No one had ever said anything like that to Bragi before. Not in the same way. Unlike most words, those five didn't go sailing through the air when the tree goddess said them. They didn't reach the air at all. They appeared right in Bragi's chest, where they set up base, built a house, and then built a fire. He was still sitting in the same place, but this didn't matter. Bragi felt moved. Like she had placed a hand on his wrist and would keep it there forever. It made him feel like he could do anything. Maybe even win the unwinnable goddess. “Thank you” Bragi said. He would have kissed her right then and there if there weren't so many nets in the way, or if he had a knife that could cut them all.
Bragi noticed the pain in her face immediately, and it stabbed him. He wanted to hold her until she could laugh again and knew that everything was alright, and that if she'd just give him a chance, Bragi would spend years trying to make up for the hurt he'd made her think she was feeling because she wasn't ready for what the hurt actually was. Unfortunately, Bragi couldn't do those things. If he did them, she wouldn't give him a chance. She cared enough that she didn't like Jondi, but Bragi didn't know if she loved him yet. And if she did love him, he didn't know if this would be enough for her.
But Bragi wasn't going to talk about Jondi again that day. At least not with that name. He couldn't hold her. But that was something he could do.
He frowned a little, and bit his lip. “Well” Bragi said, “I considered suggesting you call all of the birds you know down here to peck through the net but I really thought the 'steal a knife from a passerby' plan was a bit more realistic.” He stood and looked up at her, his head tilted a little to the side. “Sadly” Bragi repeated. “So you would want this to happen. You just don't believe it's feasible.” He smiled. “I'll take that as a request. I can read between the lines.” Bragi decided he was very skilled at it again. He picked up his pack and left.
A moment later, Bragi happened to be walking by. He happened to have a knife. He happened to reach up with it to try and catch the sunlight and bounce it off the ground while he happened to be near a rather large net where any goddess might happen to snatch it and free themselves.