"Yes," Saif said emphatically. "Very much so." Maybe there was hope for this one yet.

Aislin considered that for a moment, and then nodded slowly.

"I'll try to remember that, then," she said.

"Very good." Saif grinned briefly, his teeth a little sharper than a humans, his canines especially. "Now, I shall see about food for you. I suspect you're probably hungry."

Aislin hadn't really been paying attention until then, but at the mention of food she realized that yes, it had been a while since her last meal and she was hungry. After a moment, she nodded a bit.

"Something to eat would be welcome," she said. "Thank you."

Saif nodded and moved away to go figure out what he could get. He had some dried goods, he knew that, but he'd have to get fresh things from the village. It wouldn't take long, and it would be easy. The priests were always eager to fetch things for him when he needed them.

And then tonight maybe he'd see what was making the river dry up.

It didn't take Aislin long to feel a bit awkward standing there.

"Is there anything you need me to do?" she asked finally. It would be better than being useless.

"If you'd like to look through the dry goods, I will send someone into town for some fresh things for you as well." Saif shrugged. The priests knew what to get better than he did. He didn't know the names of half the fruits and grains they brought back, just that they were edible somehow. Since he preferred to shift forms and then hunt for himself, he didn't often ask for food. Unless he had a human with him.

Aislin nodded. It was something useful to do, at least, and she remembered where the dry goods were kept, from when she went exploring. She hesitated, not sure if she should bow to him or not. Finally, she erred on the side of caution and made a wuick bow, then went off to see about the dry goods.

Saif snorted at the bow but went out the front and down the steps of the temple to speak to one of the priests about getting fresh food. When asked what to get, he just shrugged and told them to get whatever was popular among the people, and then sent them on their way.

Aislin was kind of impressed at the stock of dry goods. Not only were there grains, but there were also dried fruits, strips of jerky, and dried fish. There were even some packages that proved to be tea leaves.

Saif waited outside, basking in the sunshine, the light making the few scales he kept seamlessly welded in with his skin shimmer, going from almost black to brilliant green in the light. Absently he wondered about getting some sky lights installed in the roof of his temple.

Then the priest came back with a basket of food, which Saif took inside.

"Here. Take whatever you'd like." Saif put the basket on a table near Aislin. "I will have a steady supply of food brought for you."

Aisling blinked when he put the basket down. She hadn't realized he was back.

"Thank you," she said. Getting up, she looked through the basket to find breads, cheeses, and things like meat and eggs. There were even some fresh fruits. It was an impressive variety, and she mentioned it to him.

"I told the priest to get whatever was good," he said with a shrug. "You will not go hungry here, Aislin." He leaned back against the wall to watch her for a bit. The fresh fruits and things had to be better than the dried ones he had somewhere in there.

"Thank you," Aislin said as she started to go through what was in the basket. It would be easier on her later if she knew what was there, and put it away herself. Every so often, she would glance up at the god. He was different than she'd thought he would be. But it was a surprisingly pleasant difference.

Saif dipped his head to her, moving a little ways away to let her eat in peace. Instead, he arranged a few cushions and pillows how he liked, and then he sprawled out in a little patch of sunlight. Technically it wasn't supposed to be there, but a branch had fallen on the roof during the last storm and had left a little hole. Saif hadn't said anything about it so far, although he'd need to cover it before it rained again.

Once Aislin had put together a meal for herself, she settled in to enjoy it. It was then that she happened to glance over and see him sprawled out in the sunlight. He was clearly basking, which made her wonder just how close to being a snake he really was. But she didn't interrupt his basking to ask; he was obviously enjoying it and she didn't want to ruin it.

Saif knew when she looked at him, but he didn't bother moving. She was human; she couldn't exactly hurt him. And he didn't care if she saw him like this. She was living with him now, so she'd be seeing a lot more of this.

Cadr wasn't surprised when it took his friend a few days to meet back up with him. Cadr always took a few days to get to know a new human. Absently, he ran his fingers through his hair, preening the feathers at his hairline and the nape of his neck.

"So what's the verdict on this one?" he asked.

"Definitely keeping her." Saif grinned. "I like this one. So you're out of luck." He shrugged. "Unless you want to see if you can get the priests to get you a girl, too."

Cadr raised an eyebrow.

"That was quick," he commented. "Usually it takes you longer to warm up to someone." He smirked, fully aware of the pun.

Saif rolled his eyes. "She's smarter than most of the others have been," he said with an easy shrug. "She picks up on things more quickly. Like no bowing and scraping. And she's organizing the dry storage closet for me."

"Interesting," Cadr said. "None of the others did anything like that. I take it you're planning on keeping this one for a while."

"Yes, I am." Saif shrugged. "She's good company, so far. I like having her in the temple." He stretched briefly.

"So what do you plan to do?"

"Not entirely sure," Cadr replied. "Maybe hang out around that village for a bit, watch people. See if there are any I'd even want."

Saif nodded. "That's a good idea," he agreed. "You do that. You could use someone to keep you company."