Great Dojo

[Aiden]

Carin

Carin's smile turned a little sheepish at that question. "Not quite, no. Some people call me a goddess."

The petite deity's name seemed to almost reveal itself to Nanako as she listened, and watched that smile, and was pet more.

"I saw your fight and the way you tried to save that bull. It was really nice of you to do that."

[Panda]

Nanako

"A goddess?" Nanako's eyes widened further, even with the warm buzz from the petting running through her, "I...wow. Never thought I'd meet one."

The squirrel girl bit the corner of her lip as she felt the little goddess's name pressing into her mind.

"Carin, huh?" Nanako trailed off for a moment, the girl's praise dusting her cheeks with a slight blush, "That wasn't really a fight though, w-was it? I just got that guy's attemtion, that's all. Put more people in danger while I was at it..."

In spite of herself, the squirrel girl glanced away, shame creeping into her again.

[Aiden]

Carin

She giggled, "Yep! I'm pretty small, but I'm apparently the real deal!" and posed a bit with her free arm up in the air in a fist.

But then she went back to patting Nanako's head.

"Yeah, that was pretty careless, but nobody got too hurt. They'll be fine - just be more careful next time."

[Panda]

Nanako

"Yeah, you seem pretty real to me," Nanako giggled along with her despite herself, that creeping shame fading with the rest, "I'll do my best there, though."

The squirrel girl was quiet a little longer, leaning into the pats as thought over the first question to come to mind before going ahead with it anyway.

"So what do you do, anyway? Just go around helping people?" Nanako asked curiously.

[Aiden]

Carin

"That's all you really can do in the end." Carin tilted her head and winked at the squirrel girl. "Just remember, it's okay to ask for help sometimes too!"

She kept petting Nanako for a while, letting the peaceful ambient sounds of the world they found themselves in soothe her.

Then she answered. "If they let me."

[Panda]

Nanako

"I...yeah," Nanako said, trying to push aside the first question to come to her mind. It wouldn't be fair to ask that of someone who was already helping her. Still, the question remained, unsaid, "Yeah, I'll keep that in mind."

Leaning into the petting, the last thing Carin said got a small frown out of her, even though it melted away with the petting.

"If they let you?" the squirrel girl looked up at her curiously, "Some of them don't?"

[Aiden]

Carin

"Some people don't want help." Carin wilted a little bit as she confessed that, her voice small like a child who'd been yelled at for being bad. "Often the people who need it the most. But when you try, they turn you away."

But then, the goddess shook her head and put a smile back on.

"So, I focus on the ones who want my help. Mostly. Is this okay, Nanako?"

[Panda]

Nanako

The sudden drop in Carin's tone had her moving before the smaller girl could finish, her own troubles forgotten for that moment. She pulled the little goddess down and hugged her close, though she was careful not to use too much force.

"Of course it's okay," the squirrel girl said, pulling the girl's head against her chest, patting her back cautiously in turn, "That's definitely a good place to start looking."

Again that question scratched at the back of her head, but she couldn't ask it. Especially not now, not with Carin like this.

[Aiden]

Carin

The goddess let out a soft hum, rubbing her head against Nanako's big firm chest and squeezing tight with her arms. It was enough to show the squirrel girl that this little girl wasn't weak at all - not in the slightest. "Mmm. You're pretty nice. Do you want me to help you more?"

[Panda]

Nanako

The squirrel girl let out a soft gasp as Carin nuzzled against her and hugged her back, Nanako realizing that the girl wasn't as squishy as she'd worried Carin was. The offer caught her attention as well, Nanako pushing her question back further as she continued patting the girl, hugging her a bit tighter now that she knew the girl could take it.

"Sure," she nodded, ears perking up in curiosity, "I'd be happy if you would. What did you have in mind?"

[Aiden]

Carin

Carin giggled, and winked up at the squirrel girl. "Right now you're asleep, and that's the easiest time for me to reach out to someone who doesn't pray to me. If you just keep me in mind and ask for help, I can be there with you in spirit anywhere!"

But then she looked away, visibly bashful. "Oh, sorry. I don't normally just come out and ask people to pray to me. But it's the easiest way for me to help out. Even if it's just helping you deal with your anxiety about people getting hurt."

[Panda]

Nanako

With Carin looking visibly embarrassed by how forward she'd been, it was Nanako's turn to giggle and pull the little goddess in just a little more snugly against her chest. It really was surprising how cute she was being and how much lighter the squirrel girl was feeling. Hardly how she'd imagined meeting a deity would be, but she wasn't complaining.

"It's fine, and I'll be sure to keep that in mind," she said with a giggle before glancing away in turn, "...really, I just wish we'd met sooner."

[Aiden]

Carin

"Mm. No use in regretting what already happened - neither of us can go back and change it. That's what free will is all about after all." She rubbed her head into the vast softness presented to her. Her own hair was soft and perfectly silky smooth. "You make choices, and then you learn to live with them."

But then she stopped.

"I would like to help everyone who needs it, someday."

[Panda]

Nanako

"Yeah, suppose so," Nanako nodded, sighing a little as she stroked the girl's silky smooth hair, letting herself get a little lost in the feeling. The last bit had her curious though, Nanako opening her eyes again and glancing down at the little goddess as Carin stopped nuzzling closer.

"How would you get to where you could do that?" Nanako asked, her curiosity getting the better of her and pushing her second question back for now.

[Aiden]

Carin

"To help everyone? Well, I'd need everyone to at least keep me in mind as someone they can ask for it." Carin hummed in thought at this line of thought and looked straight up. "If enough people prayed to me, and believed in me? I could help everyone."

A brief, heavy pause.

"But I can't just go around making people do that."