"That wouldn't be very nice of you."

"But it would be really funny, I would give him a silly mustache. It would be all twirly and everything!"

"Do not adulterate my alt's beloved husband without his permission, please."

"Fiiine," says Idania, not actually put out in the slightest.

"Thank you."

".... Hey, you know I was completely joking, right? I would not draw on someone's face unless we were best friends. Or if I was drunk, maybe."

"She drew on Rae once. It was hilarious. I have escaped unscathed, though, probably mostly because I'm not in the habit of passing out drunk."

Idania giggles. "I do that sort of thing to drunks when I am drunk. Or, when really close friends of mine are sleeping. Rae woke up halfway through and just - didn't move or complain and watched curiously. He thought it was funny. Ran around with stars and a rainbow on his face for like three days after until it finally rubbed off."

"I imagine some of his other followers were confused."

"So confused," laughs Idania. "Most of them weren't brave enough to even ask!"

"How much is it a question of bravery? Do gods tend to harm people who ask them impertinent questions?"

"It's... Rae can actually be really intimidating if you don't know him. I think some gods are actually harmful, but people are more worried about insulting them and losing their favor. Apparently normal people do not want to ask stoic, seemingly emotionless and all-powerful gods that control the place they live about why they have silly drawings on their face." Shrug. "Weirdos."

"We're going to visit what is probably an acolyte of a harmful god. Perinixu gets along fine with most gods who aren't genuinely, actively bad, so an acolyte who'd steal from one of hers would tend to belong to such a deity. But I don't know how they'll interact with your magic, and I can counter any diseases the acolyte tries to give you - defense wins."

"I mean, we know I can do at least two things they apparently can't."

"I'm used to acolyte on acolyte fights, Rae sometimes chafes with other nearby gods. And I'm even all at the prime of my life again and everything, my bones don't creak and everything. So if it's a plague god, pretty sure I can take the acolyte if Aya promises to patch me up if I catch a horrific plague from the person."

"Of course I will patch you up."

"And I can fight, too, if it comes to that, magic or stabbing, and Adarin's going to be napped when we get there. Should be a curbstomp."

"How are you remotely effective at stabbing, or is the clumsiness only me?"

"Our other alt Iobel has a spell for it. You seem to be all set via blessings though or I'd suggest arranging a visit."

"Ooo, that's useful. For general knowing things purposes, what can Adarin do? And, actually, what sort of magical combat things can you do?"

"Well, I can direct this cloud-pine as I am doing now, I can shoot pre-blessed arrows, I can stab people with a pre-blessed dagger, and I have memorized a few minor curses and a knockout spell but those mostly require diagrams or getting close enough to the target to throw herbs on them and then recite a verse without leaving that range, so when witches fight it's mostly the arrows and daggers and flying around."

"Aha. That's weird and I would like to know more about that, and how your magic works in general. What about his? His isn't plant based at all but the rules to it seem kind of arbitrary."

"His I obviously don't understand as well, but basically he comes up with extremely specific instructions for the universe and then the universe says 'yes sir' and this costs amounts of mana."

"Oooo. Ooo, that's cool. There are so many ways I could throttle that system to be my bitch, I don't suppose the magic's transferable?"

"Neither mine nor his, sorry. Or Iobel's, for that matter, you need a thing you only get if you're from her world, and mine and Adarin's is hereditary."