Tree's a crowd

The courier flashed a proud, happy smile at Alys's praise before he realized what he was doing and cleared his throat, fussing with his Bag. Boreal chose that moment to return, carrying a fat rabbit proudly in her jaws and for a moment Tal was caught between nodding enthusiastically to Alys's plan and fussing over his companion, the mighty hunter.

When she asked her question he paused, however, and lifted the blade between them to examine it thoughtfully. "They probably could," he agreed slowly. "I mean, I know there's Abandoned out there who can make magic stuff an' even upgrade it." Though at the moment Deimos was the only one he knew of for sure. "But... hm. I think it's 'cause they don't want us takin' them or their gifts for granted, y'know?" He scowled thoughtfully at the pommel stone of his Dagger as he worked slowly through his own understanding of the matter. "It's like... I'm showin' that this is important t'me. That I'm willin' t'put the effort in, too. An' it probably keeps people from askin' the gods for stupid shit that doesn't matter an' wastin' their time." If someone knew they were going to have to do some difficult things to get what they wanted, they were going to be a lot more certain that they not only needed it, but that they couldn't get it some other, easier way, first.

Alys smiled at Boreal as she returned with a rabbit, choosing not to comment on Tal's apparent pride at having helped her to find an answer to her problems. It was enough for her just knowing that her friend cared enough to try, never mind that he'd actually managed to come up with something that she thought might work! She'd never thought of using her schooling to help her make money before, and it was with some excitement that she considered the possibility.

She listened as Tal explained about the gods and quests, and she had to admit that he made a little bit of sense as he described why the gods would require such ridiculous tasks for people to prove themselves worthy of gifts. "I guess that makes sense. It just seems like they should know if someone is wasting their time, and just say yes or no." Or maybe smite someone that asked for something stupid. That seemed like something the gods would do, and it would keep others from doing the same thing.

alys glasse

waiting for the right mind to drive insane

The courier grinned wryly as he straightened and started walking back along their trail. "Sure, an' sometimes they do just that. Or rather, if y'ask for somethin' that's not worth their time, they just... poof. Don't even show up." He shrugged. "But sometimes they know your heart's in th'right place even if what you're askin' for is kinda dumb, an' if they like you they'll give you better advice... or at least, more options." He wiggled the knife again to draw Alys's attention back to it.

"Take this, for example. I went an' asked Frey for a spear, first. One that would extend an' hit things at a distance. Frey pointed out that it would be stupid unwieldy an' my noodly arms at the time wouldn't be able to lift a twenty-foot-long spear, even if it was just for a few seconds. They suggested this instead, an' it's a much better fit for me." Small, discrete, and easily underestimated by anyone who didn't know what it could do.

Alys followed her friend as he began to lead the way out of the woods, listening thoughtfully to his explanations. It seemed typical for the gods to simply not show up when someone called them for something silly, and she found herself nodding with approval. Then she frowned. She didn't approve of the gods. They had abandoned her kind, so why should she want anything to do with them?

But she had to admit, it seemed like they cared at least a little about some of their children, and she felt a pang of envy that others could access what she felt that she could not. It must be nice, she thought, before promptly shoving the thought aside. She'd been fine without the gods for all these years. She didn't need them. "That was nice of them," she said slowly, perhaps a little gruffly. "To keep you from getting something you couldn't use."

alys glasse

waiting for the right mind to drive insane

Alys wasn't Tal's first or only friend who was Abandoned, and he slanted her an amused glance at her gruffly reluctant acknowledgment of Frey's kindness. "Y'know... Look. I don't blame you for bein' skeptical o' askin' anythin' from 'em. An' I'm not sayin' y'should. But if y'ever think y'might want to, well... Ludo or Nature Frey might be more open t'hearin' a prayer. Hail, Sah's sworn to Safrin an' she's given him fancy armor, an' Ru's on good terms with Frey. The, uh, sexy one," he clarified, looking straight ahead and clearing his throat. "So. Just somethin' t'think about, I guess."

Boreal trotted along beside them, the rabbit having disappeared down her gullet at some point. She stayed alert, as did Tal, but nothing bothered them on their trek out of the forest and soon enough they had found the Peregrine again and were headed home to the Citadel. There would be more adventures for them both soon enough, and in the meantime they both had much to think about.

~Fin~