Cortin nodded. "You are. I just wish I were, too."
The following evening, Cortin went to Odeon's room shortly before supper. "Mike, got a minute?"
"Any time. What's up?"
"Not that, this close to supper—will you and Sis be holding services this evening?"
"Of course. Are you going to bring Blackfeather?"
Cortin hesitated. "I don't know," she said at last. "She'll have to be exposed to it sooner or later, but I'm not sure an evening before the team goes into combat is the right time. If she reacts badly to either the nudity or the ceremony itself, it might make things harder on them."
"She's going in too," Odeon pointed out.
Cortin grimaced. "I know, blast it! She can and I can't—so you tell me which would be less damaging."
"In your place, I'd brief her, then let her decide whether she thinks she can accept it as a religious function." Odeon grinned. "As I may've said, I don't think anyone who's spent time in Hell is going to be shocked by anything as mild as that—my only hesitation is about how she'll react otherwise."