He chuckled to himself, the smallest of smirks hiding against his lips. Yes, he too knew what it was like to be shot at, though thankfully it hadn’t happened in quite some time. Though honestly he’d expected at least one person to attempt doing so by now. His eyes softened as she spoke of the man, the relationship the two had -from what little he was learning about it- reminded him of his own wife. If only for the fact that each party was trying in a seemingly unorthodox way to better the other. Even now he wondered if he’d truly earned Echo…The Mother hadn’t lopped off his head as of yet, so he had to think he was doing well so far.

“Well then, I hope your wandering leads you to him…” His hands rested in his lap as he slumped to a more comfortable position. Two fingers idly twisted the leather cords that tied Torinasu to his hip, “It is at least a noble thing for a man to want to be the best he can for the person he loves.” His eyes softened with a smile, “Though, let’s hope he doesn’t take too long, yes?” There was bettering oneself and then there was dangerous insecurity…Hopefully it wouldn’t befall either of them, she had the air of someone who held themselves with confidence, but he’d also only been in her presence for a few minutes. Looks could be deceiving, he knew this well.

“Family of my own?” His eyebrows rose, “Yes actually…I have a wife of three years, and in turn we have three children of our own. Two girls and a boy, all born on the same night.” His eyes softened thinking about them and the crystal egg in his satchel seemed so much heavier now. It had been longer than he would have liked to admit since being home, but with the cleansing there were so many places for him to be. He was lucky to even have this half day to himself to get personal work out of the way. And then he’d gotten sidetracked by the eggs…Yes, it might be good to visit their bed tonight, if only for a few hours.

Now this next question was a bit trickier, for he enjoyed keeping up the guise of mortality whenever he could, but he also did not enjoy lying about himself. Omitting was different. He smiled and shook his head, “No, most certainly none of those things…” His eyes glinted at the call of darkness, and for just a moment the emerald hue of them glowed brighter. Instead he cast them up to the sky and stretched his arms behind him; supporting his weight on his palms as he watched the lightning filled dark clouds above them, “I’m a deity…” He sighed, “A busy one at that as of late.” He tried to speak about it as if it were some casual thing, for to him that’s what it was steadily becoming…and he liked feeling normal every once in a while to everyone else.

She lightly chuckled and said, "I'm hoping it won't take too long. But if I know him, he'll perhaps end up finding me." She leaned back and nodded as she looked up at the sky. "He's certainly different from other men I've met. She got comfy on the rock she sat on and curiously looked over back at him. "Its extremely noble, one of the many things I admire about him." She chuckled.

She tilted her head as she listened to him describe his own family. "Three children all in one night?! That must have been busy and shocking." She lightly chuckled. "But it must be sad to be away from him for long times. But I can imagine that everyone must be glad when you return home. I know if it was my family, I'd be eager to get home to them anytime I can." She lightly sighed and said, "But its none of my business."

She widened her eyes in shock and jumped onto her feet. "Oh my goodness. you're a deity? Oh and you must be really mad, I must have been disrespectful all this time." She instantly stopped talking, already feeling regretful for some of her comments. She wasn't sure suddenly what to say to him or act around him that wouldn't cause him to get mad at her.  "Nice going Leodrisa." She muttered to herself as she bit lip.

He hoped that she was right, that the man would find her. Distance from the one you loved was that much more of an ache when you chose to do so. He knew that all too well. There was more he wanted to ask her, but he found himself chuckling at her exclamation about his children. Yes, that had definitely been an eventful night: beautiful and frightening. Echo had never been meant to have children, and it was only through The Mother that she’d been able to get pregnant in the first place. They’d nearly lost her during childbirth, and that was more than enough fear to bring even a deity to their knees.

But he didn’t like to focus on that and instead found himself smiling easier at the lighter memories that resonated from that night, “We knew that three were on the way, but no one can ever be completely prepared for that when the time finally comes.” His eyes returned to the dark clouds hovering overhead, “But they’re healthy, happy, just like their mother.”

His eyes dimmed with her first comment, it was hard to be away from the four of them for so long. The nursery was always the first place he went whenever he came home. Where his smile had faltered, it strengthened again as he looked down at her, “It is very difficult to be gone from them for so long, but you are right: the returns are always happy. And loud,” His eyes widened with that, “They’re just starting to form words so between them and my wife everyone needs to try and get their thoughts out at once, the second they see me.”

His lips parted when she jumped up, but he stayed seated and only looked up at her from there. He quickly shook his head and lightly waved his hands in front of him, “No, you weren’t disrespectful in the least.” This very reaction was what usually kept him from telling people who he was at their first meeting, “It takes a lot to ruffle my feathers, so to speak.” He smiled, hoping it was a comforting one as he leaned forward and patted the rock she had been sitting at previously, “Come, sit back down. We’re two people conversing, nothing to worry about there, right?” He pulled his hand back from the rock and rested it on his knee, “Tell me more about this man of yours. What’s his name?”

She hesitantly tilted her head and sat back down. "I-if you're sure." She sat back down and lightly chuckled after hearing him talk about his family. "Sounds lovely. I can understand that many people would be eager to get back to their families. If it was me, I know three children must be a handful around."

She lightly chuckled again and said, "His name is Darian. And well, its kinda a long story on how we first met." She started laughing at the memory and said, "Most people would be shocked and wonder how we ended up together." She soon managed to get her thoughts together and said, "What about you? How did you end up meeting your wife?"

He smiled what he hoped was a comforting one, and his eyes softened, “Of course I’m sure.” He was happy to see that she allowed herself to sit back down, despite her hesitation. This was more like it, he hated making others uncomfortable, especially someone like her that had been so previously relaxed and nonchalant. “They…Hmm…” He tipped his head up in thought briefly to collect his words before looking back down at her,

“They are a handful, but a handful you enjoy. What feels like minutes spent with them is usually hours. Time goes by so quickly with them, but I’m never regretful of the hours spent. If anything I hate how fast it seems.” He sighed, knowing that while he was immortal, unfortunately his family was not…That fact had made itself a stark reminder since he heard the birth cry of his first born. His family had found ways to lengthen their own lifespan, as tedious as it was to do, but he’d still lost a few members…Prolonged life didn’t make them immune to death like he was.

He chuckled lightly, “A long story just means it’s that much more interesting. If ever you’re willing to tell, I’m more than willing to listen.” He nodded once as if to punctuate that point further and leaned forward comfortably against his knees; his chin propped in his hands. “Did you not start out on the friendliest terms?” He couldn’t be sure with how she’d worded it, and straightened when she asked about how he’d met his own wife. That seemed like so long ago now…Yet he still remembered the day perfectly as if it had just happened.

The memory of it made him smile, his eyes glowing brighter, “She jumped on top of me in ambush, mistaking me for one of the very vampires we were both hired to hunt.” He laughed a little and ran his fingers through his hair, “Neither one of us knew that someone else had been hired to scope and possibly exterminate a budding vampire coven. Oddly enough we argued over who should keep the job mid fight.” he shook his head a little, his smile growing.

But then it faded ever so slightly. That was before he had ascended into deityhood, before his clan had forced him to resign, before so many things had changed…His smile returned to normal as he sighed, “But that was many years ago. Before I’d even ascended to what I am now…It’s strange isn’t it? How much can change in the span of a few years…”

She nodded and said, "I know what you mean, people can change so much. And the memories you have seem like they only just happened. I can remember so many things. And I'm surprised sometimes to remember it happened so many years ago. She lightly sighed and ran a hand through her hair. She lightly smiled as she listened to his story and lightly chuckled. "Awe, that sounds adorable. One of the cutest ways you can meet somebody around."

She leaned back and said, "Well, I traveling with a badly injured shoulder. I was working to earn a few coins when I was grabbed by a thief. He was gonna rob me, but I refused to give him anything until he helped me. So, he hesitantly agreed and we ended up travelling together. Slowly, he brought me to a camp where I could recover and admitted that he thought I was cute. And we slowly admired that we were both cute and flirted." She laughed. "I never imagined being robbed could have a happy ending or even be somewhat of a good thing."

He nodded numbly, his mind already drifting as he remembered back to not even a decade ago. The man he saw in the mirror now compared to who he was then? They were homophones of each other’s lives: seemingly the same, but with different meaning. Who would he be in the next ten years? Already he was a memory to that man of the future, he hoped he wasn’t a disappointment to him…His eyes lit up as she spoke of her own love and he couldn’t hold back a laugh of surprise. “He tried to rob you?!” It was such a shock! Time really was a fickle thing wasn’t it?

“Your love and my own sound like they might get along.” As calm as Echo had become since giving birth and making the transition into motherhood, he could still see her sneaking up on him in the middle of a dark alley to keep him on his toes. “With the start of your relationship being like that? I can’t imagine the two of you being out of each other’s lives for too long…” His eyes softened, a more gentle smile taking place where his boisterous laugh had been. Now it made a little more sense to him, why her love wanted to make himself a better man for her. That really was such a noble thing…

Thunder rumbled overhead as if to remind him why he was there in the first place, and he straightened quickly as his eyes blinked open wider; making his face appear to be more youthful than usual, “We’ve been talking for a good length now…” His words trailed off as his eyes rose up just in time to see another spider web of lightning. “There are still a few tasks I have to tend to.” All this talk of his family cemented that he would be returning there sooner than he had intended, and there was still much work to be done.

“You’re welcome to join me if you like, though I don’t want to keep you from your own wanderings.” He rose to his feet, dusting his hands off on the sides of his pants as he looked down at her, “Though if we do part ways for now, it was a pleasure in meeting you.” He smiled and gently dipped his head down before straightening back up, “Should you ever be in Parvpora or find yourself near one of my portals, I’d love to have you as company in Suisho no Kyuden.”

She laughed as well and lightly nodded. "Yep. Its amazing, many wouldn't have thought something like it could happen." She smiled at the memory and said, "Many people would thing its just one of my stories." She looked up at the sky and nodded again. "It is getting late, makes me wonder how long we've been here." She crossed her arms and thought for a while. She finally looked back at him and replied, "I can probably stick around with you. There isn't much to see and find here. That is if you don't mind."

He shook his head, “Of course I don’t mind.” Though since he had work to do still, he began to walk, nodding his head for her to follow. “I won’t subject you to the lightning chasing. That’s a personal task of mine.” He chuckled, “But there are remains of great machines here that I’m hoping to find. Their machinations were like that of people, and there’s much to learn. Although,” he hesitated only briefly, his eyes moving out in the distance as if one of the golems could come walking into the grove of trees, “These golems are said to be quite dangerous. I’m interested in them for how long they’ve stayed active. Part of me wonders if it has something to do with the constant strikes of lightning. There may be something to it…” His words trailed off as his thoughts began to take over.

When they were back in the open he had to be careful not to let himself get distracted by overthinking, especially now that he had a mortal with him. Far in the distance he could make out the skeletal remains of the civilization that had once been. From there he knew they’d be able to find plenty of spare parts, if not the golems themselves. Though he tried his best to remain optimistic, he often wondered if the stories about them were just that: stories. That gave him an idea, and he turned his eyes to her, though always aware of the striking bolts, “You’re a storyteller, have you ever heard anything about the golems that are said to roam here…?” Just to be safe, he rose his hand and spread an arch of protection over them.

He wanted to cast more on her, but didn’t want to do so without asking…and also didn’t want to frighten her if he could help it, “Not to seem cryptic, but would you mind if I casted something a bit stronger on you…?” Casting wasn’t really the right word since his power came from within, but it was the best way he could think to verbalize his intentions to others. “It would be for protection only, to ensure your safety.” Even if the great machines were only things of legend and myth, the strikes of electricity were still a very real, very dangerous threat. He could survive being struck over and over, and honestly, he’d already absorbed one into himself today: that made him a walking lightning rod so to speak. With her traveling so near, it would only increase the danger around her. Or it was possible he was being overprotective, as was normal for him.

She lightly nodded as she listened to him talk about the golems. She thought for a while and lightly bit her lip. "I've heard little of them. Whenever we manage to tell stories of the golems, you can never get a better look at them or see what they're like. I've heard of people trying to get a better look, but they carry scars. Usually, whenever we tell stories of golems, they serve as warnings and stories of caution. You don't want children sneaking away from their parents after hearing too many adventures." She lightly chuckled and walked along with him. She tilted her head, looking at the arch over them then looked back at him. Her eyes widened curiously, but she nodded. "Of course. I mean its for protection, so it can't be harmful." She waited and said, "Well, go ahead. Its better to do this when looking at those golems."