by Niabh » Mon Jan 14, 2019 6:36 pm
The raven's presence was, in its strange way, a calming. It gave her some perspective that she was not entirely forsaken--that if anything untoward did happen, it would not go unwitnessed. Whatever might happen was less terrible than the prospect of no one ever finding out what became of her. The comfort put some perspective between herself and the strange burst of fear, enough to recognize that it really was strange. Out of place. Abnormal. And the very fact that it had come out of nowhere--
But that a subject to be plumbed in private, where she could think, or to be written down so that it all looked reasonable. Meanwhile she would do what Tuatha did: conceal.
The woman managed a long, shaky exhalation that turned, in the end, to a small laugh and a nod. "Well, I would scarce call him a boon companion." She summoned some her previous cheerful haughtiness. "He's certainly not my chaperone, whatever he may think himself."
"Yeah," the raven muttered, fluffing himself against the chill, "not like you need one of those, right?" Again he eyed Vanidor, less mistrustful than simply curious. She wondered less what he was thinking than what he might say, and to whom.
To Vanidor, she offered an apologetic smile and a small dip of her head. "No fear there. I am sworn. You have been wondrous mannerly and deserve better. I. I should like to know you better, really." Now the shyness was unfeigned. "I've been looking for someone who knows the past of this place better than I do. Mayhap one of our gods has watched out for one of us this night."
The very idea that she might have been rude was quite unforgivable. Intruding upon other people's rituals, nicking their very clothes out from under them--none of that was rude; it was the risk you took being abroad in the woods at night, and she would not have truly held the same against Vanidor had he done the same to her, were their circumstances reversed. But to bring rudeness to someone's very door, under their very roof, when they had done nothing to deserve it...that was not done.
To recover herself, she glanced over her shoulder, eyes scanning the floor by the fire, and added in feigned annoyance, "And if I've broken the only decent bottle of wine I've seen in years, I'll hang myself from the nearest tree."
Anything can be magic if you're gullible enough.