Arialla had a vague idea of what Sam might be thinking, with that sigh. When they first met, he'd asked what gave the gods the right to rule over them, hadn't he? Something like that. The truth was, Arialla still didn't know how to even begin addressing that question. The gods were simply gods; it wasn't a moral question, in Arialla's mind. You might as well ask what gave the wind the right to blow.
"Perhaps she does," Arialla said sympathetically. "She may not truly see or understand the consequences her actions have on others. Or perhaps she is unwilling to do so."
In Arialla's experience, gods had only a vague grasp of mortal emotions -- though her meeting with Safrin had suggested that this was not the case for Caido's gods. Still, plenty of mortals had trouble realizing how much they were hurting others, too.
Arialla nodded, a solemn bowing of her head, though she did have to try not to think about "drink his blood." Not going to ask, not going to ask ... But she'd known the chances that she could actually help Samuel were low. She just wanted to feel less useless. "Well, if there is anything you need, feel free to call on me. It doesn't have to be a grand solution -- just any way I can help."
Part of her wondered if she might regret such an open-ended offer, but it wasn't as if she had a lot else going on during LongNight; she could run errands for Samuel if he needed it.
please don't take my sunshine away
