"Somehow I have a hard time picturing gryphons being very religious, but maybe that is just my being small-minded." 

Ma'ar finally dares a question. "Do they have Foresight the way gods to? The spirit avatars, I mean – is that part of what She does to them?" 

"- Oh, yes, I imagine so. They know the answers to questions, and – well, human long range Foreseers are sometimes cryptic as well, the avatars are just - more so." 

"Is that part of what makes them seem less human? That they've - got this other sense, and so when they try to talk to you, it's like...I don't know, a human talking to a species that's always blind and doesn't even know what sight is?" 

"...Perhaps." 

"Blind people aren't that weird. I know somebody who was born blind. I guess maybe if she was born blind and didn't speak a language used mostly by people who can see she might be harder to talk to though..."

"Right, I think blind humans have to end up learning - a lot of ways to fake things you'd normally do with seeing, and also they can listen to stories where people describe seeing things, and... I don't know, I think the metaphor isn't right, because - human minds are made to have a seeing part, right, Azabel? And blind people still have that, it's just their eyes that don't work. But...humans must not even have the mind-part that gods do, for Foresight..." 

He suddenly looks very curious. "I wonder what a god would look like to Mindhealing-Sight." 

Summerhawk seems to consider this a moderately uncomfortable question! "They - are not the kind of entity that can be studied." 

"She actually uses her seeing part for something totally different, I wrote an article on it. - do you mean gods would not show up to Mindhealing-Sight like animals and rocks and the weather don't, or do you mean something else."

"Maybe the weather is not a bad comparison. She is - She has a will, in a way the weather does not, of course - but also the weather is...very large, it happens over vast areas, mostly in ways we cannot see or understand. And I think She is like that." 

"The weather can be studied, though. Just, not with specifically Mindhealing-Sight."

"I confess I do not know much about how weather can be studied! But, I think if one tried to study Her in similar ways, one would end up frustrated and learning little." 

"But is that because of her being a god or because of her... personality, like, I also wouldn't learn much if I tried to study a human who did not want to be studied because for one thing that would be unethical but even if I were unethical they could make it difficult."

Summerhawk is blinking at her, like someone who did not quite understand the question. 

"Does she not want to be understood better, or is it somehow impossible."

"I think maybe it is just impossible for humans to understand gods." 

"Is it possible for gods to understand humans?"

"Huh. You know - I suspect no, not entirely? They can - care about us as peoples, and ally with us in a limited way, but - I suspect They are just too different." 

"I can't quite figure out why gods want things. Or I suppose you could say I can't quite figure out what gods want, because - it seems pretty likely that a lot of the stuff we see them working towards is instrumental? Like if you work to make money it's not because you want money because it's shiny, it's because you can spend it. I think it's more likely that gods want people-allies to spend them than because humans are cute or whatever, and I have no idea what on."

"I am not sure that anyone knows." 

"I feel like if I were going to worship one I'd want a general idea but it sounds like the Star-Eyed's been very helpful and I guess most people don't feel the same way."

"It has not troubled me, no. It is enough to know that She cares and has demonstrated a commitment to my people." 

Aza' s point is sort of that they have NO IDEA if she cares but she does not press the issue, just lobs the idea at Ma'ar while nodding.

Ma'ar is also nodding. 

He agrees with Aza on this point and also he is SO STRESSED right now and kind of just wants to escape before anything bad happens. 

"Thank you for lending us the books."