Scene Archives

seems to be in his room right now, laying on the bed and holding The pamphlet up into the air above his head as he scans through it, welding glasses pushed up to rest on his forehead. There’s a mostly empty tea cup off to the side resting on the night stand.

has slipped into Aurelius’ room extremely quietly, the only thing betraying his presence is the sound of the doorknob being released into place. He stands in front of the closed door, both hands behind his back, brow level and eyes focused, unblinking. ⁂

: “Hello, Aurelius.” he says, and there’s an audible click of a door locking. 🙧

: “‘Sup?”

: “Been thinkin’.”

: “The Palimpsest-King… I hadn’t expected to run into a being that couldn’t concieve of its own destruction.“

: “Ah, right, you don’t remember your own Overseer.”

: “It’ll be interesting to see Valais, and how it manages to hold together, yeah. But until then.” He stalks forward a few steps.

: “Until then…?”

: “Until then, we’ve got the mystery in front of us to handle! If Almachadta is fated to die, so too must the Palimpsest-King. Defining the mechanism which that could happen would help ward against it.”

: “Who really knows about the strengths and domains of the Architect, the Omniclast… but they seem to be out of the scene, for now.” Stalk, stalk, stalk.

: “Hmm. Well, disease and rot, obviously. Pretty sure with enough overwhelming force you could probably do it too, but he does seem pretty strong.”

: “You could also go nuclear and destroy the world to destroy is King, if the King puts up too much of a fight.”

: “It’s interesting, that the vectors for such come from something imperceptible-nigh-ephemeral, but also something that would be overwhelmingly obvious and colossal.”

: “I mean, that’s generally how you kill something ‘all powerful’. You come in so small that they can’t even perceive something as a threat, or you have to go all out and remind them there’s Always Someone Better out there, even if they’ve forgotten it.”

: “Anything reasonable, they’re a practiced hand at dealing with.”

: “There’s also, the unexpected.”

: “Right, that’s the underlining theme there. Something so out of context they couldn’t conceive of it before it happened.”

: “A brilliant bolt from nowhere, never seen or sensed, but cuts all the same.”

makes a nodding, agreeing sort of motion with one of his legs.

: “So, then…”

looms over Aurelius and slams a hand onto the bed across the far side of Aurelius’ face.

: “What is, the deepest, darkest secret of the worlds?”

seems unphased. “You really, really wanna know? Last chance to turn back: once you know it, you can’t un-know it.”

snorts. “What’s the worst that could happen?”

: “And I can guarantee you that a small part of yourself will hate knowing it. You may not even know that part of yourself exist yet, but I do.” There’s a pause, as he ruminates the question. “The madness could overwhelm you. I’ve seen it happen a time or two before. I don’t think it’s LIKELY, with you, but it could happen.”

grins, craning his head back, to deliberately look down his nose at him.

: “I know not how things will change, but I accept it, wholly and lovingly.”

places the pamphlet off to the side - currently on the Sundered Grove entry - onto the night stand. “Alrighty then.”

lets out a breath as his eyes begin to glow an intense violet color. A moment passes, then another, and another… and suddenly the entire room is completely flooded with gnosis. None of it escapes from the room, it simply lingers in the room, incredibly dense and thick. He then leans his head up slightly, so his mouth is right next to the Awoken’s ear. And then he bestows upon him The Gift Of Knowledge - The Truth That Burns.

: Something similar to music begins to play, cover the sound of his voice as well.*

: The Gnosis fades away with the song.*

continues to hover for a moment afterwards, when the song fades. He pulls back, twisting a bit to sit on the edge of the bed. He juts out his jaw, crosses his arms, and gives a sideways look at Aurelius, one eyebrow raised. “…yeah?”

: “Yeah.”

: “That’s how she got me, you know. I had her back to the wall, one more attack and I’d won. And then she blindsided me with this.”

closes his eyes, and takes a DEEP nasal inhalation, and his left knee starts bouncing. His eyes scrunch, and his brow furrows, and his hand grips his arm-

and he bursts into laughter, kicking out his feet and helplessly rolling onto the bed, and then off of it.

sits up, the glow dimming then disappearing from his eyes as he does. “Yeah, that’s about the reaction I expected from you.”

: “Oh no– oh ho ho ho nooooooo–” he’s pounding a palm onto the bed- “-ahahahahahahaha- you got got by THAT?”

: “It was REALLY DISTRACTING in the heat of the moment.”

: “Oh buddy. Oh man. Oh noahahahaha–” and he flops to the ground again, laugher being interrupted by coughing as some of it goes up and down the wrong pipe.

rolls his eyes.

: “Yeah yeah, laugh it up.”

hacks a few more times, and it starts to trail off. “Ahahah… ahahaha… whoooo!”

: “It’s probably hard to imagine given your fucking complete and utter lack of backstory but like… It can really hit hard when you’ve had your entire life firmly in mind before hand.*

holds up a finger from his position on the ground. “Aheh… now that’s where I disagree.”

: “Oh?”

: “I can imagine it quite easily, but, to be blunt- I don’t feel like the concept affects me. Which one is that, it’s either sympathy or empathy, but not both.”

: “Sympathy’s closer, probably? But yeah, that’s why I said it probably doesn’t matter.”

: “It’d largely be a distraction for anyone else, even assuming they didn’t go off the deep end.”

: “Yeah, it really doesn’t.” He rolls up to a sit. “It’s a fun secret, though.”

: “Besides.”

laughs.

leans in, and whispers into Aurelius’ ear… and there’s a sudden halting of gnosis, an absolute zero of all creation, and his lips move, but if there’s any song to the sounds, it is not perceptible. Except, to Aurelius.

: “I was, in fact, considering that myself. Amnesiac protagonist is a classic, after all.”

: “But I’m not sold on it. Because I don’t think you strictly needed to be here.”

rolls back into a cross-legged sit. “Aw, but it’d be way less fun if I wasn’t, though.”

: “It’s true. I think, 9 times out of 10, there’d be an Awoken. But there was always a possibility of the one out of ten time happening.”

nods. “Sometimes, the odds win.”

started running when she heard the first song. By the time the second started she was in a full out-and-out sprint. She doesn’t try the door handle, just throws her entire body at the door. “What in the Light-Forsaken absolute hell are you two doing in there?”

: “And in a similar vein, I suspect any of the thirteen people mentioned in that living document were… interchangeable, to a degree…” He trails off as the door opens.

: “Just having a conversation.”

turns and brightly smiles from his sit on the floor. “Salme! How are you feeling?”

stumbles, awkwardly, as the door opens a bit more than easily than she had expected it to. Her hair, wild from earlier, is not a complete birds nest. Her eyes are burning. “Do not,” she grinds out, pointing at Aurelius, “bullshit a bullshitter.”

and then, to the Awoken, “you either,” though with a little less heat.

: “I mean… that’s literally all we were doing, was talking. There may have been a veeery brief moment where we had to ensure no one else could hear it, but otherwise.” He shrugs. “I’m glad to see you seem to be feeling better.”

: “You’ve got the fire back in your eyes. I’m glad you’re back.” He nods.

: “You were just talking. Which is why I heard the music from the void twice when I was on my way back. Okay. Sure. Just talking. No gnosis involved, I’m certain. I absolutely trust you on that.”

She sighs. “What were you talking about?” She directs the question at the Awoken.

: “Right, the gnosis was about preventing people from over hearing The Truth That Burns.”

: “Oh no there was absolutely gnosis involved, yeah.”

: “Surprised the song reached that far out though…” Aurelius taps a finger against his knee, thoughtfully.

: “Yeah, that. Turns out it isn’t really a problem or interesting or relevant.”

: “Embarassing, maybe.”

nods in agreement.

: “It ‘made sense’ to me, at least.”

really shouldn’t ask. “What was it?” she asks.

: “If you want to really, really, really find out… you’ll need to come closer. And probably lock the door.”

: “Respectfully, you are the person I am the most certain should not learn it, especially not right now.”

: “Aurelius does have a point. It’s really a distraction from things, as they are.”

: “Distraction enough to make a fatal mistake.”

tilts her head, looking between them. She considers, and then. “Things as they are,” like she’s feeling it out. “But not things as they were, or might be again?”

considering for a moment. “As they might be, and never were before.”

sighs a little. “The more serious and earnest a person is, the more they love the life and people and the world they know… the more the knowledge will cut. And… well, you’re already going through a lot as is. I don’t want to add to that, and make it more difficult.”

: “I can see a future where you and the others are ready for it, but this is without question the absolute worst time possible.”

: “For what it’s worth, you’re not the only one I have strong concerns about either. Archie absolutely, positively, must not ever have even a hint of the idea of what it is before we’re done with Samudra, for example.”

stares at him for a long, long, long moment, and then she laughs. A bit hysterical, but also unfettered, bright, like a fire, like an exploding star, like a world burning, burning, burning to be born anew. She laughs, and there are tears in her eyes too. “Oh, Badri was right.”

: “…About?”

: “I gather that others can hesitate at my intention, but- believe me when I say, it really can wait. Knowing it cannot, in any way, help anything on Almachad-.”

: “I should have told you. I should have told you all I just didn’t, because I wasn’t sure–Aurelius, the Sword-Saint exists because Almachadta always dies. Between … five hundred and two thousand years, and the green gnosis gets too much, and the world gets hungry, overgrowing, overweaning, and no one has ever been able to stop it. The only thing that persists is the mask, and the memories therein. And it has been my job to know that, and to bear it, and to keep hope alive until it is my time to die.”

pats the bed next to him gently, motioning for Salme to sit. “That must have been a terribly, horribly difficult burden to bear on your own.”

: “The deepest story, of the twilight and dawn that comes.”

blinks, because–in a way, but also not. She sits on the bed, a little stupidly. “No. The mask chooses those who can bear it, and I had Badri. It was when–trying to stop it, wondering if I could stop it, and if I should stop it. That was the real burden. I challenged Badri for the mask because I knew I could do this–be the Sword-Saint. Deciding, though, that I never wanted to have to do.” ⁂

: “But if there are cycles here it would make sense that–there are cycles everywhere. I’ve wondered, when Aurelius wasn’t surprised when the Architect announced the end. I wondered also when–even here, there have been contact with other worlds. I don’t need to know your secret, Aurelius, or yours, Awoken, but when you said–a distraction from things as they are–it. Well.”

🙧

pats Salme on the back a few times. “I see. Well the lucky thing for you is that… choosing is actually really simple when you have friends at your side to sort things through with.”

slowly stands.

: “And the future, is never one that is impossible to make.”

: “Is it simple? And possible shouldn’t mean should.”

: “It is! We can try it out right now, if you’d like?”

: “Try out … deciding whether or not to save the world?”

: “Yup.”

: “All you have to do… is ask.”

still cannot quite believe she just said what she just said, and is very carefully ignoring the conniptions the mask is certainly making in the pouch. “Okay. How does one try it out?”

: “Alright. So. We start with our base issue. Every other century or two, Almachadta will get a little too big for its own good, go crazy and try and eat itself from the inside out. It happens on a fairly regular cycle, and has happened numerous times that you’re aware of, and probably more that you aren’t, right?”

: “I’m aware of every time it has happened since the mask’s creation. It is hard to get a distinct sense, and the scale is a bit longer–a millennium or two–but.”

nods. “Alright. So. To start: what’s bad about this?”

slowly walks over to the window to the room, and looks up and out, towards the Centrelight.

a little impatiently, maybe, because she doesn’t think they understand. “Can I try to–show you?” offering one hand to Aurelius, and the other to the Awoken

: “As we live, so the Almachadta lives. As we breathe, so Almachadta breathes. As we exhale…”

takes the offered hand in one of his own. “Of course.”

he deeply, deeply, deeply exhales, bringing his arms up from his sides, his lips turning a little blue, and there’s a flicker of gnosis…

: “(You’re both vastly over complicating this but I’ll humor you.)” Aurelius almost but doesn’t quite give a quiet chuckle.

sucks a breath back in. “Apologies.” he says, before turning around. “I should have listened, first.”

: “come here,” waggling her other hand, a little comically. “listen now.”

hops over to Salme, taking a hand, giving it a lil’ squeeze.

squeezing back, closes her eyes, and says–a prayer, to one of the many gods of Almachadta whose name she has forgotten, and reaches**

: “…Ember-priests, huh…”

: “…But uh… yeah that’s… a lot?”

pulls her hand free from Aurelius’ like she’s been burned. “Apologies.”

trembles a little as he opens his eyes, as though he suddenly was plunged into an ice bath.

smiles. “It’s fine.”

: “It was a lot, but nothing I couldn’t handle.”

: “…it was… strangely, immensely familiar.”

squeezes the Awoken’s hand, which she is still holding. “Are you okay?”

: “I have to ask though is that…” He gestures vaguely in the air, “Thing you do with the flourishing gnosis to connect minds and souls… is a thing people here do normally…?”

: “The visions were inspiring, and haunting, and horrifying, the truth of history laid bare, that was all shocking. The uh… the method, though.”

: “It made it… okay.”

: “It’s a weird thing to explain, I think.”

she gives the Awoken a smile, soft, genuine, a little crooked like she’s laughing a bit at herself. “I’m glad it was … okay.” And then, more seriously, “no. Near Kesset was the first time anything quite like … that. This time was–previous Sword-Saints can. Dive through the mask’s memories. Badri and I can do it together, or I can do it alone. I just. Tried to do the … same thing the mask does, but without the mask.”

: “Aha.” He seems to mule this over more than the contents of the memories themselves for a bit.

smiles. “I can certainly say it worked.”

frowns. “I am planning on trying to make it something I can do reliably. It seems like it might be more useful for sharing information, especially when they’re so fragmented. I can use words, but I’m worried there’s … a context, or image, or sound that might be more useful.”

looks at Aurelius then. “It bothers you. When I do it.”

presses his hands together.

: “It reminds me of things. I’m used to doing it, rather than having it done to me. Especially after…” He trails off, then shakes his head. “It’s not a big deal, really, now that I know to expect it at least. There are some tricks to it, though, which I can talk about… at some other point.”

: “Right now though, we’re talking about saving the world or not!”

: “Yes, but. I will ask before I do something like that to you again.” She reaches back out, gives his hand a squeeze. “So, saving the world?”

: “Oh yeah! I sort of assumed we were going to do that. But uh, I guess… we can call it off… if… y’all want?”

takes the hand and returns the squeeze.

: “So… I had mostly just wanted to demonstrate how it can be easy to decide these things before we got … y’know, side tracked by experiencing a hundred subtly different deaths back to back.”

: “Returning back to that: what, would you say, is bad about… all that.”

blinks, a little innocently. “I just wanted to make sure you understood the stakes.”

: “I mean… fair enough. I can understand why you might take my flippancy as disinterest or born of ignorance.”

cocks his head like Aurelius just said the strangest series of words that’s never occured to him before, but doesn’t say anything.

: “(Spoilers: it’s somewhat deliberately inflicted.)”

decides to … humor this, but she says, “It’s bad because everyone dies very unpleasant deaths.”

: “or somewhat unpleasant deaths.”

: “Ohh… I get it.”

: “Right. I imagine, as well, that our good friend Wolf would not be pleased by these events coming to pass again.”

: “Not to mention everyone else we’ve met so far, whom seem to be generally pleasant people on the whole.”

: “He’s trying to figure out if you want to fix one specific thing, make one modification or whatever.”

: “Okay so that’s bad.”

: “Now. What’s good about it happening?”

: “The world doesn’t end,” she answers, immediately, easily. “The memories persist. Almachadta persists. Rebirth. Regeneration.”

draws two circles in the air, small amounts of green gnosis trailing in the air behind him as he does.

: “So on the bad pile, we have, well, ‘Yeresh does not want the world the end. And everyone I’ve ever known and loved dies a horrible death.’. And on the good pile we have… ‘well, actually it doesn’t END the world, it just recycles it’.”

: “Yes. Though I think you’re vastly overestimating the amount of people I’ve truly known or loved.”

: “Tough crowd.”

looks to Aurelius. “I’m waiting for you at the solution finish-line, ya’ know.”

: “So in your eyes, these circles are… balanced against one another?”

: “I’ve never tried to balance them. I’ve taken heart in the fact that the first is a given, and so the second is a consolation.”

folds his arms over his chest.

: “Ideally then, you don’t WANT the world to devour itself, and would like it to continue on.”

slowly, like she doesn’t quite get it. “It isn’t really about what I want.”

: “It’s entirely about what you want.”

: “No one can make you do anything. No one but yourself.”

: “There’s no good reason to let it happen, either.”

: “There is if it means everything falls out of balance and everything is destroyed forever.”

sighs. “Myconid’s sporing nipples, you are making this complicated, Aury.”

: “Naw. This might sound crazy, but you can actually manage and control the growth of wildlife.”

: “Oh my fucking Goddess I’M NOT MAKING THIS COMPLICATED YOU TWO MORONS ARE!”

: “DO WHAT YOU WANT, FUCK WHAT YOU DON’T!”

: “The entire point of bearing the mask was so I didn’t have to do what I wanted!” she replies, heatedly

slaps his knee with his free hand. “That makes things even easier!”

: “In what way?”

: “Then we do what Wolf wants, and it’s pretty fucking clear Wolf wants the world to live.”

: “Just leave it to everyone else, then. Be the sword, the shield, the patch, the stitch, the light. To a command, your will is terrifying and torrential, wholly and mightily.”

: “Well we don’t actually know that because I haven’t asked him what he wants, and the Yeresh have a relationship with cycles.”

: “Sounds like you’re just looking for an excuse to do nothing and not feel guilty about it because you think you might fail.”

winces as he says it, realizing he probably should have phrased that a bit more gently a moment too late.

laughs. “Obviously. I’m a coward and I’m a quitter. If you want a hero then you want Wolf. I just stand around and watch shit happen. That’s what I’m good for.”

drags a hand down his face, frowns, turns to the Awoken for a moment.

: “I don’t think that’s true.”

gives him an eyebrow raise like, ‘you want me to tag in?’

stands, and pulls out a thick sheaf of paper–pressed mulberry bark, dyed rich, different colors. “I got this for you. I asked around about what would be good for fiendcraft, that was unique to here. I thought it might be of interest.”

: “…Thank you.”

isn’t looking at either of them and isn’t really hearing them. “I shouldn’t have interrupted. I apologize for barging in.”

: “You didn’t do anything wrong. It’s especially not wrong to want to help people, to want things to be better than they were before.”

: “This wouldn’t bother you so much if you didn’t want things to change. And there are people now here that can help make that happen.”

considers him. “You’re very kind for someone who works hard to come across as an asshole, you know. And–I don’t want Wolf to die, or Badri. I don’t want Unua or Archie to die. I don’t want either of you to die, and I’m scared that you could while we’re here. I don’t … particularly want to die either, at least not now. But I don’t want to cause harm with my selfishness.”

: “You’re right, though. There are people better equipped to choose.”

: “Hmm… you still don’t have to cause that harm, though.” He nods, assertively. “You can blame it on me.”

ruffles at the hair on his head. “Even if something DID happen, it wouldn’t have been because of anything you said or did. To be honest, we were going to do this one way or another regardless. And I mean… we’ve already ”survived the end of the world“ once, I don’t plan on tripping the second time.”

: “It’s also okay to be a character in someone else’s story. You can take the lead whenever it suits, or drop whenever it doesn’t. Or be the narrator. Or any other technique or trope.”

: “Just, tropes are only patterns. Not people. And people, and situations, and things, change.”

: “Does this happen in cycles? On a larger scale? More than just here, but across the worlds? Does it happen, and can it be changed?”

waves a hand. “You don’t really need a blueprint for something like this, you can just write the rules as you go.”

: “To the best of my knowledge, it is not a normal thing. Worlds, from what I know, generally tend to be made, life once, then die. Sometimes they ebb and flow to a degree, but not…” He makes a circling motion with his hand. “More importantly, though. The Architect told us these worlds were doomed. And personally? I say fuck him. I’m going to save all five.”

: “I mean, we were gonna do that from the jump, yeah? Like we weren’t just doing a worlds tour?”

: “Yeah, exactly.”

looks from the one to the other. “You’re both ridiculous,” she says, but there’s something reassuring about their certainty

: “You think the Architect just randomly reached out and grabbed a couple of unimportant, powerless dumbasses to try and trick into farming mana for him??? Hell no.”

: “I mean, maybe. A small enough threat, and so on.”

: “(That’s the one out of ten, by the way.)”

looks like he’s about to smack the Awoken before he starts laughing instead.

feels–too much, and nothing at all. “I’ll talk to Wolf later, and then the others. Explain the … cycles, and why Wolf and I were sent on the mission. I’ll leave to two to … whatever you were up to.”

stops laughing abruptly as music burst into existence in the room once again, but this time it’s gold tinged instead of void touched.

: “You understand this, right?”

: “It’s a story. It’s Annarr’s story. My story, About getting my ass kicked, day in day out. Sometimes winning, but rarely ever coming out on top. Of constantly being underestimated, because I’m only ever Second Best. About how I’m too fucking stubborn to let it chain me down, about how I always come back, how I always, always, always come back to the fight and see it through, even when everyone expects me to fail. But how in the end, I’ll win.”

lets out a breath. “Have I done the same thing to you? Is that where this is all coming from? Have I mistakenly underestimated you when I should not? If so, I should know better than anyone that I should correct this and give you your due.”

is staring at him. She’s seen this part of him before–with the fiend, against the Omniclast–but before she’d smothered the part of her that wanted to rise to the challenge, that wanted to win. She doesn’t, this time. “I am stronger than you have imagined,” she says, hears herself say.

thinks about winning and losing, cycles and loss. It’s different, it’s different, but in the way it matters–“As the Sword-Saint I plan to persist. And as myself, I–am also going to win, in the ways that matter to me.”

slides one leg backwards and leans forward into a deep bow, which he holds as he speaks. “Then I have offended you and done you a great disservice. I can only offer my sincerest apologies, and, if you so wish, tell you that which I had foolishly decided for myself you could not know.”

: “Oh Light don’t bow or talk like that. It’s weird.” She makes a shooing motion at him, trying to get him to stop. “You don’t have to tell me your secret, but I did want to know–I was hoping to make a fiend. One that could record my voice, and play it back.”

: “It is weird, but, sometimes formalities must be followed when you have made mistake about something important, in a way that matters. If you want to know, all you must do is ask once again. I believe in you.” He holds the bow for a moment longer, and when he stands upright again it’s like the gold in the air has been shaken off and dispelled. “A fiend to mimic voice though… Yeah, we could do that pretty easy.”

: “Oh, since you’re taking requests- how about one that brews coffee, too? That one can come later, no rush.”

laughs, and then frowns at the Awoken. “Okay, but you–how come your hair looks fine after the swifts. Do you use gnosis to get it like that?”

: “That was one of the first custom fiends the researchers ever set out to find deliberately, in fact.”

: “I want it to be able to hold several bits of speech and play them back. Is that also doable?”

: “Good question! I think it may be something natural, though I do use a bit of gnosis in making dramatic entrances, exits, and the paths inbetween.”

: “I can help you with yours in the baths, if you’d like.”

: “If you’re willing that would be. Nice.”

: “Yes, they times use them to deliver messages over long distances, when it’s too far for smoke singles and not in a direction the train goes in for more standard mail.”

doesn’t know what a train is. Maybe it has something to do with an engine? Endjinn? She’ll worry about it later. “Will you show me how? Or–make it, if it’s too hard to teach. I’ve only used fiends in battle, and then rarely.”

: “Of course, I’m pretty sure I remember how to make a Parrot.”

: “A … bird?”

: “As in the colorful, long-lived mimic that lives in the forest?”

She looks at the Awoken like he might provide some. Useful context.

: “…I mean I don’t know about anything they get up to in forests personally but yeah they basically look like birds.”

: “That sounds about right. Wings, probably loud as all get out.”

: “I’m not sure if Aury is capable of making a non-bird fiend, at this rate.”

leans in. “Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s very cute.”

: “They’re the most useful kind of utility fiend, to be fair. Other than the underwater breathing one, but that doesn’t seem super useful here.”

: “Do you?” she raises her eyebrows at him, unintentionally imitating Wolf. “Think it’s ‘very cute’?” She’s amused though.

giggles. “Mm-hmm! He’s got a type. Probably after a house sparrow, too.” He winks.

signs, but part of him feels like he deserves this from the path the conversation took.

stops listening to Aurelius for a moment, just staring at the Awoken. “Hm? Why do you say that?” She says, a little strangled. There’s absolutely no way he knows.

‘s grin grows wider, and his hand moves to rub up against a length of… something, hanging from one of the clasps of his mantle, something… with azure thread…?

stares at it, flushing, and then as she thinks about a little longer, she flushes darker. She almost asks where he got it, but it was obviously in Kesset. She almost asks why he got it, but probably for this precise moment. She considers asking who sold it to him but it doesn’t matter, the craftsmanship is exquisite but the charms themselves aren’t that hard to find, so she finally settles on a strangled, “h-how?”

: “You provided the thread. The rest was inspired. I asked Wolf for a little iconic guidance. Stall in Kesset. And the knots, well… I improvised.”

: “The wood- given, blessed by a Spoken Wood.”

: “Oh,” she reaches out to run her finger along the knot-work. “It’s beautiful, what you did with it. I’m honored.” She is still blushing.

has no idea what is going on here.

: “I’m glad you like it, I had hoped to do correctly by it locally. Such that I have been changed, such that I have been blessed, and such that I feel that I am protected, even should the void swallow us.”

: “I want to remember this, too.”

: “You’ll remember,” she says a little roughly. “You’d better, or I’ll find you and help you remember and.” She looks helplessly, at Aurelius, who seems clueless, then back at the Awoken, and his earnestness and the beauty of his words, “and anyway, I’m sorry, the fiend? The Parrot?”

: “Uh, sure. We can brush right past… whatever that was if you like. Parrots!”

beams like a beamsaber except metaphysically, and turns and nudges Aurelius, saying “The Parrot!”

: “Parrots are easy. Alls you need is a hunting horn, a bit of ash from a camp or signal fire, and a piece of mirror large enough to place the two of them on.”

nods thoughtfully. “I don’t have a hunting horn. Does any kind work, or does it have to have meaning?”

: “Or well if you only need it for a short message the mirror shard can be small enough to fit in the hunting horn, but either way.”

: “One that has been used at least once.”

: “Then after that you just think about the message you want to send, and smash it with a hammer.”

: “The mirror or the horn? And then if there’s no particular message in mind at the time?”

: “Both! Hmm. Could get dicey, I’d wait until you did have something specific in mind just in case. No sense in wasting a good hunting horn. Of course, you need to say your message for repeating to the Parrot after it fully forms in either case, but it’ll never be made without some specific intent in mind.”

: “I do have a specific intent, it’s just–broader. Okay. Is that all?”

: “That’s it. Fiends are pretty simply creatures and most of them just want two or three really specific things.”

: “okay. I’ll–work on finding a gently-used hunting horn.”

nods. “Alright. If you need any more help, either collecting parts or assembling it, feel free to ask. Does seem like you wanna give it a try on your own first, though.”

: “Oh mostly I didn’t want to bother you. Well, any more, considering.”

shakes his head. “You aren’t a bother at all, and I’m perfectly happy to offer you any assistance you might need or want.”

gives him a long, assessing look. “I might ask you to help me construct it, once I have the materials.” She cuts her eyes to the Awakening, to the sparrow charm made from a gift of the Spoken Wood that’s just. Hanging from his mantle. Like that. Then looks back to Aurelius who’s sent her through at least four stages of grief in the past howeverlong. She hadn’t wanted to be alone after Badri’s, but she can’t really justify lingering and, well, she’s deeply confused. “I think for now, though, I am going to go enjoy the baths.”

: “Enjoy yourself! You know where to find me.”

: “Be seeing you! I’ll be by the baths soon, myself.”

: “I’ll see you there,” she says to the Awoken, and then, “you really should find time to enjoy the hot water if you can. Don’t stay in your room the entire time.” And then, still slightly flushed, she’s gone, off to her own room and a very, very, very hot bath.

waits until she’s not only out of the hallways, but also down the stairs before letting himself floop down into a sit on the bed and glance over at the Awoken. “… Whew. Almost REALLY fucked that one up, huh?”

puts both of his hands behind his head and rocks back. “Such is the heart! Tales of war and strife would merely be about resource struggles, without it.”

: “Being -” There’s a crack in his voice, and somehow ambient gnosis in the air twists it into a different word altogether, “- Flourishing sure is hard.”