This poem came out of the December 4, 2018 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired and sponsored by satsuma . It also fills the "open-minded" square in my 1-31-18 You Are card for the Valentines Bingo fest. This poem belongs to the series Path of the Paladins . "Passing Around" The gods gathered around one of the enchanted tables that represented the mortal world. Barzay, God of Smiths, picked up the little statuette that stood for Johan. "Do you really think this will work?" he asked. "It worked well enough for me to boost him along to his own Goddess that time," said Alazar, God of Art. He took the figurine, running his fingers over it. "Good workmanship." "Thank you," said Gailah. "It worked for me too," said Diawn, God of Plants. "Johan spends enough time in the woods that I can reach him easily. I don't need as deep of a connection as with my own, I just need to be able to reach him in an emergency." Forthan, God of Death gave a faint smile. For him that was very nearly a grin. "I didn't even have to reach out," he said, taking the statuette. "Johan spotted me on a battlefield and behaved with complete respect -- he even taught his protégé to do likewise, in fact." "I agree that the idea has merit," said Talaton, God of Balance. He turned the statuette over in his hands. "Sharing some paladins aids equilibrium." Johan sat up in bed, groaning. "What's wrong?" Althey asked, quickly crouching beside him. "Dizzy," said Johan. "I feel like someone stuck a finger inside me and stirred." "Oh, that's not good," Althey said. "Lie back down and let me see what I can do." His hands patted over Johan. "There, is that any better?" "Not really," Johan said. "Then it's not in your body," Althey said. "Hang on, I'll try something different." His voice rose, light and sweet, in a hymn to Gailah. "My friends, I am open-minded about the possibility of sharing our more versatile paladins, but I must ask you to stop passing around this one like a pattyball!" Gailah said. "You are going to confuse the poor boy." She plucked Johan out of Talaton's hand and pressed him firmly against the table. "Yeah, that's better now," Johan said. "At least my reality has stopped spinning end over end. I just feel a little bit squashed." "Give it a few minutes," Althey advised. "If you still feel out of sorts, we can just spend the day here. We're only passing around. We don't have to travel if you're unwell." "That's a luxury," Johan said with a smile. He hadn't always had that kind of opportunity. "It's okay," Althey said. "Maybe this place could use a few more prayers, anyway." Johan smiled as the image of gods sitting around a table blossomed inside his mind. "All right, that's a plan." Alazar's hand hovered over the table. "He's asking for it." "Go ahead, give him a touch," Gailah said. "But one at a time." Alazar put a fingertip on the statuette. In the waystation, Johan bolted out of his bedroll and grabbed his inks. * * * Notes: Barzay, God of Smiths (introduced in "Knell") Alazar, God of Art (introduced in "Ink") Diawn, God of Plants (introduced in "Hallowing") Forthan, God of Death (introduced in "Thorny Paths") Talaton, God of Balance (introduced in "Will Not") Gailah, Goddess of Peace (introduced in "Shine On")