"You can't have this one. At least, not yet." Saif looked at Cadr. "Getting lonesome out in those woods?" he teased right back.

"Shut up," Cadr replied. He quickly sidestepped the question. "You didn't answer me. Do you like this one? You got rid of the last one pretty quick."

Saif shrugged. "So far she's alright. She's still in the quavering in fear stage. I'll have to spend a few more days before I really decide about her." He'd noticed how his friend had sidestepped the question, but he didn't say anything more about it. If Cadr wanted to talk, he'd talk. But not until then.

"Well, let me know how this one turns out for you," Cadr said. He ran a hand through his hair, absently preening a bit. Hey, he didn't need feathers to preen. Feathers were more trouble than they were worth sometimes, especially the ones that sprouted in his hair.

Saif nodded, walking a few more paces in silence. "You know," he said, almost absently, "if you really want human, you could just take one."

Cadr glanced at him.

"Take one?" he repeated. That was... different. He'd never heard of anyone just taking a human for themselves before.

Saif shrugged. "It's just a thought," he said, although now he knew that since he'd put the thought in his head, Cadr would consider it. And who knew? Maybe a human would be good for his friend. He'd been living alone out in the woods for far too long.

"It's never 'just a thought' with you, Saif," Cadr replied. "It's always plots and schemes and niggling ideas. Not 'just thoughts.'" Still, though... The notion was an intriguing one. Perhaps he would look into it, if Saif's latest human pet turned out well.

Saif just smiled, not denying any of it. Hey, Cadr could be blunt and blustering when he wanted to, so Saif felt no need to deny that he was more subtle than his friend.

Cadr rolled his eyes a bit and gave his friend a playful shove.

"So what do you plan to do with this one?" he asked.

Saif shrugged. "Dunno yet. Spend a few days to see how she'll be. If I don't like her, I'll let you know and you can have her."

Cadr grinned, just shy of a smirk.

"Alright," he said. Even more reason to wait until Saif figured out if he wanted the human girl. If he didn't, it would save Cadr the trouble of finding one.

Saif shivered briefly and turned to head back towards his home.

"Alright, it's now too cold for me. Think about what I told you, and I'll see you in a day or two."

Cadr nodded and watched his friend go. He wasn't cold, but he was also warm-blooded. It would take longer for him to feel it.

Saif made it back fine and settled into his own bed happily, wiggling around some to get comfortable before he drifted off.

Since he was cold-blooded, it took him a bit longer to warm up and therefore wake up the next morning. He expected his little human guest to be up already, so he took his time getting dressed and emerging from his room, his open vest showing a few scales glistening against his skin.

Aislin was indeed already awake, and she was cautiously poking around the shrine. Villagers weren't allowed inside (unless they were sacrifices like her) and so she was a little morbidly curious about what the rest of the shrine looked like. When she heard footsteps behind her, she jumped and lowered her gaze.

"You don't need to continue doing that," Saif said, looking at her. "You're no longer part of the village, and you needn't act like that around me. You're not a servant, Aislin." He stopped on the other side of the room, turning to look at her. "This is your home now. Feel free to look around and pick whatever open room you'd like. I ask only that you stay out of my room; the door will be closed at all times."

Aislin knew she wasn't a servant. That much was clear. However, she HAD been given to him; as such, he was allowed to do with her whatever he wanted.

"If it pleases you," she replied cautiously, hesitantly raising her head again.

Saif watched her for a few moments before he nodded. Good enough for the time being. He could see she was going to be quieter than the last one he'd gotten, which was a good thing. And she seemed smarter too, so far anyway. Also a good thing.

After a moment of being watched, Aislin started to fidget. She wasn't used to being scrutinized so closely for so long, and it was making her uneasy. But she had no way of asking if she passed muster without sounding rude.

Saif looked away after a few more moments, moving over closer to her instead and looking down the hallway.

"What foods shall I have brought for you?" He looked down at her again briefly as he asked. He'd found that the best way to see if a girl would fit in with his life was to just talk to her for a bit.

Aislin opened her mouth to speak, and caught herself. She'd been about to speak far, far too freely.

"Whatever you see fit?" she tried after a moment.

Saif snorted. He knew she'd been about to say something else, and had caught herself. She was still thinking of him too much as a god. It was a habit that would break, of course, but if it didn't start to go away in a few days he might just hand her off to Cadr and be done with it.

"I see," he said, his voice dry. "Go explore. I will see about the river."

Or just shift to his somewhat smaller snake form so he could crawl around in the rafters and watch what she did for a while.

Again, Aislin hesitated, but the hesitation was a bit shorter, this time. She glanced at him again before nodding and hurrying from the room. Maybe she would be able to keep herself busy for a while exploring.

Saif moved back to his room so he could change in peace. And then he slithered up into the rafters so he could keep an eye on Aislin and watch what the girl did in her free time.