Chapter 106: Chapter 106: Table talks at dinner-time and the nurturing of soft waters

“Closing the guild would be a real dick move, honestly,” says Sockel. “After we went through the trouble to shut the frogs down and become the only one left in the neighborhood.” She rubs her bloodshot eyes and grabs her glass, taking a drink.

 

Hineni nods, continuing to cut his food. “That’s why we’re not closing the guild down. We’re just going to make it somebody else’s problem.”

 

“M- Moving is really exciting, isn’t it?” asks Seltsam’s stuttering voice from behind the bookshelf that separates their dinner table from her.

 

Because of the sheer amount of people that run in and out of the guild all day to rest and to eat and to buy and sell things, it is simply impossible to get a seat at any of their own booths in the restaurant area anymore. So they have started eating in the library regularly instead, having set up a ‘private’ table for them all. “I’ve never moved before,” says the librarian. “I mean, officially, you know.”

 

“It’s going to be a mountain of work,” says Hineni. “But I think it’s for the best for all of us, honestly.”

 

“Yeah,” says Rhine, swirling his fork around against his plate. “It’s really hard to sleep at night now. The hallway is always so loud.”

 

“I know, right?” says Seltsam. “I can hear it all the way down here too. I have to lock the library doors now, because people kept wandering inside.”

 

Hineni looks at Sockel, who has familiar, dark bags under her eyes. She seems to be suffering the same problem, especially with her very sensitive hearing. “Hold on a little longer,” says Hineni. “We’ll make it work. How’s the property hunt going?” he asks.

 

Sockel yawns. “It’s going fine. There’s a lot available, actually,” says the elf. “It really is like we thought. A lot of people moved either here, towards us, or to the other cities to the west and the east, where there’s less going on.” She sets her glass down, staring into it. “Tons of empty property in the middle. But that’s because it’s an active war-zone.”

 

“No neighborhood is perfect,” replies Hineni.

 

“You look tired,” notes Rhine, looking at Sockel.

 

Sockel mumbles something that nobody quite seems to understand and stares at her glass.

 

“So how are we going to move all of the books?” asks Seltsam. Everyone stops eating, as they look around the massive, two story library. “W- we’re taking all of the books, right?” she asks.

 

“You shouldn’t hold on to material wealth,” jokes Hineni.

 

“I’ll die before I give my library!” argues Seltsam. “Uh, I mean… the library.”

 

“That’s the spirit,” says Hineni, nodding in approval. “Don’t worry, Seltsam,” he says. “We’ll get it done somehow. I guess we’ll have to get a lot of boxes and a few carts.”

 

“- Sealed crates and covered wagons,” says Seltsam. “They have to be protected from the elements!”

 

Hineni stares at his plate, thinking. “Can’t we just throw some cloth over them and call it a day?”

 

“Absolutely not!” says Seltsam. “Books, especially old one, are very sensitive to temperature and moisture. Don’t even get me started on the ink!” she says. “Did you know that the ink they used for these older books is actually very acidic? Over the lifespan of a book, it’ll eat through the paper,” she explains. “It’s a real problem for old literature!”

 

“…Huh…” says Hineni. That was sort of a random diversion. But at least she’s a part of the conversation. “Fascinating,” lies the man. “Fine. We’ll get it done right,” says Hineni. This sounds expensive though and that’s just the books. There’s still all of his forging equipment and Sockel’s paperwork plus anything else they need to take. Sure, they have the money for this themselves. But… “Sockel, do you think we can get the military to pay for our move?” he asks. “If we tell them some made up garbage like that we’re moving closer to the front to help the war-effort?”

 

Sockel lays there, slumped to the side, asleep against Rhine, who is doing his best to fight against the weight of her body and not fall off of his own spot.

 

“Can’t the owl-god just… transform and carry a bunch of stuff there by flying?” asks Rhine, fighting to stay upright in his seat. “That sounds super efficient. We’d save a lot of money that way.”

 

“Damn. Good idea, Rhine,” says Hineni, looking at Obscura who is sitting next to him. She’s nibbling greedily on the small rabbit’s bone held between the sharp edges of her long talons.

 

The owl god clicks with her mouth. “Foolish worshipers,” says the owl-god. “They ask divine Obscura to sully her beautiful talons with the dust and sweat of a thousand boxes?”

 

“I mean, like… three, or four, maybe,” says Rhine, shrugging.

 

Obscura tilts her head, leaning in over the table and then back away from it again as she examines the room and them. She clicks with her mouth, setting the cleaned bone down onto her plate. “Very well. Obscura will do this,” says the owl-god, pointing at Rhine. “But the river-boy must in turn stay where he sits now for three hours!”

 

“What?” asks Rhine.

 

“Three!” hoots Obscura. “The sock-elf’s rest is not to be disturbed, as I have need of her elf-mind,” explains the owl-god. “So you shall remain where you sit and act as a strong tree for her to nest on for three hours and in turn, I will carry the boxes.”

 

“Uh…” Rhine pushes his foot against the ground to stabilize himself, sitting back straight upright and lifting Sockel up a bit again.

 

“This is her offer,” says Obscura. "Accept it or perish."

 

“Fine,” says Rhine. “But then you guys have to take over my part of the washing,” he says. “Sorry, Seltsam, I think I’m gonna be here for a while.”

 

“That’s okay,” says Seltsam. “It’s nice to have company now and then.”

 

“I’ll handle it,” says Hineni, getting up. Dinner is about done anyway. Obscura gets up to help him stack everything together and carry it out. “Good night, see everyone tomorrow,” says Hineni and the two of them walk out of the back door of the library to the kitchen.

 

---

 

“What was that about?” asks Hineni, looking at Obscura as the two of them wash the dishes together. “I get not wanting to carry boxes by yourself so far,” he says. “But why that?” he asks, pointing over his shoulder with his thumb, referring to the odd deal she had made with Rhine.

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“Who~” hoots Obscura, carefully grabbing another plate with her talons and scrubbing it off. “Foolish Hineni-man,” says Obscura. “This he is and shall forever remain. But there is nothing wrong with this truth.” Hineni takes the clean plate from her as she hands it over and dries it off with a dish-towel. “The waters of Rhine's youth flow wild. It will do him good to face a challenge to restore his pride, but also to spend time with creatures that are not the Hineni-man.”

 

“Isn’t every creature not me?” asks Hineni, placing the plate down onto a stack and taking the next one that she’s washed from her.

 

“Correct,” hoots Obscura. “There is only one Hineni and there is only one Ob~ scu~ra,” says the owl-god and together they make two, which makes them one and so there are three.”

 

“Makes sense to me,” nods Hineni, drying off the plate.

 

She nods, scrubbing another spot on the next plate. “- But the river-boy is alone. He is but one, surrounded by many other ones. These add up, but they do not add up to three.”

 

“Are you saying that Rhine needs a girlfriend?” asks Hineni. “He’s still too young.”

 

Obscura clicks with her mouth. “Obscura says that he needs a friend,” says the owl-god. “He has found this in Hineni, but Hineni is Obscura’s alone. So, he instead must become friends with the sock-elf.”

 

“You know that people can have more than one friend, right?” asks Hineni. "Are you jealous of me spending time with Rhine?"

 

“It is not the same,” says Obscura. “You are good. But you can not be a friend in the way that is needed for him to grow free and nourished.”

 

“What do you mean?” asks Hineni. “We get along great.”

 

“You do,” says Obscura. “But to the river, you are the sea.” She shakes her head. “The bond is a strong one, but it is not what is required for the health of the waters.”

 

Hineni thinks. “You think so?”

 

Obscura nods. “Hineni makes a fine father,” says the owl-god. “He will raise strong and proud children with her,” says Obscura. “But Rhine needs a friend too, not just a father.”

 

“I guess that makes sense,” concedes Hineni. Rhine isn’t in school anymore, after all. He doesn’t have any peers of any kind. He’s just working all day and when he’s not working, he’s hanging out with Hineni or sleeping, or spending time with Sockel in the dungeon.

 

“But what does this have to do with Sockel?” asks Hineni. “I think they get along great. But she’s too old for them to be schoolyard-friends.”

 

“But not old enough to be a sister-friend,” says Obscura. “And the strange book-woman will offer the same.” She shakes off the next plate, holding it out towards him. Hineni grabs it and the two of them hold onto it together. “- Childhoods should not be spent alone," she says and the two of them stare at one another for a time.

 

“— So what do you think about Rhine’s wish?” asks Hineni, breaking the silence.

 

She clicks with her mouth. “It is… trouble,” says Obscura. “I had hoped that he would ask for help finding a future mate amongst the many guests in our home or for pretty coins and baubles, or perhaps even for a river in his room. I can do a great many things,” says the owl-god. “But…”

 

“I thought so,” replies Hineni, reading the room. He sighs and dries off the plate.

 

“There are options. But we should not,” says Obscura. “I am powerful now, so there is great magic available to me. But it would not be true.”

 

She is likely referring to the pseudo mind-control that the big-frog had used on him, to convince him that his alternate dream-life was real. Being strong enough now, she could use a similar magic on Rhine’s mother to 'alter' whatever happened in her past. But this is morally dubious at best. It isn't something that an owl should do. This is frog territory.

 

“So, what are you going to tell him?” asks Hineni.

 

“The truth,” says the owl-god. “’Lies’ has four letters. It is for the dirty frogs.”

 

Hineni nods, setting down the next plate onto the stack. He hopes that this won’t be a loaded issue. Hell, after what happened, he isn’t even sure if Rhine wants that wish anymore. He lifts his gaze towards the ceiling, staring at it as he thinks about what he would have done in the same position.

 

— Something pokes his chest.

 

He looks down at the spoon, waiting to be dried off and gets back to work. “Want to go for a walk tonight?” asks Hineni. “If we’re moving, we might not get many more chances to walk around the area.”

 

Obscura nods again. “We will return to the park, yes?” she asks. “With the very big tree?” she asks.

 

“I guess you’re excited about the idea,” says Hineni.

 

She hoots, whistling at the same time.

 

It makes sense, he supposes. Living in a tree is going to be a big adjustment for all of them. But it’s going to be a big tree.

 

— A very big tree.

 

So they’ll make it work, somehow. A god’s magic can do a lot of things, after all. Some of them aren't morally dubious, they're just strange. But that's fine. There's nothing wrong with that.

 

Hineni pinches the owl-god and she hoots in surprise, turning her head around to bite him.

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