Aislin ended up poking around the shrine for a while, although she made sure to stay well away from the closed door she'd been warned about. She was surprised, however, to come across a storage room full of different things; some of which she even recognized. Apparently, offerings to the god that weren't immediately used were put in there. Interesting.

Saif slithered above her, watching what she did with interest. She listened to him without question, which was good. And she was braver when he wasn't around. Also normal. Now he just had to watch a bit longer and see if he wanted to keep her or not.

It didn't take much longer for Aislin to get a bit bored with poking around the shrine, and she headed back to the room that had been designated as hers. There was nothing else for her to do at the moment, so maybe a bit of relaxing was in order.

Saif carefully made his way up among the rafters, keeping track of her. While his vision wasn't the same as a snake, he could still tell what she was doing. So he was rather surprised when she didn't try to get out, or get into his rooms, or do much of anything. She just seemed to be getting used to the place. No one had simply sat there and relaxed before; all the others had had to be doing something whenever he was "gone".

If Aislin was being honest, the quiet was both relaxing and slightly unnerving. It was nice to just settle on her cot for a little while after what had gone on before, but at the same time she was a bit nervous that the god would come back and have expected her to DO something. And she couldn't help but keep glancing up at the rafters of the ceiling. She kept thinking she heard something, but she was never able to see what could be making the sound. That didn't help her nerves at all.

Her looking up at the rafters was new, too. No one else had ever thought to look up there before, even the few that had noticed something moving around in the temple. Curious now, Saif took his time slithering back to his room, sliding down into the bed before he shifted back. He would give her a bit of time to relax, and if he heard her moving around again he'd emerge. But otherwise, he had a few things to think over himself.

It took Aislin a while to notice the sound had stopped. Strangely, that didn't make her feel any better. If it started and stopped like that, then it was likely something alive, and she didn't want to deal with that. Not at the moment. So it was best to leave well enough alone where that was concerned.

When she finally had enough of relaxing, she ventured out of her room again. There wasn't much else for her to do but poke around some more.

Once he heard her poking around again, Saif emerged from his room and made his way over to her.

"Found anything of interest?" he asked, raising his eyebrows at her.

Aislin squeaked in surprise and jumped a bit when he came up behind her.

"The storage room," she blurted without thinking.

"Ah." Saif smiled. "Most don't go to the bother of finding it." He stopped a few feet away from her, leaning back against a wall. "What did you think of it?"

"It was crowded," Aislin replied carefully. "Are such things not useful?" Because she'd seen silks and such in there, and-- She quickly crushed the thought that he might look good in silks. It was not an appropriate thought for her situation, no matter how surprisingly attractive he was.

"Some of them, I suppose," Saif said with a shrug. "However, I cannot imagine what I will do with some of the things. They give me yards of cotton, but I already have clothing. I do not know how to sew. And I have no need for unfinished cloth." He shrugged.

The admission would have surprised her, except it made sense. Why would he need to know how to sew?

"I suppose, from that perspective..." Aislin trailed off, glancing towards the storage room again. All of those precious fabrics, just sitting there. There were other valuables in the room, as well, and it seemed to her to be a waste that they were just sitting there. She didn't comment on it, however. They weren't hers to use, and it already seemed like he might have already taken what he could use.

"I can't return them," Saif continued. "They're gifts. The villagers don't like to have gifts returned. They think it's a sign of my displeasure." He snorted.

"If you see something in there you like, feel free. You may have whatever you like."

"I couldn't possibly..." Aislin protested immediately. It was partially habitual, and partially genuine. She hadn't done anything to deserve the gifts.

"If you don't, nothing will happen with them. I don't use them." Saif shrugged. "But if you must do something to earn them, I suppose you could organize that room, or clean, or something." He shrugged. None of the other women had been interested in household chores. At all.

"I didn't... say anything about that," Aislin ventured. At least, she didn't think she'd said it aloud. All she'd said was that she couldn't just take them.

"No," Saif agreed. "But you're from the village. You're not the daughter of one of the wealthy ones, else you wouldn't be here. Your nails are short, your hands look well-used, and you're clearly not afraid to look around, rather than ask someone to do things for you. So you're used to working, earning things rather than simply taking them."

Aislin blinked. She hadn't realized he was able to figure so much out just from her appearance. She wasn't used to that. But that also made her think about something else.

"Have there been others who weren't?" she ventured. "Not used to working, expected things to be done for them?" She paused when she realized just how prying a question that was, and covered her mouth with a hand. "I'm sorry!"

"There have been," Saif said, ignoring her apology. He wasn't offended. "I have had girls here who had never worked a day in their lives, and others who thought that since they lived here, they would never have to do anything for themselves." His smile was rather cold. "They thought I would simply take care of their every need and whim for them. They quickly discovered that is not the case."

Aislin couldn't help but make a bit of a face at that.

"But that isn't what we're given for," she said before she could stop herself. Once she said it, though, she felt like she had to keep going. "Sacrifices are given for you to do with what you will. To see to your whims, not the other way around."

Saif smiled faintly. "Indeed, that is the intention of the gift," he said quietly. "There have been a few others with that mindset. They were nicer to have around, although two of them did far too much bowing and scraping and cringing when I was around." Because even though he was supposed to be a god, he wasn't comfortable with that kind of fear and awe. Not in someone he lived with.

"It's respectful," Aislin murmured, a little embarrassed at the reminder. She'd gotten relaxed; elsewise she wouldn't have spoken so freely. But she hadn't been punished for it, either, so perhaps it was alright?

"Perhaps it is," Saif said with a shrug. "But it also doesn't allow conversation." He gave her a look, since she'd just proven his point for him. She had been speaking freely, and now she was back to that respectful crap and likely would go back to whatever answers she thought would please him if he asked any more questions.

"So... You prefer conversation to bowing and scraping?" Aislin asked cautiously. If she was understanding him right, then maybe this could work.