Tried to stop her? As you berated me for trying to stop her from going to Zariah's Academy? he asked quietly, finding the parallels too painful to be gloated over. She had gone over his objections, but it was true, as desperate as she was for Sunjata's affection he might have won her over from making the choice where Jigano had failed. But they would never know, now, and the dragon shed scales for feathers as he relocated high above, on a slender branch that bent and swayed in the wind off the sea.
There was a parable there, he was sure, but he didn't have the heart to go looking for it at the moment.
A panther's growl was more intimidating than a human's sneer, but from his perch above Jigano only croaked a tired scoff. Run from it, race it to the bottom of a bottle or a woman's hips or an Ascended's fangs, but you won't be able to run forever, Flood. The pain we cause comes back to us in the end. It always does. He had his own experience with that harsh lesson.
Gods least fortunate, he was tired. Grief and rage and frustration made for an exhausting combination, and the latter two bled back to the former, round and round in an endless circle.
Not so different, you and I, the raven said, remembering, too, how he had tried his damnedest to keep Maea safe from Zariah, when in the end it had been a creature of Torchline that had killed her. He went silent after that, though. Curious? Of course. But whether Sunjata shared what was clearly a painful memory was entirely up to the panther.
There was a parable there, he was sure, but he didn't have the heart to go looking for it at the moment.
A panther's growl was more intimidating than a human's sneer, but from his perch above Jigano only croaked a tired scoff. Run from it, race it to the bottom of a bottle or a woman's hips or an Ascended's fangs, but you won't be able to run forever, Flood. The pain we cause comes back to us in the end. It always does. He had his own experience with that harsh lesson.
Gods least fortunate, he was tired. Grief and rage and frustration made for an exhausting combination, and the latter two bled back to the former, round and round in an endless circle.
Not so different, you and I, the raven said, remembering, too, how he had tried his damnedest to keep Maea safe from Zariah, when in the end it had been a creature of Torchline that had killed her. He went silent after that, though. Curious? Of course. But whether Sunjata shared what was clearly a painful memory was entirely up to the panther.
