Jigano listened to the tale of Adam's marriage curiously, tilting his head to the side in foxlike confusion at why the highwayman's being with men would cause issues, but keeping quiet. Remi had mentioned something similar on his world before, so perhaps it was just an oddity of other realms on occasion. "It's a shame they couldn't just accept you for who you are... but if wishes were fishes, there'd be no more room in the sea," he finished with a wry smile. Which didn't stop him from trying to coax out a little more information about the scars that marked Adam so visibly and uniquely.
The hard line about 'not telling' though was enough to get him to leave the subject well enough alone, and he grinned at the other man. "Ah well, it was worth a try."
Talk of the Ascended tended to make Jigano unhappy these days, but he shrugged at Adam's question about Wessex. "Spun things so that people weren't upset at the Ascended for invading the Greatwood against the Fae's direct ban on them so they could desecrate their sacred site and kill its defenders, getting everyone banned from the Greatwood in turn so it wasn't just the Ascended who were singled out, and killing Rae's servant in the Spire to allow the Ascended to pass through that portal, when the other races could do so without harm. The sort of thing that would have gotten people pretty riled up in the past," Jigano said with a sigh. "But while she was Queen she used her position and power to make it so that the Ascended involved faced no real consequences of their actions." Any other ruler would have called out the invasion of the Greatwood and tried to imprison or punish those involved, both to maintain order within the Grounds and to try and rebuild goodwill with the Fae, but Wessex had been imperious and haughty about ensuring that if the Ascended were to be punished, then everyone would be, and that their friends among the Fae would be barred from the barrierlands.
He smiled wistfully at the question about Isuma, turning to look at her namesake and coffee near the fire. "She was the only one of her kind on my world. Unique... and alone. She was also the first to stand by my side when I realized that my friends were slipping into shadow... becoming like the very thing we were fighting to overcome. She was my right hand, my confidante, my conscience... but she never abandoned me." No, he had been the one to walk away from her, taking the blame onto his own shoulders and unable to face her in the end, even though she had agreed that what they had to do was necessary for the sake of their land and their world.
His lips curved up in a returning smile as Adam spoke of his own friendship, however unorthodox it was. "Ah, yes. 'Friends may betray you, but you always know where you stand with an old enemy,'" he quoted wryly. "I hope you can find another friend like that here... or even some better ones. You seem to get on well with Amalia?" It was a question as much as a comment, his tone urging Adam to fill in some of the blanks there.
The hard line about 'not telling' though was enough to get him to leave the subject well enough alone, and he grinned at the other man. "Ah well, it was worth a try."
Talk of the Ascended tended to make Jigano unhappy these days, but he shrugged at Adam's question about Wessex. "Spun things so that people weren't upset at the Ascended for invading the Greatwood against the Fae's direct ban on them so they could desecrate their sacred site and kill its defenders, getting everyone banned from the Greatwood in turn so it wasn't just the Ascended who were singled out, and killing Rae's servant in the Spire to allow the Ascended to pass through that portal, when the other races could do so without harm. The sort of thing that would have gotten people pretty riled up in the past," Jigano said with a sigh. "But while she was Queen she used her position and power to make it so that the Ascended involved faced no real consequences of their actions." Any other ruler would have called out the invasion of the Greatwood and tried to imprison or punish those involved, both to maintain order within the Grounds and to try and rebuild goodwill with the Fae, but Wessex had been imperious and haughty about ensuring that if the Ascended were to be punished, then everyone would be, and that their friends among the Fae would be barred from the barrierlands.
He smiled wistfully at the question about Isuma, turning to look at her namesake and coffee near the fire. "She was the only one of her kind on my world. Unique... and alone. She was also the first to stand by my side when I realized that my friends were slipping into shadow... becoming like the very thing we were fighting to overcome. She was my right hand, my confidante, my conscience... but she never abandoned me." No, he had been the one to walk away from her, taking the blame onto his own shoulders and unable to face her in the end, even though she had agreed that what they had to do was necessary for the sake of their land and their world.
His lips curved up in a returning smile as Adam spoke of his own friendship, however unorthodox it was. "Ah, yes. 'Friends may betray you, but you always know where you stand with an old enemy,'" he quoted wryly. "I hope you can find another friend like that here... or even some better ones. You seem to get on well with Amalia?" It was a question as much as a comment, his tone urging Adam to fill in some of the blanks there.
