"That's Wendu for you. Never met a bad idea she couldn't love."

"...You guys wouldn't have backed me up if I had taken leave of my wits and decided to lie about it, right?"

"...I'd've been confused, and... I might've trusted you for the moment and asked why later... but you wouldn't have been off the hook."

"Wouldn't have second-guessed you. General policy."

"Hmm?"

"I don't care," Camellia contributes.

"Wow, okay. Was it really dumb of Wenduag to bank on that, or is this another place where," everything is worse than back home, "my instincts are going to mislead me a lot."

"People have good reasons for lying, sometimes. I prefer to know them before I trip someone up."

"It is true that people sometimes have good reasons for lying but at least in my experience it's usually a bad idea to lie in front of people who know the truth without earning a lot more trust than I've had time to. Or having a really good explanation. Presented in advance."

Shrug. "I'm not saying it's a moral imperative, or that it wouldn't have been a bad idea. Just that I don't tattle, and why I don't."

"Okay, sure. Seelah, I really appreciate that I wouldn't have been off the hook with you." Ember's situation seems to have been "not paying attention" which she can't really fault her for either. 

"Of course. If I'm going to be a paladin, the least I can do is keep my friends honest."

Gods, it's lucky that she didn't get called on that. Actually having to confront her new friend about blatant lies sounds miserably awkward.

What's the connection between "warrior affiliated with a quasi-Legendary" and honesty...no, that's silly, you're a public figure, like the Mayor, or Officer Jenny. Of course that would be a position of trust.

"Wenduag wanted me to lie about the angel's sword," she explains to Ember.  

"Oh. That wouldn't have been very nice... except to her, I guess. She's very afraid of it."

"She is?"

"Yes! It makes her think she isn't good enough, because why wasn't it her? And why couldn't it happen before she was hurt?"

"You know, that's a good question. Why wasn't it her?"

Ember tilts her head. "She wasn't you."

"You think it was waiting for me specifically this whole time?"

Ember hums distractedly. "It could have been anyone whose story was right. But she doesn't even really have one."

"What does that mean? Everyone has a story!"

"Everyone has a story after. When you tell it. Not everyone has a story trying to tell itself while they're still here. You do. I think I do, a little bit. She doesn't."

"...Is that the same kind of thing as destiny?"