[center][h1][b]Master of Gatekeeper[/b][/h1]
[img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/449931028090585089/453415062158311424/grandma.png[/img]
[h2]Koume "Baba" Kurojishi, Edge of Shinto Town[/h2]
[b]The Clockwork Fortress of Troy, Central Keep[/b][/center]

There was something of a long silence as the old lady contemplated the little one's questions. "[color=fff79a]I'm sure if your brother was summoned we will see him sooner or later. He'll want to stop by home for dinner won't he? And I'm sure he will be impressed with how big and strong you've gotten.[/color]" It was much easier to indulge his naivety than explain that Hector would be, at least categorically, an enemy of the pair. 

That was something she was still having trouble coming to terms with in the most general sense. She had summoned a child. A powerful spirit from the throne of heroes but none the less a child. He displayed crucial understanding of the situation on some levels but didn't seem to fully engage it as a reality, like it was all a big game. 

Was everything she did from here forward an act of cruelty at the expense of childlike wonder? 

Was there anything she could do to make him understand the situation fully without breaking his little heart?

Was she able to send him into battle knowing he could die?

Her face soured as she stared into the fire, before turning slowly again towards her servant. Perhaps this was all another cruelty of the gods, a final laugh in her face. 

She cleared her throat before speaking again. "[color=fff79a]As for a horse...[/color]"Baba hopped out of her chair, quite literally since her little legs didn't reach the ground from the sitting position, and headed over towards the work bench she had set up on the far side of the room- braid dragging the ground after her. She had been inside the black lion for so long prior to the summons she had failed to realize how long her own hair had grown. 

"[color=fff79a]I will make for you the most splendid horse you've ever seen my darling. None will compare.[/color]" The smile crept back onto her face, and the laughter back into her voice. Then those gnarled old hands set to work with a rigor none could expect from an old hag.

[@ssw]