Who am I without my armor?
Her expression remained doubtful, even as the look in her eyes softened. "That's usually how young fools end up dead in the snow," she nodded, with a sigh that suggested she had seen her fair share of fighting. Nothing grand enough to be called war perhaps, but she had faced enough cannibals and cultists in her time. "I ain't sayin ye should do nothing, alright? I'm only askin ye to be wary when dealing with gods and spirits."
Picking her muffin apart between her fingers, Aino devoured it with steady determination. The flavor was sweet and familiar, impossible to ruin even with grin talk like this.
"They may pretend to care about us people, but I've always doubted that. Do you truly care about the mites in yer bed, or the ningos in the street? For a time ye might find one ye like and ply it with food and a nice word. Might even take it inside and keep it as a pet. But when the times get rough, the ningo is always the first to be sacrificed." Because family and friends came first.
"Choose yer friends carefully, in times like these," she went on. Gaze on her hands, words offered to accept or discard, as he saw fit. "If ye do end up speaking to gods... Remember that they always serve themselves first. And they'll make it very difficult to say no. Lots to lose, and very hard to stay out of it if your... pack... is made up of people on one side, or the other."
Aino gave her adopted brother a half smile, humoring his tale and occasional odd phrasing. As time went by, her indifference towards his past was less due to doubt, and more born from a desire to help him fit in here and now. Humans did not form packs... and Sah was human now. Like it or not.
Picking her muffin apart between her fingers, Aino devoured it with steady determination. The flavor was sweet and familiar, impossible to ruin even with grin talk like this.
"They may pretend to care about us people, but I've always doubted that. Do you truly care about the mites in yer bed, or the ningos in the street? For a time ye might find one ye like and ply it with food and a nice word. Might even take it inside and keep it as a pet. But when the times get rough, the ningo is always the first to be sacrificed." Because family and friends came first.
"Choose yer friends carefully, in times like these," she went on. Gaze on her hands, words offered to accept or discard, as he saw fit. "If ye do end up speaking to gods... Remember that they always serve themselves first. And they'll make it very difficult to say no. Lots to lose, and very hard to stay out of it if your... pack... is made up of people on one side, or the other."
Aino gave her adopted brother a half smile, humoring his tale and occasional odd phrasing. As time went by, her indifference towards his past was less due to doubt, and more born from a desire to help him fit in here and now. Humans did not form packs... and Sah was human now. Like it or not.
AinO
