"I'm still curious!"

Nod. "Anyway. I think if I wanted to - declare in some way that I did not want to be Hers - then She would accept that. But...why would I do that...? It is a precious thing, to be of a people that belongs to one of Them." 

"Why?"

"- Oh, hmm. I really ought know better to assume you want all the same things I do! But - for me - I suppose I have a deep desire to...be a part of some plan, that is larger than me, larger than I could ever be as a mere mortal... Does that make sense?" 

"...only if it's a good plan. Does She have a plan? What's Her plan?"

"...How would I be able to comprehend Her plan? I am merely human. That is the entire point - that She is something far greater than us." 

"...okay but so are volcanoes and I don't want to help one explode."

"Mmm. I suppose that is where faith comes in." 

"It's never especially made sense to me."

An apologetic head-shake. "It is hard - perhaps impossible - to explain. This is why I do not generally bring it up, and - well, I ought assure you that whatever you say now, I will certainly not hold it against you as my student. But - hmm. Since it is relevant in this patient case... What about faith in the gods does not make sense to you?"

"...well, apparently you have no particular reason to expect that She is not a volcano. Metaphorically. But even if She issued an annual statement about how She is still not a volcano this year or something it's pretty obvious none of the gods are actually doing a good job at... any... thing."

Lionwind gives her a very blank confused look. "...Er, why not? It is not obvious to me." 

"...I suppose they could be doing incredible heroics in the background all the time against threats we can't see and it just so happens that the best miracle I've heard of is a dubiously legitimate healing about as good as what a normal Healer can do and which caused a lot of side effects for a bystander. But that's not very impressive."

"What?"

Lionwind seems to shake himself again, and then sits back.

"...Sorry. I.... Just. I - do believe in my Goddess. And that Her priorities are - worthwhile, and that as one of Her people, I ought respect and serve Her. Also - she is not your Goddess and She has no claim on you, and I respect that. I am not sure what else to say..."

"Why do you believe that?"

"Sorry, why do I believe which part?" 

"That her priorities are worthwhile? When you don't know what they are."

Lionwind looks seriously into her eyes. "I believe it because - hmm - because I believe that She could only have chosen my people at all, as Her servants, if - if She shared our priorities, as a people. And so, well, I might sometimes disagree - not that any disagreements have in fact come up in practice - but, I would have less information than the sum of my people together, right? And thus also less than Her." 

"...what stops gods from keeping people like... farm animals or like slaves or like pets without caring about their stuff at all?"

"- Do not most farm owners care about their animals? Or pet owners about their pets? ...I suppose I have no personal example to bring up for slaves, but - it would seem unsurprising if most slave owners did not care about their slaves in a similar way..." 

Lionwind shakes his head. "And, given the realities of the universe - I do not see why our gods ought consider us mortals any different from - pets, or farm animals, or - ants - we are so small and unintelligent compared to Them -"

"...I think farm owners routinely kill their animals and pet owners drown their kittens," she says. "And I'm especially confused how you can think well of her priorities if that's how you expect her to think of people though I guess it would explain why they don't seem to be good at anything."

Blink blink blink. 

"I - am sorry, I am still not sure that I understand your question." 

"...why do you think Her plans are good plans as opposed to bad plans that are equally hard to understand."