He laughed softly, before kissing her nose. "Now you know how I feel most of the time. Which seems to be a lot more than what most other gods feel. Then again, most people think of their gods as aloof and disinterested, so I guess it really is not the god's fault. Though that doesn't mean I won't blame them. After all, I managed to overcome worse.<br/><br/>But just because you CAN, doesn't mean you SHOULD. I probably shouldn't have gathered everyone I did, but I did, so I will stick it out. Not that that is much of a chore. Most gods get by with their followers by setting their responses to them to 'automatic,' meaning that their subconscious answers the prayers. I do, but I added conditions, like 'good' followers usually getting a more group helpful spell than what they asked, and 'evil' ones getting a more damaging one. Just to remind them that I am giving them my power to act on my behalf, rather than just giving them the power and letting them go nuts. Most gods spend a couple days a year on their followers, so if you do like I do, and spend about two months out of it trying to help them, you are going to be way above the curve. And likely accused of cheating, but you are all mine, and under my protection, so if they try to force you to stop, they are going to have me and mine politely asking them to stop with a really big hammer."<br/><br/>He kept working her shoulders, enjoying the feel of his hobgoblin against him, thinking a moment before continuing. "But you are right that you have a duty to them. Just like any leader has a duty to lead their followers to the stated goal, in such a way that keeps most of them alive. But sometimes the best thing you can do, and I still have a hard time with this one, is nothing. Let them suffer a bit. Like when our daughters got their first weapons and cut themselves. Yes, I know that was a bit irresponsible of me, but it was best that it happened where I could keep it from turning into something major, like stabbing themselves in the eye, or cutting their own throats. I have seen the second happen, not nearly as funny as one would think. But back to the point, let them get into trouble, just enough to make them panic a bit, and then yank them out of the fire. At least, that is how I operate. A good bit more hands on than most gods, but I have thoughts on their methods that aren't to be repeated in polite company while sober."