Talking to the gods had been a much more comfortable proposition when there had seemed no danger of Their talking back. - Lois McMaster Bujold

“I could bring almost nothing—I scarcely knew what to choose.”
“Think of the vast amounts of money we shall save on shipping charges, then.”

“It’s true,” agreed Oliver, “that if your religion failed to deliver a miracle, that a human sacrifice would certainly follow.”
“Ah...quite,” Miles gulped. “You are a man of acute insight.”
“That’s not an insight,” said Oliver. “That’s a personal guarantee.”

Hunting hawks do not belong in cages, no matter how much a man covets their grace, no matter how golden the bars. They are far more beautiful soaring free. Heartbreakingly beautiful.