[color=D6CC88]Amuné glared back at Taliya.  She didn't understand why the Church would be bad now...that didn't fit what she'd been taught at all, what everyone always said.  But that was the Church -- it had to be, not the Saints, not her Saints.  "Saving people doesn't mean you get to be mean," she grumbled.  The following explanation only made vague sense, and her gut wanted to deny it.  The royal family was only stories, the Church more an idea than an actual organization of actual people.  She didn't know about working for the Church meaning that someone wasn't brave, but they certainly weren't good.  /Hunting/ Magi, though?  Why?!

She couldn't fathom that, couldn't quite fit it into her worldview.  She tried -- there was no good reason for the mean lady to be lying, was there?  And she seemed sincere, and maybe just fed up with how things were.  ...Could it be true?  What did that mean if it was?  "Why would they go after Magi?" she asked softly, trying to understand.  "How does that help anyone?  Why do so many people hate them?  Magi aren't bad people -- most of the ones I know are nice.  How does k-killing Magi help them be in charge?  Can't...can't the king do something?  I mean, he's supposed to protect Adelon, isn't he?  Why didn't he?  Did...did bad Church people hurt him and his family too?  Is that why?"  There was so much that didn't make sense, so many things that slipped through her mental grasp like a wriggling fish she couldn't hold on to.  "There's still good Church people, right?  It can't be all of them.  Some must still be following the Saints properly...."

As she trailed off, the child turned her thoughts inward.  When things didn't make sense, or when they were overwhelming, she instinctively turned to the Saints, and now she sent up a prayer.  Let her be strong.  Let her find a way to face this.  Help her figure out what she should do.  And above all...Let her find her parents soon.  Please, please.

With Ethan regaining his composure, and fears crowding their way into her head, now that she didn't really have a purpose for anger, the girl found herself focusing on the unpleasant possibilities.  She looked up at the young man, one hand tugging gently at his shirt.  "Ethan...Ethan, do you think...?"  She shuddered again, and couldn't quite put the words together.  "The Church...my parents...do you think...?"  Amuné glanced over at the two that had come to their rescue, before quickly hiding her face in Ethan's shirt.  If the Church was going after Magi....  Her mother trusted them implicitly, and would have no reservations about talking to them, trying to get help from them.  Even using her magic in front of them.  Her father less so, but if he was injured, that would be where the girl's mom would tend to seek help.  Healers worked for the Church as often as not.  What if--[/color]