”That she did,” Jigano agreed dryly, not bothering to keep the hint of frustration from his voice. ”But there are still some Fae willing to reach out and overlook the past to speak with us. We just have to be much more tactful in our interactions with them, now, to make sure we don’t make things worse.” Something all too easy to do, even when the Grounders had approached the Fae with the best of intentions. He glanced over his shoulder, giving Aonghas a rueful smile as the other man agreed with him at the interest of further exploration.
The condolences were unexpected but touched the Provost as he finished putting the supplies away and dusted his tunic off. ”Oh, he’s not gone forever,” he said with a grateful smile. ”He’ll remain a personal friend, and an ally of the Guild, I’m sure, but his interests have taken him elsewhere for now. The Loreseekers aren’t a prison,” he added. ”You can leave at any time, for any reason. And in most cases you can rejoin when you’re ready, too.” He gave a slight shrug, calmly accepting of Loren’s choice.
Jigano gestured to a chair, slipping into one himself to encourage Aonghas to stay awhile. He watched his friend’s face curiously, wondering what had caught at the blond’s mind to cause such discomfort, but stayed quiet to give the other man time to speak. He was already shaking his head at the first sentence, but he held himself back to let Aonghas finish before he opened his mouth again. ”Not at all. You bring a fresh viewpoint to the Guild, another way of looking at the information that we gather. All that is needed is a strong sense of curiosity and an ability to stay alive,” he added with a wry smile that held a touch of seriousness. ”All of us Outlanders have been in your shoes before, so don’t worry about what others have now. You’ll grow into the world as you find your niche, and I would be honored if that niche was with us, learning new things about Caido and sharing them with your fellow scholars and explorers.”
The condolences were unexpected but touched the Provost as he finished putting the supplies away and dusted his tunic off. ”Oh, he’s not gone forever,” he said with a grateful smile. ”He’ll remain a personal friend, and an ally of the Guild, I’m sure, but his interests have taken him elsewhere for now. The Loreseekers aren’t a prison,” he added. ”You can leave at any time, for any reason. And in most cases you can rejoin when you’re ready, too.” He gave a slight shrug, calmly accepting of Loren’s choice.
Jigano gestured to a chair, slipping into one himself to encourage Aonghas to stay awhile. He watched his friend’s face curiously, wondering what had caught at the blond’s mind to cause such discomfort, but stayed quiet to give the other man time to speak. He was already shaking his head at the first sentence, but he held himself back to let Aonghas finish before he opened his mouth again. ”Not at all. You bring a fresh viewpoint to the Guild, another way of looking at the information that we gather. All that is needed is a strong sense of curiosity and an ability to stay alive,” he added with a wry smile that held a touch of seriousness. ”All of us Outlanders have been in your shoes before, so don’t worry about what others have now. You’ll grow into the world as you find your niche, and I would be honored if that niche was with us, learning new things about Caido and sharing them with your fellow scholars and explorers.”
