Stavanger Bay thrice fooled (joining!)

i'm gonna wrap this up here, if you don't mind?

Well met indeed, he thought, pleased to see that Thistle wasn't quite a stickler when it came to watching your tongue. That, or she thought it was funny to watch him trip over himself. Either way, he couldn't find it in himself to be offended, she seemed kind enough and he thought that she would be easy to respect. Thistle ingratiated herself a bit more, too, with both the welcome and the compliment. "Thanks," he replied, a bit awkwardly, "It's a- uh- an honor, really. You're runnin' a tight ship here. I like it."

Aesop nodded in approval and, once he was dismissed and could excuse himself politely, he did just that with a quick goodbye to both Cry and Thistle. His journey had been long and he could feel the exhaustion in his bones, but he was home.