"I know. I just- I needed to know." He'd needed to hear it said aloud, needed that extra bit of reassurance, and it had helped.
As for the rest of what Persephone had said...
Gods, that's a lot.
"There's nothing wrong with having thorns, and anyone who thinks you shouldn't is wrong." She doesn't have to be perfect. It's the basics, but sometimes things need to be said aloud - he'd needed that just a minute ago himself. But more than that-
He's seen her temper - felt the pressure of that divine rage himself - and she'd said she'd killed people-
But she doesn't seem like the kind of person who'd kill for fun, and he finds himself wondering what the people she'd killed had done. Gods knew the last person he'd seen killed had damn well deserved it.
But killing Torren had still hurt Orion badly, deserving or no. And Orion had a temper on him as well...
Maybe that's it.
"One of my friends," he starts, "one of the people I was hoping for today - his name is Orion. He's a warrior, and a fire mage, and he has a temper. He burns hot." He takes another breath, in and out, trying to ease through homesickness and get to the point. "The first time I saw him truly angry, it scared me half to death." There's a pattern here, it seems. "After he made sure I knew he wasn't angry at me - after he calmed down - he told me that he'd had a temper all his life, and that he'd spent a long time learning to handle it. He said there wasn't any point in trying not to get angry, because he'd get angry anyway - that the trick was knowing when something was worth acting on and when he just needed to blow off steam."
He shrugs, trailing off. "That's...what that reminded me of. I thought it might help."
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As for the rest of what Persephone had said...
Gods, that's a lot.
"There's nothing wrong with having thorns, and anyone who thinks you shouldn't is wrong." She doesn't have to be perfect. It's the basics, but sometimes things need to be said aloud - he'd needed that just a minute ago himself. But more than that-
He's seen her temper - felt the pressure of that divine rage himself - and she'd said she'd killed people-
But she doesn't seem like the kind of person who'd kill for fun, and he finds himself wondering what the people she'd killed had done. Gods knew the last person he'd seen killed had damn well deserved it.
But killing Torren had still hurt Orion badly, deserving or no. And Orion had a temper on him as well...
Maybe that's it.
"One of my friends," he starts, "one of the people I was hoping for today - his name is Orion. He's a warrior, and a fire mage, and he has a temper. He burns hot." He takes another breath, in and out, trying to ease through homesickness and get to the point. "The first time I saw him truly angry, it scared me half to death." There's a pattern here, it seems. "After he made sure I knew he wasn't angry at me - after he calmed down - he told me that he'd had a temper all his life, and that he'd spent a long time learning to handle it. He said there wasn't any point in trying not to get angry, because he'd get angry anyway - that the trick was knowing when something was worth acting on and when he just needed to blow off steam."
He shrugs, trailing off. "That's...what that reminded me of. I thought it might help."