[crow]

"This is... Yepha?" said Sivain. He knew it to be false as soon as he said it, for he could feel Rhodes flinch along his neck. Even the shopkeeper's expression faltered, though he recovered quickly, if with a slight cough.

"Er, no, sir, that would be these here." He moved to draw Sivain's attention to an array of more colorful figures, most sporting feathers and rainbow garb. "Are you from out of town, by any chance?" the man ventured. His smile was a bit too wide to be genuine, and there was a hint of doubt in his eyes.

[crow]

Rhodes sighed. "You could say that, yes." The man's eyes flicked up to Sivain's shoulders, where Rhodes gave him a look that very nearly dared him to make some sort of comment, but the man took it in stride. Talking animals were not entirely uncommon here. They'd recently dined with two such individuals, after all--- generals of the war, even. Rhodes' own complex stemmed mostly from the time when he was not of a magical nature, and was in fact just an ordinary cat. "The one you pointed out earlier was the Chaos, I believe."

[crow]

"Aye, that it is, sir. Gendraggutte," said the shopkeeper.

"Bless you," said Sivain. The man gave him another look, and Sivain decided that it might be best to let Rhodes handle the talking this time.

The cat looked over the figure, the tips of his tails thumping along Sivain's spine. "Was it really black? I do recall hearing some conflicting accounts of the Chaos's appearance."

The shopkeeper gave a shrug. "Well, it's impossible to know now, isn't it? It was a long time ago, and it's not like us regular folk would've had much in the way of first-hand accounts."

[crow]

"Thank you, I think we'll be on our way," said Rhodes. The man nodded, seemingly just as eager to have them gone if they weren't going to make it worth his time by making a purchase. Sivain had no need for figurines anyway, even though he thought fleetingly that Suvi might have liked one of the colorful ones, of the goddess. But she wouldn't have understood it either, and would merely have loved it for the colors. Something else more mundane and less religiously loaded would have served just as well.

[crow]

Rhodes seemed to have a similar line of thought. "There, look at that mask," the cat said, indicating another stall. "The young lady would have liked such a thing."

"Yes," said Sivain. Something conflicted ran across his features, though more at the thought of Suvi than of anything else. The question nagged at him, however: "Is this... not for ritual purposes? Do you truly decorate and play with icons of your gods?" Rhodes eyed him then; perhaps his tone had given him away, but Sivain could not entirely hide his surprise at the idea.

[crow]

"It is a celebration, young master. And I daresay Yepha in particular wouldn't mind, though I wonder about Xai're and Zu'hai. The rest aren't gods, merely Chaos and angels. Even if they have an opinion, I daresay it wouldn't matter much now." The cat paused, flicking his ears, and pawing over them a few times. "Is it not so where you came from?"

Sivain thought, for a moment, of his homeland. "No, it is very much different," he said. The corners of his mouth lifted, though it was not so much a smile as a grimace this time.

[crow]

Even the thought of someone so casually using Eon's likeness filled him with an instinctive dread. Even now, it did. Eon would never see him, would never speak to him again--- none of them would--- and yet, the shudder passed down his spine, despite his best attempts to suppress it. The motion did not escape Rhodes, whose eyes narrowed.

Sivain tensed against the question that was coming, but when the cat spoke, it was merely this: "Then, what do you think of the gods here? As you know them, of course."

[crow]

"I do not know much," said Sivain. It was the first thing that came to mind. But Rhodes was patient, and waited out the rest of his answer. Slowly, Sivain said, "They are kind, I suppose. One among them has revived me twice over. That is... kindness."

Rhodes seemed to consider this. "There is no amnesty where you came from? No one who prays to the gods to bring someone back to life?"

"No," said Sivain simply. "There is no precedent, and no recourse, beyond to wish for a better lot when they are reborn."

[crow]

There was a great bitterness in his voice, which he did not at all try to repress. It was a truth that had caused him no small amount of grief in the past, and he knew it better than any to be absolute. Even before his ascension... His mother had told him what she had thought he ought to know. The question would have only brought their anger down upon him.

"I can hardly imagine one of my uncle's court granting such absurd amnesty," he said darkly, though he knew even as he spoke that he was being unfair now.

[crow]

After all, it wasn't for Elirian's sake that the dead were not brought back to life. Sivain knew little enough of his second uncle, as Elirian had been sealed away long before his own ascension, and lesser gods forbidden to associate with him entirely. It was by Eon's will that the ruling stood. Too much potential for unruliness, otherwise.

It was true, of course, if one thought about it dispassionately from a distance. But Sivain had borne the brunt of those prayers, for the Garden would not take them; and he had nothing to give in return, beyond empty consolations.

[crow]

And that was before taking into consideration his own losses--- his father, killed to grant him godhood; and the only woman he had ever loved, killed to give satisfaction to his uncle. The other gods had watched on, some unhappy but none enough so to interfere. And there was nothing a minor god such as himself could have done.

Rhodes was silent, perhaps at a loss for words. Sivain shook off his thoughts as best he could. The past was always something of a sore topic with him, but Rhodes hadn't meant anything by it.

[crow]

It did no one any good for him to dwell on it now. He was elsewhere, and in a sense he was free; and the gods of this world seemed kinder, even if he doubted that they were without fault themselves. "I was curious about the specifics of the legend," he said. "You mentioned there might be those recounting the tale here?"

"Ah, yes," said Rhodes, slightly caught off guard. It wasn't the smoothest transition of subjects, but Sivain had never had tremendous social graces, and he and Rhodes had been acquainted far too long for him to worry about such things in the cat's presence.

[crow]

Standing up a little straighter, Rhodes surveyed their surroundings from his perch on Sivain's shoulders. "Hmm. Well, there are a few musicians there. Perhaps there will be a song--- one of those old ballads, you know." Sivain shrugged, carefully, so as not to upset Rhodes' balance. It was as good a choice as any to him.

They wove their way through the crowd to the singer in question, who was performing with the accompaniment of a man on some stringed instrument. She had a light, airy voice, not at all unpleasant.

[crow]

There was already a small crowd gathered around her, mostly older folks, with a few parents and their young children mingled in. Most of the youths were elsewhere, finding their own more active enjoyments. Sivain, who was neither a child nor an elder, and who had no visible child, would have stood out regardless of what he did, but his stature and countenance earned him even more stares from the surrounding listeners. Even the singer's eyes widened briefly when she noticed him, though she was professional enough not to let it show in her singing.

[crow]

He was beginning to regret his choice in coming here, but given that he already had, he merely grit his teeth against the scrutiny and focused on the song. Rhodes had been correct, at least, in his assessment that there would be songs on the myth. He heard something about an angel and a thread, and did his best to tune out his surroundings so he could catch the rest.

They stood there, listening to the singer, for quite some time. Nothing happened. And as nothing continued to happen, slowly the crowd forgot about them too, with the exception of a sidelong look now and again.