He leans against the counter and looks around to ensure there are no eavesdroppers.
"This—I must ask you to be discreet," he says. "I have no wish to cause further trouble with Mr. Hickey, but I want you to understand how dangerous he can be. And this tale will seem fantastical, but I assure you that it is true.
"One of our men accidentally shot a Netsilik man—a priest—and that man was—I should say that some of this is conjecture on my part, for the one person who could have told me in detail—I wished to respect her people's customs, and it was not something of which she'd speak to outsiders. But the priest had a sort of ... familiar, or spirit partner, in the shape of a monstrous bear. I believe his daughter tried to bind herself to it, as her father had—but it rejected her. In talking to Mr. Hickey here, I have learned that he thinks he can succeed where she failed. That the creature will accept—that it wants him."
no subject
"Not like this, not exactly."
He leans against the counter and looks around to ensure there are no eavesdroppers.
"This—I must ask you to be discreet," he says. "I have no wish to cause further trouble with Mr. Hickey, but I want you to understand how dangerous he can be. And this tale will seem fantastical, but I assure you that it is true.
"One of our men accidentally shot a Netsilik man—a priest—and that man was—I should say that some of this is conjecture on my part, for the one person who could have told me in detail—I wished to respect her people's customs, and it was not something of which she'd speak to outsiders. But the priest had a sort of ... familiar, or spirit partner, in the shape of a monstrous bear. I believe his daughter tried to bind herself to it, as her father had—but it rejected her. In talking to Mr. Hickey here, I have learned that he thinks he can succeed where she failed. That the creature will accept—that it wants him."