Genie knew what Urd was doing but wisely chose to keep quiet. He had seen it all before. It was not strictly human behaviour, regardless of the expression ‘only human’. No one wanted to appear vulnerable. Why, even he could recall a point at which he had chosen to mask his emotions as well. How naive he had been. He spent a good two thousand years resenting himself for that little error in judgment. But even after all the losses he had faced, he could not say he had the right to truly compare them to Urd’s. He had never been separated from a sibling before. He could not remember even having a sibling. Whether or not he truly did was anyone’s guess but, for the most part, what Urd must have felt he would never truly know.

He allowed the goddess to slide out of his hold, showing no protest to her actions. His gaze travelled down to meet with hers and knowing smile given in return to hers. “Sometimes we don’t know ourselves as well as we think we do. However, do not be mistaken. In times like these it is not always our true selves that are revealed but merely the strain of the trials we’ve faced. It is the small tests we are confronted with that show our character.” Genie placed his hands on Urd’s shoulders and looked deeply into her eyes. “Urd, I promise you, you will see Belldandy again. This is not goodbye, only au revoir. I’m more than happy to have had the opportunity to meet her and I smile because it happened! We only part to meet again and that means every goodbye makes the next hello closer. Although, I get the distinct feeling that she may have overheard that you might be taking up cooking and wanted to avoid the disaster - not that it would turn into one, of course.”