video | un: SecondWind

[crosspear]

Have any of you tried a fruit called the 'doreh'?

[It’s a brief question. Gaius addresses the network early in the morning, hopefully after people have eaten breakfast. There have been a few things on his mind for a while, so he might as well ask now before the network turns to death talk again.]

I spoke with one of the workers on Thesa before coming here, and he shared some with me. It’s a green fruit with several leaves, and it has a bumpy texture...you might have seen it before. When you slice into it, the juice is purple. It's delicious and tastes like honey and plum, but...if someone offers you the same fruit in a different color, you might want to be careful. I’ve heard the other colors of doreh have side effects that are...less than desirable.

[How ominous? He seems to know what’s going on, at least.]

With all the conversation topics we've had, I'd also like to ask...were you religious where you're from, or was your world religious? I've visited the temples here, and they're...unique. [It's so hard to pick just one word.] I've been thinking about my own faith...a lot changes when you end up on a different world, doesn't it?

[He pauses for a moment, and then shakes his head slightly.]

Haha...it sounds a little heavy when I phrase it like that, but I'm still interested in hearing about your worlds if I haven't lost you all yet.

Comments

audio | un:edmund

[exonerated]

Many things change, but your faith does not have to. It could still remain a part of you.

[ Edmund had come a long way, believing in Aslan the way he had. It saved his life. No apocalypse or storm or any other disaster could possibly change that. ]

And of those fruits, have you encountered any that were less desirable?

audio;

[crosspear]

Haha...I feel the same way, actually. And there's a presence here that's still divine to me.

[It's something he's missed dearly; it's not something he felt on the space station.]

I haven't had any myself, no, but I don't think I was being lied to when I was told they exist. There's a variety that turns skin purple for starters.

audio;

[exonerated]

Is there? Something similar to the divine you worship in your home?

[ Edmund can't say the same because, well, no one where worships an actual martyr lion. ]

For a starter, it seems quite safe. Amusing, even.

[ Turning someone purple? That's nothing. ]

Sorry for the late reply, I took a break because of the heat.

[crosspear]

My people worship the wind, actually. I never thought I'd find myself on a different world, but I'd be even more surprised to find one where wind didn't exist.

[He's not worried about being judged. There's a confidence in the way he speaks that suggests he's just fine with mentioning that aspect of his life.]

There's another one that works as an...aphrodisiac.

[Oops, that confidence falters a bit. He hopes that he doesn't have to explain that word.]

no worries!

[exonerated]

Just the wind itself? Or do you believe that there's a god that control it?

[ Don't worry, Gaius, Edmund and co. worship a Lion, technically. Can't casts stones here.

But, about those fruits — ]

Ah.

[ The thoughtful sound of someone that knows what it is and doesn't really know what to do with that information. ]

And they simply — offered it to you, I suppose?

[crosspear]

Just the wind itself. My people use it to determine a variety of things, and it's never led us wrong.

[For a moment as he briefly explains, Gaius sounds a little more content as he remembers home. It's a shame the fruit have to come back into the discussion. He shakes his head.]

I was warned about them before I arrived on the planet. One of the Orbiters told me, a man named Roman.

[exonerated]

It's unique from other forms of worship I've heard thus far.

[ It always involves a different god, one way or another, though it seems their form and function end up the same in retrospect. Some kind of higher power with the ability to make things better or worse for others. ]

Roman – he's the one that provided us with a, ah, that rather unique food. [ Not terrible, just... different. ] Did he warn you of any other exotic foods?

[crosspear]

Oh, you met him as well? I really enjoyed getting to know him. He recreated a few dishes from my homeland, actually.

[There's clear fondness in Gaius' voice at the mention of Roman. He seemed like a decent man, though Orbiters are all so mysterious to him.]

I can't say that he did. If I'd known how things would end up, I might've asked him for more information...maybe it's not too late.