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Her fingers closed on the jar as if it were a treasure. "Thank you," she breathed. "Will it stop breaking off?"
"Yes," he promised. "Soon, you will no longer have a need for wigs. I'm sure even Jamik will be willing to help you style it, because I expect you to have the most luxurious mane of wild spirals."
The breath rushed from her lungs and Shalsa lunged forward to hug Zeal tightly. "I've prayed and you heard. Thank you. It seemed so shallow."
He chuckled and hugged her back. "I think you've earned a little something for yourself, now let's see what the chosen ones got, hm? I think Anver should go first."
"Me?" Anver asked. "But..."
"Just do it," Talin teased. "I mean, he's a god, so he probably has a reason."
Anver smiled at him timidly, but then focused on his own gift. The package was long and slender, which made it incredibly awkward to open, but Eladehl's was shaped much the same. Halfway through, Anver looked up to compare, but eventually he got it free. Like so many of our other gifts, this was in a wooden box, but Anver's was much, much larger than the rest. Carefully, he cracked open the lid, making it clear there were hinges on the back. Then he simply paused.
"Zeal," he finally breathed.
"It's the best sword I could find for you," Zeal told him. "You, Anver, are a guardian. You deserve to be armed like it."
"But Tish..."
The look that flashed across Zeal's face was pure rage. "That sniveling little brat doesn't matter."
"She hit him this morning," I said.
All eyes jumped to me.
"She does that too much," Zeal said. "But he refuses to hit back. So I'm giving him a reason to stay his path, because..." And his head turned to Anver, the fury faded, and something much more tender took its place. "I need you, my friend."
"Ok," Anver agreed. "And it's beautiful, Zeal, but I'm worried the price will be too heavy."
"Not for you," he promised. "I just need a little more faith."
"Then you have it." And he lifted a rapier for the rest of us to see. "It's gorgeous."
The thing really was. The blade had been darkened to a deep grey. The hilt was completely black, and shaped like a tangle of serpents. If there had ever been a blade that was meant to be carried by one of Zeal's priests, this was definitely it. Not only that, but it was sized perfectly for Anver, being neither too small to look good on his waist nor too clunky to fit his frame.
"With the suit," I said, "you're going to look amazing."
That finally made him smile. "Think so?"
"I know so," I promised.
Eladehl came next. And while his box looked almost exactly like Anver's, what was inside was very different. With a chuckle, my partner lifted up a rather elegant walking cane. The whole thing was black except for a silver tip on the end, and a rather obvious rabbit head shaped to fit his hand.
"That," Zeal told him, "is a weapon. The grip is stout enough to use as a club, and the tip... Well, just beneath those bunny ears is a button that will reveal the blade inside. You, my temptation, can't protect if you don't have a weapon that matches your declared Path."
Pointing the end away, Eladehl had to try it. Sure enough, a spring-loaded blade shot out the end. Pressing the button while he pushed the tip against the floor returned it inside the cane. In other words, I had one less reason to worry about my best friend.
Zeal naturally gestured to Wraythe next. "Your turn."
With a grunt, Wraythe began to open his box, because it seemed that large boxes were the theme of Zeal's gifts. Finding another elegant wooden container inside shocked no one, but when Wraythe opened that, the man's mouth parted in shock. Reaching in, he lifted out a rather complicated looking contraption.
"What is it?" he asked.
"Arm sheath," Zeal told him. "Spring-loaded to drop a dagger into your hand. No need to wear elegant rapiers. You can be armed and most won't even notice, but you'll have to master the art of releasing it."
"Plus," Jamik added, "you'll have to wear your cuff a bit loose on that side. Just enough to drop the blade out, but under a coat? They'll assume your size is your only threat, yet if you need it, the blade will be there."
Wraythe just glanced at Eladehl. "I have a funny feeling that I'll need it. Thank you, Zeal."
