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[sunlightyellow]

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[accidentallich]

Nothing at all. It'd be hard to taste without a tongue.

[But that doesn't mean he's excused from saying blessings over it, though he does it quietly.] בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְ‑יָ אֱ‑לֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם שֶׁהַכֹּל נִהְיָה בִּדְבָרוֹ. [And he sips his tea.]

[sunlightyellow]

[ Gershom is quiet but not quiet enough for Jonathan not to hear the blessing - he doesn't know for sure that that's what it was although he can put two and two together with the way in which it was said over the tea. He blinks curiously. ]

May I ask Mr Gershom, was that a blessing of some kind?

[accidentallich]

Oh - yes, it was. I'm Jewish.

[He doesn't mind talking about it, especially if it's inquired about.]

[sunlightyellow]

I see.

I'm afraid I don't know much about your faith but I would love to learn more, if you're happy to talk about it.

[ Other cultures and religions, they're all fascinating to Jonathan. It's one of the most appealing things about their current situation having ended up in this new world. ]

[accidentallich]

I don't mind, but I don't know where to start. Is there anything in particular you'd like to hear about...?

[sunlightyellow]

Perhaps first you could translate the blessing for me?

[accidentallich]

Oh, right - "Blessed are You, Lord our God, Creator of the universe, by whose word all things came to be." It's the blessing over miscellaneous food that doesn't have a specific prayer for it.

[sunlightyellow]

So it's similar to saying grace then?

[ He reaches across from his spot in the chair to pet Pesto's head, who somehow hasn't clambered full on into Gershom's bony lap. Yet. ]

We have a similar practice at home in England before a meal. Although I must confess that my father and I could be rather lax about it. Our faith is the Church of England, started by Henry VIII.

[ It hits him to wonder just... how old is Gershom? He's a skeleton, he could be infinite numbers of years old but Jonathan feels that it would be very rude to just ask. He could have been around at the same time as Henry for all Jonathan knows... ]

Ah, perhaps you already know that though...?

[accidentallich]

I do know. It's, ah... difficult to avoid picking things up about Christianity, even if I wanted to. You're very... present.

[Gershom doesn't want to be mean about it - after all, Jonathan doesn't seem like the pushy type himself - but it's basically impossible to avoid being exposed to Christianity being the Default Assumed Religion.]

[sunlightyellow]

I understand.

[ And he does. And he's always found other cultures and religions much more interesting than his own anyway. ]

How long have you been practising your faith?

[ Is this a much more polite and roundabout way to enquire as to how old his new skeleton friend is? Quite possibly. ]

[accidentallich]

Since I was born, which... I've honestly lost track of how old I am, but it would be about the turn of the first millennium?

[So he's about 1000 years old.]

[sunlightyellow]

[ Forgive him, Gershom, but Jonathan's jaw almost drops at that statement. ]

But then you're- [ Yes, he's doing the mental calculations. ] You must have seen so much! Experienced so much of history first hand!

[ Archaeology and history is his passion, he can barely keep the fascination out of his voice. ]

[accidentallich]

...I'm sorry to disappoint, but I've spent most of my life hiding from everyone and trying not to have an exorcist called on me or an angry mob burn my house down. I've probably experienced less interesting things and met fewer people than you have.

[It's not a great life, but it's the best he was able to manage until now.]