Written Wonderland

Novelty looked at Serio with some apprehension, curious about how his captain would react. Surely this was the answer Serio had expected--and hoped for--right? His captain held his gaze for a long time, and Novelty did not shy from it, sensing warmth, which was only confirmed when Novelty felt a light touch on his shoulder. It was an honor, and Novelty smiled first a little and then more forwardly as he finally looked to the side to recover. The captain did not wait long to dive more deeply into their next set of tasks, however, and Novelty's face fell, staring at the ground intently as he patiently memorized what Serio intended next.

While it sounded like finding and preparing the flowers was going to be quite the task, the soldier figured it could surely wait for morning. After all, it would be best if the flowers were fresh when he wound them around himself. He suppressed a shiver of excitement thinking about it.

So, yes, Novelty supposed he could update the probable volunteers--he was always up for a visit to Captain Dodd, and talking to Lieutenant Holloway sounded downright enjoyable, especially if they were both going to the goddess together. A smirk waded up onto Novelty's face at the thought, and he brought up one hand toward his lips to partially obscure it, aiming to look only a little lost in his thoughts.

And then... Raccoon. Well, that one was certainly a wild card. Novelty found himself wondering what Raccoon's offering would be and could not even fathom what the soldier might come up with. Novelty was grateful the old woman in the woods had given Serio a straight answer on Novelty's own account.

"Did the priestess say anything more about what the other offerings should be like?" Novelty could certainly come up with some ideas if given enough time, but it would be helpful to triangulate what other things the goddess might appreciate before Novelty formulated some guesses.

Serio gave a low hum in the back of his throat as he closed his eyes, recalling the exchange with the priestess. She had made a comment about Lieutenant Holloway's, at least, but Serio wasn't sure of the wisdom in actually sharing that detail with Lance. Sure, he could share it with Novelty and ask him not to tell Lance, but the captain suspected there might be value to the volunteers genuinely brainstorming together--something Novelty couldn't do in earnest if he had the wrong sort of information.

In the end, Serio shook his head softly as he opened his eyes again.

"Only that the offerings should be unique; the goddess, she said, does not take kindly to repetition. I may be able to help brainstorm some ideas later this evening, but I think the bulk of this work will be on the volunteers themselves."

Novelty's eyes widened considerably after the captain finished his first sentence.

The goddess...does not take kindly to repetition.

Well, Novelty could certainly appreciate that. Suddenly, he felt like he understood the goddess significantly better. Perhaps his own imaginings and suggestions would be valuable if he and the goddess had that much in common. But, then again, if someone were a deity, it would likely be much easier to grow bored, what with all the life they have to live. Novelty idly thought that he wouldn't mind immortality; he always lamented that there seemed a limited amount of time available to him--so many lives he could not live.

"I believe I can work with that," Novelty said, an honest and unabashed grin tugging onto his lips. "Thank you, Captain." If Serio didn't need him for anything else, Novelty would start trolling around for Lance.