well the whole truth (is like the story of a wave unfurled)

[tintila]

Comments

[suetekh]

[The teasing quality to her words is completely missed by him.] Most people see me as being foreign myself for that. They do not take it as you do. [As usually, foreigners were seen as a negative part of any growing lands.]

No beast can speak or understand human language. [His tone seems like this should be obvious.]

[tintila]

I don't expect they take much as I would. I am a strange, foreign thing after all.

Human, perhaps not. But not even your tongue? The elves taught the trees to talk and many beasts as well bend to our will through speech alone. [Elves do not consider themselves magical, so she doesn't think of it as a power or a magic, but maybe she should.]

[suetekh]

[That's a joke, he thinks, and he does think it's funny, even if he doesn't smile or laugh.] That is funny.

No. We can be...beasts ourselves. And we can turn into them but we do not speak their tongue. They are their own thing.

[tintila]

[She smiles at him. She could be funny, even though that had been as much statement as it was joke.]

...You can turn into them? [Sorry. WHAT?] Any of them or particular ones? [They were definitely Ainur of some kind.]

[suetekh]

It depends on the god. If they have the power and what kinds they have. I don't have any magic so I can't.

But some could turn into any one they want.

[tintila]

Some of the Ainur change shape all the time, though not usually to animals. They like being trees, or mist, or fields of flowers. Some even like being flames.

Though I suppose some could be animals and I would never know.

[suetekh]

Some of us can turn into mist or smoke. Fire sounds...possible. Probably. [What does he know?]

Thoth could tell you more. I'm one of the only gods without magic.

[tintila]

We can be without particularly impressive talents together. I do not think it makes you any less interesting. [Or less worthy, though it feels too presumptuous to say that.]

But I will ask him when he is asking for every little detail about my people.

[suetekh]

I am not interesting. I have never been. But that does not matter. I have no need to be interesting when all I need to do is rule this kingdom.

[He considers his next words and settles on:] Thoth will find you interesting.

[tintila]

I suspect Thoth will find me interesting like a new tome or an especially colourful bird in a cage.

You are interesting to me, whether that meets your approval or not. [A beat passes before she adds:] Your Majesty.

[suetekh]

Then your interest in me is the same as Thoth's. [Not that he cares much.]

You are correct about him. But he is...[How does Set explain Thoth? Without giving it all away.] He will be kind to you. No matter what. [It's best just to leave it at that.

Finally they get to the river, with all its papyrus and people fishing from it. One of the people there ask if they want to boat and he looks at Mithiel.] Would you?

[tintila]

Perhaps it is, I do not know him well enough to say if our thoughts align. [And there was not the free sharing of information as there often was between elves, so she knew even less than she might have at home.]

Kindness is all I can ask for, and hopefully return. So that is more than enough for me.

[She looks at the mortal and then the river.] I have never been on a boat... I would like to, if it is not too much trouble.

[suetekh]

[Set can't think of much else to say. He cannot promise her kindness because he still does not think he understands the term. But also he can't promise something that isn't for his kingdom.

But he can give her the boat ride.]

How have you never been on a boat...? [That's just weird and he nods to the worker, who offers Mithiel his arm for her to get onto the boat. Set just gets on himself because there's something comical about a human helping a god do something as simple as getting on a boat. It's a spacious one, with seats and people to quickly start fanning them against the heat. Once they are safely on, Set nods for the man to start rowing them down the Nile.]

[tintila]

Our rivers have bridges. [She answers quickly and easily, but the corners of her mouth slip and begin to frown before she can fully stop the flare of emotion.] They did, I mean. [Before. Always before everything went so wrong.]

We weren't really supposed to cross most of them anyway, but I never had need of a boat. [She doesn't need help either, her balance is impeccable to the point of being almost uncanny but she accepts it anyway, thanking the worker before she settles into the seat beside Set.]

My people have always loved water though. We were drawn to the stars and the sea and Ulmo, the Valar of the sea, has always been good to us. They say he argues our case more than any other. [Though it hardly seems to have mattered in the end.]

This is a magnificent boat. Unlike those I have seen, though they are few.

[suetekh]

[Every time she says anything, Set is only more confused by her. Why shouldn't you cross them? Why could you not? Her lands were strange, her home was strange. Would Thoth ever be able to make sense of it?

It must seem like he does not listen to her but he does. Her words just make no sense and he is not sure what to say.]

Even a poor family can have a boat here. [So it is absolutely nonsensical she never did.]

[tintila]

We could have them. There was little that was beyond the reach of any of us if we truly wanted it but there was little need.

No hippos or crocodiles either.

[suetekh]

So you...went into the water?

[Is that what she's saying?]

[tintila]

I can swim. But mostly I either went across the bridges or jumped. There were places where the river was maybe only a dozen feet wide. [And she was an elf, after all.]

[suetekh]

What if you didn't want to get wet?

[not that this mattered much to him. but for others it did!]

[tintila]

I fear that I perhaps look too close to human which is making you underestimate how far I can jump. I assure you, I can clear a modest river with enough run up.

[suetekh]

[Set thinks about this and at first it seems strange but well. Some gods can fly. And maybe some could jump.

He decides to accept it.]

Boats are relaxing.

[tintila]

Yes, I think they well might be. Cirdan loves to make boats, my people are going to him but I, of course as I said, never had need of them before and have never been to the havens to see his boats or the sea. [It doesn't count as going to see the sea when it comes to you, right?]

[suetekh]

[Set tries to make sense of what she's saying before realizing that, once again, he does not understand. He quickly gives up and instead when he sees a crocodile, he points it out to her.]

There is a crocodile. One of our beasts.

[tintila]

[He looks at him with a very slightly cocked eyebrow but her gaze quickly goes to the crocodile. A small dragon, as far as she can tell–or a very large lizard. Set clearly is either still baffled by her or doesn't care for the topic, but she doesn't mind.]

I suppose that could eat a whole person. Are they all so large?

[suetekh]

[In older times, he would have simply not spoken anymore. But at least he is trying to hold some kind of conversation.]

They vary but they are always big. Typically bigger than most mortals.