Annotated 37-7
Scipio is too honest a soul not to mention certain disagreements he had with Rachel’s path, but his observation about “happy belief” is more important to memorializing Rachel properly. And it’s also more important to him and Fr’Nj as a couple. Has he been sold on Fr’Nj’s beliefs during their time together? We’ll find out.
With Fr’Nj’s choice of simile here, we sneak in a callback to her first appearance, inviting some contrasts to her current attitude that confirm how she’s changed.
And so another leaf on the Peacemakers’ tree quietly drops away. After the many times Fr’Nj seemed on the verge of dying alongside the others, there’s an ironic balance to her leaving the group in a way almost opposite to how Rachel did. Instead of death or even loss, what’s driving her away is the need for growth.
On the second read-through, I start to understand the reason why Scipio decides to join her: He’s getting a little comfortable over time. And with that belly to lug around, the job can’t be getting any easier… :)
The smoking probably didn’t help either, but now that he’s stopped, he’s bound to put on even more weight. Coupled with his decision to retire from adventuring, I suspect he might become a rather well-rounded person in two years time… unless there’s some wood-elf method to prevent that.