[ It comes to him, not slowly, but cautiously. A curious line of thought because her name and her ( adopted ) accent reminds him only slightly of the blonde man he'd met months before. Tezcatlipoca, the one who had been looking out from the Highstorm balcony toward her temple. Drizzt had invited him along, to get a better look at it, but the ultimate result had been a sly decline and some rather coy language that made him wonder — did the two have a connection? Tezcatlipoca wasn't in Kenos, but.
Drizzt had vanished and returned, why not anyone else?
Some people weren't meant for the light, though! He can't imagine a vampire or another drow being fond of existing under a sun they were biologically out of tune with, not without it causing Literal Harm, but that's semantics when Quetzalcoatl is talking with her heart, not her head. ]
I have no intention of causing trouble. Actually, I feel more at home in the wilds than I do a city — and with Guen at my side, I have nothing to fear from los pequeños. I was on my way to do some exploring, but thought stopping by and meeting you wouldn't be a bad idea. I wanted to let you know that one of your companions and I are looking into the issue regarding the shadows that were taking over people during the battle for the Oracle. And to ask that you don't pursue anyone you find familiar, at least not without someone with you.
[ She flashes him a smile first that very much carries the feeling of “no, you’re kind,” but it goes unsaid. Technically, she doesn’t know that, sure, but with her initial impression being quite warm and positive, she’d say it anyways.
As they get to the top of the temple and Drizzt begins his warning, her expression does turn curious, then quickly into a pout from there. ]
Oh, no hay problema, I already learned to be careful with things like that! It doesn’t have anything to do with those shadows or the Oracles, though…
[ The pout stays in place as she looks to the side of the temple next to Set’s, then huffs. She may have accepted her own error and forgiven Set for his own actions, but she was still just a little mad about this one part. It’s nothing serious, so far as gods go, but she’ll take the chance to complain to someone that will listen. ]
Set is very naughty sometimes, yes! Like, he’s not bad, but he’s still a trickster. And he tricked me with a spell that looked like my brother! So! I’ve learned my lesson, absolutely!
[ INCEPTIONS BACK ]
[ But she nods resolutely. Even if her explanation and even her level of upset is a bit childish, she takes the warning to heart. ]
Mm, but thank you for letting me know… I’ll keep an eye out for them out here and get rid of any I come across. Those shadows are no good at all, I’m sure.
[ Oh. The other Meridian god is a trickster? That's good to know. Drizzt has heard a little bit about the colorful cast of characters in Kenos by word of mouth in the cities, if not from witnessing them via the play-by-play in the newspapers following the Oracle's conclusion. Quetzalcoatl had been very kind to the Zenith, while Set... well, he was a bit of a problem child, it seemed. ]
Your brother? Really, it was that effective?
[ Perhaps because of the environment he grew up in, Drizzt isn't as susceptible to illusion or mental-type spellwork. High wisdom, very high wisdom. And just... a lot of experience knowing how to ground himself in reality. It's a little funny to think of a god being easily tricked, but. Was that not how their myths went? Their stories? Some gods were smart, some were full of heart. ]
I don't think I need to ask you to watch over the Shard-bearers regarding the shadows either. I will be. Meridian and Zenith alike, I've no intention of giving quarter to anything as insidious as these shadows. Or Oblivion, either. [ His main Enemy atm. ] Would you tell me about your temple, maybe? Or your brother? Whichever one keeps the smile on your face.
[ …When he asks it that way, she does feel a little silly. Her expression turns embarrassed and sheepish, but it’s because Drizzt’s thoughts were spot-on. In the mythology of the Aztecs, it was always Quetzalcoatl being tricked. All heart, no brains. ]
[ But she’s so earnest too that she can’t help but explain, at least a little bit. It’s enough to put those pieces together. ]
…Well, my brother and Set, they’re a lot alike, yes… Tezcatlipoca is a trickster too, so…
[ She trails off, because she doesn’t want to say it. It was super effective. So! Instead of that, she turns back to Drizzt with an energetic flourish. ]
—So, my temple, yes! Let’s not talk about Tezcatlipoca!
[ And casually just confirm that the man that Drizzt had spoken to was indeed the brother in question.
Quetzalcoatl gives him an enthusiastic nod, then gestures up to the huge, elaborately carved monolith that sits on top of the comparatively quite simple shrine that they stand before. ]
That’s la Piedra del Sol. It’s beautiful, isn’t it? [ As she looks up at it and explains, her voice is full of nothing short of admiration and love. ] My people, the Azteca, they made it. It’s the story of how we made them, but also all the worlds that came before them. And the calendar of the year too, yes! It’s really amazing that they have it all together…! I loved it so much that, well, it kind of became a part of me is the best way to explain it!
[ She laughs as she looks back to Drizzt and shrugs, because that really is the best explanation you’re going to get from her. Trying to explain the mechanics of how a Divine Spirit becomes a Servant is a little too complicated for her. Again, all heart, no brains… ]
I was the one that created the people of the Fifth Sun, so I bring them with me, always.
[ As she gives the name of her brother, it definitely confirms things. No wonder Tezcatlipoca had been so interested in the sight of Piedra del Sol cresting over the trees of the Beyond. Sibling rivalries were known to him, and gods often took their relationships to extremes — he resolves to broach the topic to Tezcatlipoca, if ever he sees him again. Just to ensure that the god understands that Drizzt prefers when people do not obscure vital information from him. And he'd offered to guard him! ]
It is beautiful. I saw it when I visited Highstorm, for the first time. That you were able to bring a piece of yourself and your history to this world — Piedra del Sol and the memory of your people.
[ He thinks it's important to do that, looking back at Guen with a fondness in his eyes and an appreciation for her. What he cannot do is condemn or begrudge Quetzalcoatl for wanting to return to those people, but the cost he feels she would have to pay for them is obscene. They're gone, and something far too powerful stands in the way. He wants to ready himself to face it down, in case Zenith doesn't win — but, the best thing would be to protect and preserve these people. ]
I've heard that gods see the world far differently than mortals. How is it you look upon this fight between Meridian and Zenith? I'd like to understand what's important to you.
[ The compliment makes Quetzalcoatl’s already warm smile nothing less than radiant. More than most, Drizzt understands why this is something so beautiful and important to her, at least mostly. The fact that her Azteca were a culture of the past is something she leaves out for her own heartache on the subject. For now, she’s just full of love and pride for the people she looked over.
The question that follows isn’t much of a surprise, though. It’s one she’s been asked fairly often by the people of Kenos—natives and Shard-Bearers both. She does tend to give a slightly different answer to Shard-Bearers, though. For the natives, she wants to be their pure, uncomplicated hope, just as she was for her Azteca. For the people she would be fighting with and against, though… She feels they deserve more of the nuance. ]
Mm… It’s complicated, yes. I understand them both, and I could be either. It simply isn’t the right time for me to be Zenith, I guess is what it comes down to.
[ She looks back to the sunstone, since it abstractly lays out what she explains here, but trying to gesture to it wouldn’t be helpful. Its imagery makes perfect sense to her, but she doubts that would be the case for Drizzt. ]
We gods of the Azteca aren’t perfect. The world that exists now is our fifth try of it, actually! We call them Suns, since it’s the sun that’s life-giving, not the world, and with each Sun, a different god has taken up that position to try and craft a good one. But each of the four previous Suns had problems. Sometimes it was our fault or our nature—like when Tezcatlipoca was the sun, it was all black, so the people of that sun lived in the darkness of the black sun and couldn’t flourish. Sometimes it’s the people, since there was another where they were mostly wicked and flawed, so their world was no better.
[ Her attention turns back to Drizzt, and though her smile is still so warm and loving, her words feel callous for what she describes… At least if it were from a mortal. Morally speaking, there’s nothing wrong with it as a god, and that sort of distance is what tends to characterize them, regardless of their world or pantheon. ]
So, when they’re not right, we brought them cataclysm and started again. It’s a cycle, just like life and death. Even the current Sun, the Fifth Sun, it’s destined to end one day, since it’s not perfect either. It’s beautiful and it’s my favorite because I made its people, but when the time comes, I’ll mourn it as I wipe it away too.
[ It’s a long preamble to answering that question, but she thinks it’s important. After so long in Kenos, she’s found that not many people think of the world the way she does, and not only because she’s a god. The theology and the view of the world that she and her family have is more unique than she would have guessed. ]
…All of that to say! [ She laughs sheepishly, since she feels like she’s talked a lot already, but she continues ] —I don’t think it’s a fight that normal people should have to have, you know? I feel bad that it’s even anything that the Shard-Bearers have to worry about. It’s the duty of gods to care about big questions like that. I’d be happier if this were just a normal war about which city was better or who owns what land, not… Well, making people fight for countless lives, whether they’re leaving them behind or trying to hold onto them.
[ That smile softens, but it’s still a fond one of sympathy. ]
Meridian is my duty. But every life here is precious, no matter which side they pick. That’s how I look upon it.
I think the choice between Meridian and Zenith ought to be a complicated one. People are too complex, often contradictory, to be told to choose from limited options and expected to be blindly satisfied with whatever they get.
[ Perhaps that spoke to the direness of the situation, that there was no third option. Only two difficult ones, for the majority; some Meridian and Zenith likely did not find their choice hard at all, and he suspected they were the ones who'd slipped deep and hard into their loyalties. In that, he agreed whole of heart with Quetzalcoatl — there's room to be either, and in the end, did it not depend on the life experiences of the individual before they arrived?
Her perspective is entirely alien to him, because he would fight for the lives of others even against a god — and had, in a way. Their right to continue to exist, whether they were good or bad, rather than be wiped away was the right of the living. Yet, he had joined Zenith, because the worlds were gone and he couldn't justify the right of the Shard-bearers of Kenos to continue to exist being less important than the dead. ]
You know, I feel the same way.
[ Maybe that's why he reaches up, above his head, to touch the edge of the calendar. To trace the ancient stone and its carvings and marvel at what it means — it is the culture of Quetzalcoatl, the proof that her Azteca once lived and created and had reason and love. Such things are so important to him to preserve, moving forward. ]
It's a painful challenge to ask people to undertake, because determining the right path for themselves is inevitably the path that will hurt many others. Their lives are precious and deserve to be protected. Right now, they're all that's left of their worlds. You and I are, too. It's why I joined Zenith, actually. To protect what's left, and not let your duty entirely override your right to peace.
[ She nods in agreement with a slightly sad expression. Quite a few people come to mind, and they’re the ones that cement her perception that this is the sort of conflict that’s best left to gods. She doesn’t doubt their strength, but she worries about the toll it’ll take on them. She worries that they won’t like the person they’ve become at the end of these Trials.
But as Drizzt shares his opinion and reaches out to the sunstone, her expression warms again. Actually, she looks deeply relieved as he continues, and it’s expressed in the way that Quetzalcoatl knows best. Assuming that he doesn’t flinch away, she’ll hug him quite snugly! At least her hugs are truly the best of the best—strong and warm in the way that you’d guess from a god of the sun. ]
¡Vaya! Ah, I’m so happy to hear you say that!! I love the Zenites, but so many of them are so sad!!
[ Which is definitely an understated way of what she means, but so many of those sad stories are deeply personal to who they belong to. Regardless, she does place her hands on his shoulders as she faces him and gives them an affirming squeeze. ]
You have a good, warm heart to want to look after people that way. It’s a beautiful way of looking at what Zenith could do, I think.
[ …Because who could understand it better than the god of a culture that had been purposefully withered? This is a much more extreme example, of course, but she can deeply feel the importance of wanting to care for and preserve what’s left. It’s also a perspective she hasn’t heard from a Zenite before. Not even close, actually. He can probably get that sense just from the enthusiasm of her response. ]
So, look out for the Zenites especially, okay? It's a lot for me to ask, probably! But don’t think of it as me asking as a god, okay? Think of it more like your big sister asking for a favor!
[ Her strong embrace startles him, pushing him onto his toes and flexing his muscles as he readies to slip her grasp and — ah, this is not an attack. The twisting of his mind, fluttering away into a fluid emptiness, shedding personality for reactivity, halts as he grips at the seams. Halts himself, in favor of basking in the intense, wonderful warmth that Quetzalcoatl embodies; she is so much like the sun, something that stings his eyes and skin, but that he'd basked in for hours — bathing his dark skin in light that no drow had ever embraced the way he had.
Gently, he tucks his hands into the small of her back and closes his eyes. Remembering the sun over the mountains, the brief kiss of warmth gleaming off snow and ice before the bitter cold lashed into his bones. The warmth of Catti-brie's hip under his palm, her mouth under his ear, her cheek against his thigh as she snored and snuffled by the fireside. ]
I'm glad you understand, Quetzalcoatl. I want to persevere, because Meridian's goal puts everyone back in the sights of Oblivion. If it took our worlds and lives once, going back — even if possible — it, just... it puts us all in danger. And while I mourn my world, I can't overlook those who are here. Right now.
[ He tugs back, to look her in the eye — tired and patient, someone who respects her and admires her desire, but places no personal faith in her divinity. ( Hard to, when you're the gods' favorite punching bag. ) ]
Actually, speaking of Zenites. I read in the papers that you were the last to see one of them — the one named Silco. Is he all right?
[ Being startled by Quetzalcoatl’s embrace isn’t a new reaction—most people tend to be, since her affection does tend to come out of seemingly nowhere. So, she doesn’t think much of how he flinches, but she does notice how he relaxes. She’s more attuned to that kind of reaction, even if it’s almost subconscious on her part. For a god that loves life and people so deeply, she’s sensitive to those who especially want or need the kind of affection she provides.
So, she holds Drizzt securely as he basks in it. This is the kind of thing she’s always happy to provide for Zenites especially, because part of her sorrow and fondness for them stems from the fact that she thinks they’ve been deprived of love like this. Impossible as it may be, she still wishes that every person could experience love as unconditional as hers.
She’s happy that he indulges too. Most Zenites shy away from it because they see it as weakness, she’s noticed. ]
[ So, as he pulls back she looks content herself. For the hug to be accepted might as well be like worship for her, but she accepts it simply and without any of the pretense that could come with a deity. She nods a little at what he says, because she does understand it… But her world has so many defenses against such horrors that it’s part of why she can’t believe it’s gone. She would have personally been called to fend it off, and if that fate is coming? She will, without question.
However, as Silco is mentioned, her expression turns surprised and then sheepish… But it’s mostly because even for beloved Quetzalcoatl, the papers of Springstar hadn’t been kind to her mercy. With how conflicted she is over having custody of his Shard in general, that stung all the more. ]
Mm, yes, I’m taking care of him…
[ She considers it, but then with a nod towards the shrine, she walks that way, though she’s still holding Drizzt’s hands. Now that he’s accepted her physical affection, She Will Not Stop. ]
All the Meri are kind of mad at me, but I think he fell down to me for a reason. If he’d stayed with Voryn and Hayame, they would have… [ She sighs a little, because their convictions are something that she loves and admires, but the action itself? ] Well, it’s complicated, yes? I almost wish people just died the way they were supposed to. Actually killing the Shard-Bearers… It’s something I can’t accept or allow.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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[ It comes to him, not slowly, but cautiously. A curious line of thought because her name and her ( adopted ) accent reminds him only slightly of the blonde man he'd met months before. Tezcatlipoca, the one who had been looking out from the Highstorm balcony toward her temple. Drizzt had invited him along, to get a better look at it, but the ultimate result had been a sly decline and some rather coy language that made him wonder — did the two have a connection? Tezcatlipoca wasn't in Kenos, but.
Drizzt had vanished and returned, why not anyone else?
Some people weren't meant for the light, though! He can't imagine a vampire or another drow being fond of existing under a sun they were biologically out of tune with, not without it causing Literal Harm, but that's semantics when Quetzalcoatl is talking with her heart, not her head. ]
I have no intention of causing trouble. Actually, I feel more at home in the wilds than I do a city — and with Guen at my side, I have nothing to fear from los pequeños. I was on my way to do some exploring, but thought stopping by and meeting you wouldn't be a bad idea. I wanted to let you know that one of your companions and I are looking into the issue regarding the shadows that were taking over people during the battle for the Oracle. And to ask that you don't pursue anyone you find familiar, at least not without someone with you.
[ inception gomen ]
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As they get to the top of the temple and Drizzt begins his warning, her expression does turn curious, then quickly into a pout from there. ]
Oh, no hay problema, I already learned to be careful with things like that! It doesn’t have anything to do with those shadows or the Oracles, though…
[ The pout stays in place as she looks to the side of the temple next to Set’s, then huffs. She may have accepted her own error and forgiven Set for his own actions, but she was still just a little mad about this one part. It’s nothing serious, so far as gods go, but she’ll take the chance to complain to someone that will listen. ]
Set is very naughty sometimes, yes! Like, he’s not bad, but he’s still a trickster. And he tricked me with a spell that looked like my brother! So! I’ve learned my lesson, absolutely!
[ INCEPTIONS BACK ]
[ But she nods resolutely. Even if her explanation and even her level of upset is a bit childish, she takes the warning to heart. ]
Mm, but thank you for letting me know… I’ll keep an eye out for them out here and get rid of any I come across. Those shadows are no good at all, I’m sure.
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Your brother? Really, it was that effective?
[ Perhaps because of the environment he grew up in, Drizzt isn't as susceptible to illusion or mental-type spellwork. High wisdom, very high wisdom. And just... a lot of experience knowing how to ground himself in reality. It's a little funny to think of a god being easily tricked, but. Was that not how their myths went? Their stories? Some gods were smart, some were full of heart. ]
I don't think I need to ask you to watch over the Shard-bearers regarding the shadows either. I will be. Meridian and Zenith alike, I've no intention of giving quarter to anything as insidious as these shadows. Or Oblivion, either. [ His main Enemy atm. ] Would you tell me about your temple, maybe? Or your brother? Whichever one keeps the smile on your face.
1/2
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…Well, my brother and Set, they’re a lot alike, yes… Tezcatlipoca is a trickster too, so…
[ She trails off, because she doesn’t want to say it. It was super effective. So! Instead of that, she turns back to Drizzt with an energetic flourish. ]
—So, my temple, yes! Let’s not talk about Tezcatlipoca!
[ And casually just confirm that the man that Drizzt had spoken to was indeed the brother in question.
Quetzalcoatl gives him an enthusiastic nod, then gestures up to the huge, elaborately carved monolith that sits on top of the comparatively quite simple shrine that they stand before. ]
That’s la Piedra del Sol. It’s beautiful, isn’t it? [ As she looks up at it and explains, her voice is full of nothing short of admiration and love. ] My people, the Azteca, they made it. It’s the story of how we made them, but also all the worlds that came before them. And the calendar of the year too, yes! It’s really amazing that they have it all together…! I loved it so much that, well, it kind of became a part of me is the best way to explain it!
[ She laughs as she looks back to Drizzt and shrugs, because that really is the best explanation you’re going to get from her. Trying to explain the mechanics of how a Divine Spirit becomes a Servant is a little too complicated for her. Again, all heart, no brains… ]
I was the one that created the people of the Fifth Sun, so I bring them with me, always.
no subject
It is beautiful. I saw it when I visited Highstorm, for the first time. That you were able to bring a piece of yourself and your history to this world — Piedra del Sol and the memory of your people.
[ He thinks it's important to do that, looking back at Guen with a fondness in his eyes and an appreciation for her. What he cannot do is condemn or begrudge Quetzalcoatl for wanting to return to those people, but the cost he feels she would have to pay for them is obscene. They're gone, and something far too powerful stands in the way. He wants to ready himself to face it down, in case Zenith doesn't win — but, the best thing would be to protect and preserve these people. ]
I've heard that gods see the world far differently than mortals. How is it you look upon this fight between Meridian and Zenith? I'd like to understand what's important to you.
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[ The compliment makes Quetzalcoatl’s already warm smile nothing less than radiant. More than most, Drizzt understands why this is something so beautiful and important to her, at least mostly. The fact that her Azteca were a culture of the past is something she leaves out for her own heartache on the subject. For now, she’s just full of love and pride for the people she looked over.
The question that follows isn’t much of a surprise, though. It’s one she’s been asked fairly often by the people of Kenos—natives and Shard-Bearers both. She does tend to give a slightly different answer to Shard-Bearers, though. For the natives, she wants to be their pure, uncomplicated hope, just as she was for her Azteca. For the people she would be fighting with and against, though… She feels they deserve more of the nuance. ]
Mm… It’s complicated, yes. I understand them both, and I could be either. It simply isn’t the right time for me to be Zenith, I guess is what it comes down to.
[ She looks back to the sunstone, since it abstractly lays out what she explains here, but trying to gesture to it wouldn’t be helpful. Its imagery makes perfect sense to her, but she doubts that would be the case for Drizzt. ]
We gods of the Azteca aren’t perfect. The world that exists now is our fifth try of it, actually! We call them Suns, since it’s the sun that’s life-giving, not the world, and with each Sun, a different god has taken up that position to try and craft a good one. But each of the four previous Suns had problems. Sometimes it was our fault or our nature—like when Tezcatlipoca was the sun, it was all black, so the people of that sun lived in the darkness of the black sun and couldn’t flourish. Sometimes it’s the people, since there was another where they were mostly wicked and flawed, so their world was no better.
[ Her attention turns back to Drizzt, and though her smile is still so warm and loving, her words feel callous for what she describes… At least if it were from a mortal. Morally speaking, there’s nothing wrong with it as a god, and that sort of distance is what tends to characterize them, regardless of their world or pantheon. ]
So, when they’re not right, we brought them cataclysm and started again. It’s a cycle, just like life and death. Even the current Sun, the Fifth Sun, it’s destined to end one day, since it’s not perfect either. It’s beautiful and it’s my favorite because I made its people, but when the time comes, I’ll mourn it as I wipe it away too.
[ It’s a long preamble to answering that question, but she thinks it’s important. After so long in Kenos, she’s found that not many people think of the world the way she does, and not only because she’s a god. The theology and the view of the world that she and her family have is more unique than she would have guessed. ]
…All of that to say! [ She laughs sheepishly, since she feels like she’s talked a lot already, but she continues ] —I don’t think it’s a fight that normal people should have to have, you know? I feel bad that it’s even anything that the Shard-Bearers have to worry about. It’s the duty of gods to care about big questions like that. I’d be happier if this were just a normal war about which city was better or who owns what land, not… Well, making people fight for countless lives, whether they’re leaving them behind or trying to hold onto them.
[ That smile softens, but it’s still a fond one of sympathy. ]
Meridian is my duty. But every life here is precious, no matter which side they pick. That’s how I look upon it.
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[ Perhaps that spoke to the direness of the situation, that there was no third option. Only two difficult ones, for the majority; some Meridian and Zenith likely did not find their choice hard at all, and he suspected they were the ones who'd slipped deep and hard into their loyalties. In that, he agreed whole of heart with Quetzalcoatl — there's room to be either, and in the end, did it not depend on the life experiences of the individual before they arrived?
Her perspective is entirely alien to him, because he would fight for the lives of others even against a god — and had, in a way. Their right to continue to exist, whether they were good or bad, rather than be wiped away was the right of the living. Yet, he had joined Zenith, because the worlds were gone and he couldn't justify the right of the Shard-bearers of Kenos to continue to exist being less important than the dead. ]
You know, I feel the same way.
[ Maybe that's why he reaches up, above his head, to touch the edge of the calendar. To trace the ancient stone and its carvings and marvel at what it means — it is the culture of Quetzalcoatl, the proof that her Azteca once lived and created and had reason and love. Such things are so important to him to preserve, moving forward. ]
It's a painful challenge to ask people to undertake, because determining the right path for themselves is inevitably the path that will hurt many others. Their lives are precious and deserve to be protected. Right now, they're all that's left of their worlds. You and I are, too. It's why I joined Zenith, actually. To protect what's left, and not let your duty entirely override your right to peace.
no subject
But as Drizzt shares his opinion and reaches out to the sunstone, her expression warms again. Actually, she looks deeply relieved as he continues, and it’s expressed in the way that Quetzalcoatl knows best. Assuming that he doesn’t flinch away, she’ll hug him quite snugly! At least her hugs are truly the best of the best—strong and warm in the way that you’d guess from a god of the sun. ]
¡Vaya! Ah, I’m so happy to hear you say that!! I love the Zenites, but so many of them are so sad!!
[ Which is definitely an understated way of what she means, but so many of those sad stories are deeply personal to who they belong to. Regardless, she does place her hands on his shoulders as she faces him and gives them an affirming squeeze. ]
You have a good, warm heart to want to look after people that way. It’s a beautiful way of looking at what Zenith could do, I think.
[ …Because who could understand it better than the god of a culture that had been purposefully withered? This is a much more extreme example, of course, but she can deeply feel the importance of wanting to care for and preserve what’s left. It’s also a perspective she hasn’t heard from a Zenite before. Not even close, actually. He can probably get that sense just from the enthusiasm of her response. ]
So, look out for the Zenites especially, okay? It's a lot for me to ask, probably! But don’t think of it as me asking as a god, okay? Think of it more like your big sister asking for a favor!
[ l-lmao… ]
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Gently, he tucks his hands into the small of her back and closes his eyes. Remembering the sun over the mountains, the brief kiss of warmth gleaming off snow and ice before the bitter cold lashed into his bones. The warmth of Catti-brie's hip under his palm, her mouth under his ear, her cheek against his thigh as she snored and snuffled by the fireside. ]
I'm glad you understand, Quetzalcoatl. I want to persevere, because Meridian's goal puts everyone back in the sights of Oblivion. If it took our worlds and lives once, going back — even if possible — it, just... it puts us all in danger. And while I mourn my world, I can't overlook those who are here. Right now.
[ He tugs back, to look her in the eye — tired and patient, someone who respects her and admires her desire, but places no personal faith in her divinity. ( Hard to, when you're the gods' favorite punching bag. ) ]
Actually, speaking of Zenites. I read in the papers that you were the last to see one of them — the one named Silco. Is he all right?
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So, she holds Drizzt securely as he basks in it. This is the kind of thing she’s always happy to provide for Zenites especially, because part of her sorrow and fondness for them stems from the fact that she thinks they’ve been deprived of love like this. Impossible as it may be, she still wishes that every person could experience love as unconditional as hers.
She’s happy that he indulges too. Most Zenites shy away from it because they see it as weakness, she’s noticed. ]
no subject
However, as Silco is mentioned, her expression turns surprised and then sheepish… But it’s mostly because even for beloved Quetzalcoatl, the papers of Springstar hadn’t been kind to her mercy. With how conflicted she is over having custody of his Shard in general, that stung all the more. ]
Mm, yes, I’m taking care of him…
[ She considers it, but then with a nod towards the shrine, she walks that way, though she’s still holding Drizzt’s hands. Now that he’s accepted her physical affection, She Will Not Stop. ]
All the Meri are kind of mad at me, but I think he fell down to me for a reason. If he’d stayed with Voryn and Hayame, they would have… [ She sighs a little, because their convictions are something that she loves and admires, but the action itself? ] Well, it’s complicated, yes? I almost wish people just died the way they were supposed to. Actually killing the Shard-Bearers… It’s something I can’t accept or allow.