still, that didn’t mean he couldn’t offer some sympathy and comfort. ”I’m sorry you had to go through that.” He accompanied his words with a gentle squeeze of the other man’s hand.When the subject swung back around to the summoner’s family, though—and potential children—he sighed. ”It wasn’t just my parents, it was the whole extended family. I told you about my cousin, right? Well, we’re all pretty sure she’s coming back, sooner rather than later.” He’d almost slipped and said right after LongNight, but that wasn’t his secret to tell. None of that was the real problem, though. ”Plus, I’ve only experienced...bad examples of parenthood. And I’m...I worry that I’ll just repeat the mistakes of my ancestors.” Abasi might not like that: the other man seemed to care deeply about traditions. Unfortunately, not all heritages were worth preserving.
Of course, then the mood swung rapidly from deep-seated fear to bone-deep embarrassment; of all the things Abasi could’ve picked up on, it was of course the self-fucking that caught his attention. As the other man rose above Loren, he did his best to sink into the hard floor below, pressing himself downward someone as if he could tunnel through ground via sheer willpower and force of awkwardness. Abasi’s glance at the summoner’s groin pushed him over the edge; he laughed, brightly and freely, if a bit uncomfortably, because all that tension had to go somewhere. ”Yes. Yes I did. It was...quite remarkable.” That was a totally inadequate description, but words couldn’t really do it justice.
However the other man seemed more interested in the fact that Frey had answered the Launceleyn than the actual events that had transpired. Thank the gods. ”Not really. At least I don't think I did. I really don’t know why they responded to me and not to you. I mean, I went to a shrine associated with the old gods, and brought gifts, and asked for them directly, but I did that other times and they didn’t always answer.” He gave Abasi a slightly apologetic smile. ”So if I find out what was different about the visits they showed up, I’ll let you know.” For someone who’d gone from being one of the highest priests in his world to someone who was Abandoned, ignored by the gods, it must be excruciatingly difficult. Far more so than it was for the summoner, whose world didn’t have gods.
A beggar's book
outworths
a noble's blood
