Their pride, instead of wounded, was tickled by this audacity. The experience was strange and exhilarating, something that broke the endless monotony of their existence. They began to whisper among themselves, laughter bubbling in their language, amused by the thought of playing along with these mortal rules.
For once, they would be the guests in another's game.
Soon, their original purpose, the journey toward the Misty Forest was all but forgotten. The godlings' curiosity shifted entirely toward the humans and their peculiar way of life. They wanted to see more of them, to walk their streets, to study their customs, to feel the pulse of this empire that had the courage to look gods in the eye.
They imagined the tales they would tell upon returning home: stories of an empire that treated godlings as travelers, not deities; of mortals who dared to govern the sky. The very thought of the envy that would stir among their kin filled them with childlike excitement.
