Role

Chapter 9

Rarywey suggested that one day Tsiynil will tell Damil about herself at some
point. When next Damil visited Rarywey's shrine, it was Tsiynil that he had
a discussion with. Since it was his Goddess's shrine, and there was never a
mention about danger, Damil had the expectation of general safety from the
aspects of the shrine. It is a place he could feel safe and comfortable in so
he can further open himself up. That's how one can learn how to feel for
others. One has to be a little vulnerable.

Tsiynil's behavior was aggressive. At first, Damil just figured she was
teasing him or making a point of how she was in the past. That changed when
he walked into an obvious verbal trap. It ended up with her taking a chunk
out of his arm and telling him to leave. There was an implication she was
going to eat him if he stayed. He agreed to leave, saying he will come back
when she was less dangerous to him. As he left, Tysinil made it clear that
given how he tastes, she will always be dangerous.

And this devastated Damil. The emotional reaction was a bit stunning even for
him. If it was just annoyance or even a brief moment of fear, it would pass.
But it did not, and instead he felt loss and deep betrayal. Now the River,
the one where he was tasked to return to, is no longer safe to him. The
entire place's meaning to him has irrevocably changed. And Rarywey never
even warned him. For him, if she believed he was truly valuable(as she kept
on saying) she would have at least considered his safety. Then he started to
consider if he could ever come back.

In the end, he decided he would come back. But he would have to stay on land
(even if he often more comfortable in the water) and always on guard. He
would just fall back on old habits and never have an expectation that he will
ever feel that anyone cares. But at the very least he could say he didn't
break his agreement to keep returning.