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IC INBOX: STORYTELLER

IC INBOX: THE STORYTELLER

The Storyteller's temple on the central island of Ensō is, unsurprisingly, where your local deity can most often be found. Those seeking to strike up a conversation or pursue the Storyteller for answers are not guaranteed an immediate answer, but they can certainly try. If one waits for long enough after posing a question, their expectation for a response from the deity in question may very well prompt them to happen along...eventually.

If you're looking to request an item, this is not the place to do it. Our Item Requests page is where you ought to pose those inquiries!

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You sound like Iggy. That's a politically correct answer not a real one.

[He turns to lean back against the tree, holding his hand up to give them a look that clearly says he's not buying it. But he also doesn't press, just reaches up to stroke a finger down their head, more at ease with petting birds than most probably would be.]

Thanks for the eggs, by the way. They... They're beautiful. It means a lot to me. Me and Igs both.

[If this were a year prior, the Storyteller would not have endured that sort of touch for any length of time. But, since then...]

[Well, since then, entirely too much has changed for them to be concerned over whether or not mortals see fit to touch them. This sort of contact may be fleeting, but it is still...soothing in a way they'd not initially realized it would be.]

It was an equal exchange. [...but not many bother to thank them for the help.] Have they hatched?

[Gladio figures if they're willing to come perch on his hand they're good for a stroke or two. He's not going to push his luck though. Still it seems like the Storyteller's been stressed to the max lately and maybe a little time to just... talk, hang out, not have to worry about the stressors of godhood might be appreciated.]

Yeah but you've got a lot on your plate so... thanks.

Not yet. We've got a bit I think, judging from how long it took Coco. They're gone... in my time. Not for Iggy and Prom but by the time I'm from they've died out. I just wanted you to know how much I appreciate your help.

[If you were in any other form right now he'd hug you.]

I appreciate...

[The hesitation suggests that they began that sentence without fully conceptualizing where they thought it might end. They tuck their head inward and start to comb at their plumage with their beak, an absurdly birdlike gesture, and an obvious stall for time.]

...I have not been perfect. I continue to make mistakes, and it is all of you who suffer most for them. Yet you continue to...associate with me, and even offer kindness in the wake of my errors.

[So, thanks for not considering them the actual worst at the moment, they suppose?]

No one's perfect. Even gods.

[Especially gods. Oh, ST if you knew the shit they've had to deal with because of gods.]

We may have to deal with some shit but you're trying and... you don't punish us because you made a mistake. Admitting that you've messed up and learning from it? That's way more than the gods I'm used to are capable of.

But you're still here and still trying for us. When it'd be so much easier to say it's too hard, it's too scary, you might mess up and therefore it'd be better not to try.

That's really brave. [Don't call the deity "kiddo" Gladio. Don't do it.

But seriously he might start calling them "Tory" as a nickname.]

[The cockatiel shifts on their perch. Perhaps it is for the best that a bird's facial features are not particularly emotive, though they do fluff their feathers very slightly.]

Change does not come naturally to us. We become set in our ways, and fight natural entropy. I suppose that is one of the drawbacks of such longevity.

[In some ways, one might say they envy those of the mortal persuasion. Their ability to change and grow and reinvent themselves - ]

[It is not something worth dwelling over.]

All the same...thank you.

[It reminds him of another long-lived being that's been a particular pain in the ass lately. It only now occurs to him that he's done the exact same thing to both the ST and Ardyn. Just left wind chimes for them, a peace offering of sorts, a hand outstretched in friendship.]

Set in your ways is exactly how Bliss ended up the way he did. You're too clever for that.

[The ruffled feathers clearly mean he stepped on toes but the sentiment remains. Tory's helping them when it would be easier and less stressful to just... not. He's not going to apologize.]

Hey, you've got our backs. We've got yours. Okay? [Lifting his hand to look them in the eye, bird or no.]

Bliss ended up the way they did because they had no one to tell them not to.

[There's something else in the tension of a bowed beak and a beady-black gaze, the adjustment and folding of wings a little bit closer to their side. But they meet his eyes nonetheless.]

I suppose, in that way, you keep me honest.

Alright I'll give you that one.

[Can he give you another stroke, little guy? He's going to try it, hopefully it's not too offensive.]

Everyone needs someone to check them sometimes. And no one can exist void of socialization and not go nuts. [coughArdyncough]

Even gods.

[They certainly don't complain.]

I slept for a very long time, Gladiolus. I had no company but my dreams.

[And dreams, here, can be...fickle creatures, as everyone has well learned. Dreams are not always unkind, no, but nor are they always kind, either.]

[Well then he's going to continue until he's told to stop. Soft strokes over their crest, a little rub on the back of the neck between the wings where it's hard to reach.]

Well now you've got us, yeah? No reason for you to be alone anymore.

[They're looking after the islanders, only fair that the islanders should look after them in return. ]

I suppose, yes.

[For some reason, this does not seem to assuage their concerns very much, even with the physical comfort. It may be hard to read distance in a cockatiel's gaze, but...their mind seems elsewhere.]

It is rather selfish of me, isn't it?

You're trying to help, enjoying the company isn't selfish. It's not like you're the one bringing us here.

[Which is exactly why he got into it with CT the other day. Blaming poor Tory for everything.]

Enjoying the company, even if much of it would assuredly prefer to be elsewhere...it certainly is something. I doubt it speaks well to my character.

[But then, few things have, they expect.]

Making the best of a shit situation does not say anything negative about you.

But the situation itself? What have I done in your aid, other than fix the mistakes I myself have made?

[They know they are far from an ideal guardian in these circumstances. One need not sugarcoat it.]

Don't act like keeping up with just that hasn't been kicking your ass.

[Glare. You've been exhausted, that's hardly your fault.]

Running yourself into the ground isn't going to fix the situation either. Gods, you're as bad as Igs.

Do you see anyone else capable of enacting those changes? Or anyone else who would take the fall for it?

[Perhaps they're tired, yes, but what right have they to claim that it matters? They are a god, but they are only one.]

So what? Yeah you're the only one that's got the capability but that doesn't mean you are obligated to be sitting here killing yourself trying to make things better.

[Ah... that touches a little too close to home, doesn't it.

Will they step up onto his shoulder if he offers? and maybe accept a little nuzzle?]

No one can blame you, and if they are they shouldn't be and I have some asses to go kick. You're trying. That's all anyone can ask. And even then you've gotta take some time for yourself or you're going to exhaust yourself to the point of breaking and that isn't going to help anyone.

[Perhaps they would, if they were not...distracted, as it were. It's clear that his words mean something to them, though they haven't voiced what.]

I forget you weren't here, in those earlier months. I did...grow rather distant, for a time. Everyone else, once more, bore the consequences for my lapses in judgment.

It is a fine line I must walk, and the fallout should I step past it, even slightly, could be immense.

[That is why they cannot stop. Not even for a moment.]

Distance doesn't mean taking a break.

[Ask Iggy. He had so much distance and so little break it's not even funny.]

We just had a party down at the beach, you could just come and hung out with us. Some sorta cute as shit seal or something.

I did not think...

[Their beak turns away slightly. They recall celebrations on the islets, prior to that one. But relations with them were...tenuous, at best, in those times. And they'd simply never progressed from there.]

I would not presume that my presence would be welcome in those circumstances.

Why wouldn't it? You're part of this island, right? Like a huge part of it. You should be part of the community too. Come down to Denny and just hang out for a bit, listen to people talk, have a drink.

It'd be fun.

[To Denny. They forget that's the...inane name that was apparently imbued into the mana pool there. They still have yet to grasp the significance of it and, to be certain, they're actually content in not caring to.]

Fun for whom? I'm quite certain plenty there would not be grateful to see me.

You really think everyone here kinda hates you, don't you?

[This is really sad, Tory. He's going to have to fix this.]

IC INBOX: THE STORYTELLER

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