Okay he's very confused, here. "Lady Dona, I had been under the impression that both of you were working towards the same goal?"

"We are, and so I do feel entitled to criticise his methods—"

"Sin's attacked the village," Zei says before she can finish.

And at that she visibly sways on the spot, and her guardian is there to lend his support. "Wh-what?"

"Sin attacked the village last night, Lady Dona," Zei repeats. "So you will forgive me if I do not currently feel up to playing the part, here. Rest and then go back down the mountain to see your family." Then, without waiting for her response, he turns to Tōkan. "We're going in now, but Father Pell will show you to your room."

"...right."

The other summoner looks... ill. After a second of trying to regain her composure she turns around and walks off, presumably to her room.

"I'll see you when I see you," Zei tells Tōkan when she's gone.

"That you will," he replies, and after watching the party go up the steps and into the inner chamber he goes looking for Father Pell.

"I hadn't realised you were not a guardian. I'll show you to a guest room."

"Thank you very much."

"You must not let that get to you," he says on the way, having noticed Tōkan's confusion. "Summoners... have many responsibilities. Some of them like to be a bit of a spectacle, too. Give the people hope; give the people safety; give the people joy. I'm sure Lady Dona meant nothing by it."

...oh that makes sense. They become entertainment, too, sort of impromptu actors. And Tōkan bets there's even a little bit of selfishness to it, too, of putting on this character so that they don't have to be themselves, vulnerable, open to the world. If they're playing a character they can distance themselves a little bit from the horrors they are constantly called to witness.

"I understand. ...do guardians have any responsibilities, there, in this masquerade?"

"Are you planning to become one?"

"If Zei will have me. I do not have plans to do anything other than help defeat Sin."

"There are many other ways to help defeat Sin. Joining the Crusaders, or the priesthood, for example."

He shakes his head. "I understand what it means to be a guardian, and it is what I want. I want to be there with Zei and see him through it."

"Very well. You seem to have given this some thought. To answer your question, guardians are—support characters, in a manner of speaking, to the main actors of the so-called play. What this means is personal to them, and just as some summoners choose not to participate in the spectacle so too do some guardians opt to abstain. There is not, you understand, a set of rules you must follow. Your relationship with your summoner, and your summoner's relationship with the world, are your and their own. You will forge your own individual paths."

"That we will."

When they get to the guest bedroom Tōkan gestures at the door. "Place your hand on it so I can key your soul to it so only you can open it."

...fantasy setting. Right. He does as instructed.

The priest touches the door, too, closer to the handle, and it glows warmly for a second. "It should be done."

"Thank you, Father." Pause. "Now what, uh, else is there to be done, here?"

"...at the temple? Prayer, mostly. We have a library, too." What an odd person.

Prayer. Okay.

"Thank you, Father," he repeats. But actually what he's going to do is find the blitzballers.