Zephyr hadn’t been expecting everyone to be so interested in his faith, although it [i]was[/i] for more unusual than what people were probably used to so maybe he shouldn’t have been. Before answering any questions though he let out a laugh at all of Abi’s assumptions about him. He appreciated Ellen trying to set her straight but to Zephyr it was less offensive and more just funny. Remarkably, Abigail managed to keep quiet. She stewed and seethed and scuffed the threadbare carpets and her gaze snapped from Ellen to Angeline as she shrank a little under Zephyr's ceaseless laughter. It was hard to tell whether her bottom lip was trembling or she was clenching her jaw so hard it shook.

He took a breath to compose himself before speaking, “sorry, but Abi, that is probably the funniest thing I’ve ever heard someone say when they find out about my beliefs.” He let out a small cough and took a breath before continuing, also addressing the rest of the group since they all seemed to want to know what being pagan entailed. “First, no goats, I feel like you’re thinking of Satanists. Even then I don’t think they do those types of things with goats. My personal brand of paganism is very much personal. I believe all myths are true in some form. Greek, Egyptian, Norse, you name it.”

He turned a bit more to Angeline to answer her question. “I don’t have a real answer for why this is happening. I have my own personal theory, that the gods have seen our world and want people to have the power to change it. But that’s just what I think, it could really be anything.” Turning his attention back to Abi he said, “does that help you understand a bit more? I’m not gonna try to convert you or say you’re wrong for what you believe. For all we know [i]I’m[/i] the one who’s wrong.”

It took Abigail a few seconds to muster up the courage to speak again. All the while, Brooks had neglected his reading material and was watching the encounter. She took a breath, opened her mouth, shut it, took some [I]more[/I] time to think and finally asked:

"Whaddya mean [I]all[/I] the myths?" 

Zephyr paused for a moment trying to figure out exactly how to answer that. “I mean, what it sounds like I guess. Maybe myths is the wrong word, but I believe that the gods of all the pantheons like Zeus, Horus, Thor, Quetzalcoatl. I believe the Christian God exists and that Jesus was his son, I just don’t think that He’s the one and only god. When it comes to things like creation myths I just think that different cultures have different understandings of how the world came to be.” He hoped that was a sufficient explanation, people usually just let him be and figured he just believes lots of weird things.

Unfortunately, he wasn't able to shake Abigail off with such a simple response. She even sat down cross legged next to him. She looked even more tired close up. "So you just pray to all of 'em and hope summin' will stick?" She asked. "Ain't you worried you're gonna piss off God and end up in Hell? Or, I mean, you'll piss off one of em and end up in...Thor Hell, or Zeus Hell?" 

Well at least she was asking reasonable questions and was off the goat stuff. “Well I have a patron deity, one I feel more closely connected to that I pray to. That’s Thoth, Egyptian god of writing, magic, and wisdom. I don’t believe that I would piss off the gods with my prayers. Normally if I’m asking for something specific I pray to a god that covers that domain. So if I wanted to travel safely across the sea I might pray to Poseidon or Njord. Also Hell is the same no matter the god, it’s just depicted differently in different texts.”

"...That makes no sense." Abigail rubbed at her face. "Even if I did say they were Gods - which they ain't, cause there's just one - why would they give you free stuff fer seemingly nothing? That sounds pretty satanic t'me. An' what do[I] you [/I]think gets us into Hell? Apparently blasphemy n' idoltry ain't bad enough?" 

“Well just because you ask for something doesn’t mean you’ll get it. Praying to a sea god for a safe boat ride is just as likely to get me results as someone like you praying to God for the same thing. It’s more about positive thinking than anything. If I’m wrong and there are [i]no[/i] gods, then the trip is still likely to do better because I want it to do so.” The question about what gets you into hell was a bit puzzling, Zephyr hadn’t really thought about it. “Well, I guess you go to hell if you were a bad person in life. Did you kick others when they were down? Cheat and deceive others for personal gain? Only ever look out for yourself? Those kinds of things probably aren’t looked fondly upon much more than if you believed in the right god.”

"So…[I]because[/I] you don't know, n' [I]because[/I] you ain't sure there's only one, yer prayin' to every God you hear about and tryin' to just be a good person n' hope for the best?" 

Abigail squirmed uncomfortably. She didn't meet his gaze, she fidgeted with her pyjamas. "But if yer wrong…" she mumbled. 

“That’s not [i]exactly[/i] it,” Zephyr began, “but it’s close enough. ‘Be a good person and hope for the best’ is probably a nice way to sum up my philosophy on life.” She wasn’t looking at him now, it seemed like she was finding it hard to go on with this. “Look, Abi, religion isn’t about being right or wrong. It’s about finding a way of thinking that speaks to you and helps you get through the day. If you’re right and the Catholic God is the real deal, I always remember Him being rather forgiving.”

"I thought it weren't about nothin' but right and wrong. Then again…" she glanced up at Ellen. "Seems I'm getting a lotta' things wrong these days, aren't I?" She stood up and dusted herself off. "Startin' to figure nobody knows jack and yer all makin' it up as you go along. 'Cept how to use yer...devil powers on command." She wiggled her fingers. She rounded on Ellen mostly but Angeline wasn't beyond a few paranoid glares. "You folk tellin' me it don't feel like summin' that's gonna rip you t'pieces if you don't use it?"