[open] hear that lonesome whipporwill

[elio]

elio

some say I should learn to cry but I only learned how to fight
and I know everything must die but nothing fades like the light

Perhaps Elio is not observant enough to realize the horse before him is not actually Brennen. If he had known the magician, maybe the build and lack of greeting would have tipped him off. But Elio CAN be rather obtuse sometimes, when lost in his head or feeling distracted by rare happiness. His good mood buzzes just beneath the skin, so obviously this stranger couldn't be anyone other than who he appears to be.

"Oh," Elio states in surprise, blinking. He looks a little silly, staring wide-eyed as Djinni returns to her preferred form. "Then maybe you can help me," he says, though the ending comes out more like a question than a statement.

The genie fires off three questions, two of which leave Lio taken aback. He blinks, eyes sharpening and levelling Djinni with a curious (maybe suspicious) gaze. "How do you . . ." he starts, but trails off as he accepts that magicians can just pull what they desire out of thin air. The way of Beqanna, a lesson the boy continues to learn.

"No, I am not the one that's cursed," Lio states slowly, chewing on his words to make sure they have the right taste. "And neither is my mother . . ." he finishes, or at least he thinks he does, for he quickly adds, "My father is."

Rain continues to fall outside of the overhang, and Elio finally notices that Djinni is totally dry. He frowns, mildly jealous and waiting a beat too long before answering the genie's first question:

"My father is a shifter. A cursed one," he begins, then finishes with the shortest version of Bane's story he can muster (because Djinni doesn't necessarily need to know but also because reiterating the tale in his own words hurts).

@[Djinni]