Okay, Tal felt a little better at hearing that he wasn't the only one that ended up in the river on accident. His scowl lightened to something that was almost a relieved smile as he nodded in understanding of coming 'home' again. Or at least, to something that had once been a home.
Ronin's wisdom came at the expense of a great deal of experience, and even if Tal hadn't been around for most of it there were the rumors and stories of the Huntsman's various exploits. The high-profile ones in particular tended to get shared around when the booze was flowing on a dark, cold Halo night. Tal had absolutely cashed in on the reflected glory a few times. Sure, he hadn't seen things with his own eyes, but he knew the man personally, and that was the next best thing to having seen his deeds, right? So he felt like he really should listen to the advice of his elder, especially when it made so much damn sense. "True enough," he admitted with a grimace. "Hadn't really thought about an apprentice afore, but it'd give me a chance t'train 'em up right, first... Hmmm..." Hail, he'd learned the ropes by 'prenticing to his aunt after all. It seemed a weird thing to put out a notice for, but it couldn't hurt to try!
Famous last words if ever there were any.
With the seam located and the tools out the men got to work. It actually wasn't Tal's first time mining for shiny rocks; he'd gotten the diamond pommel stone of his Dagger from a similar venture in the Fangs and he almost looked like he was doing as he tap-tapped away until he found a likely weak spot to give a good, sharp crack to. It didn't distract him from listening to Ronin, though, and the courier was subdued and sober at the old War story. "Too late t'second guess it," he offered with his usual pragmatic directness. "At least y'tried somethin'. Were her illusions pretty powerful?" He couldn't wiggle his fingers to 'demonstrate' the woo-woo magic aspect of them, but his digits twitched a little on his tools in a subconscious effort to illustrate his point.
Ronin's wisdom came at the expense of a great deal of experience, and even if Tal hadn't been around for most of it there were the rumors and stories of the Huntsman's various exploits. The high-profile ones in particular tended to get shared around when the booze was flowing on a dark, cold Halo night. Tal had absolutely cashed in on the reflected glory a few times. Sure, he hadn't seen things with his own eyes, but he knew the man personally, and that was the next best thing to having seen his deeds, right? So he felt like he really should listen to the advice of his elder, especially when it made so much damn sense. "True enough," he admitted with a grimace. "Hadn't really thought about an apprentice afore, but it'd give me a chance t'train 'em up right, first... Hmmm..." Hail, he'd learned the ropes by 'prenticing to his aunt after all. It seemed a weird thing to put out a notice for, but it couldn't hurt to try!
Famous last words if ever there were any.
With the seam located and the tools out the men got to work. It actually wasn't Tal's first time mining for shiny rocks; he'd gotten the diamond pommel stone of his Dagger from a similar venture in the Fangs and he almost looked like he was doing as he tap-tapped away until he found a likely weak spot to give a good, sharp crack to. It didn't distract him from listening to Ronin, though, and the courier was subdued and sober at the old War story. "Too late t'second guess it," he offered with his usual pragmatic directness. "At least y'tried somethin'. Were her illusions pretty powerful?" He couldn't wiggle his fingers to 'demonstrate' the woo-woo magic aspect of them, but his digits twitched a little on his tools in a subconscious effort to illustrate his point.
