Scene Archives

has been teaching the kitten how to pounce while waiting for the world to wake. As they hear their companions stir, they pack up the yarn and come to breakfast.

is in better spirits upon the morn, the defeated resignation gone and replaced with seeking curiosity, eyes ablaze and mouth hungry- fortunately there’s the cloudberry jam and a double-helping of coffee to even that out.

comes down to breakfast looking…different, and yet not. Tired, certainly, from the circles under his eyes. But the…harrowed…look is gone. Each step is firm. Deliberate. Intent. He smiles to Unua and the Awoken, nods, sets about eating.

arrives at the table from you’re-not-sure-where. You turn around a moment and suddenly there’s a Kushtaka next to you, purple cape freshly washed, happily chowing down on a piece of butter with some toast on it.

As Unua places an entire toast through their mouth, the room briefly smells of cooked jam and slightly more burnt toast.

grabs some breakfast and then immediately falls into a chair beside Wolf and grins at him. “You seem more settled.”

blinks at her, smiles wryly after a moment. “I have done something rash. It seems to suit me.”

: “Yeah? What was the rash thing?”

does not look in the direction of her own rash choices.

enters a bit later than anyone else, through the front door rather than the stairs leading from above. He quickly grabs some toast, shoves it down his mouth, then follows it up by quickly chugging a mug of coffee.

happily drums the table with his hands. “Now we’re talking. We’re doing it. We’re changing things. It’s going to be way different. You’re gonna hate and love it.”

looks down at his plate for a moment, considering. Then, deliberately, he looks Salme in the eyes and says: “I have Sung a Song unheard, a Song of Warning, and a Song of Hope.” He looks a bit abashed, then: “I may have also enlisted some help.”

: “Yeah basically.”

tilts her head and considers Wolf for a long moment. “There is maybe a version of this world where the Yeresh do not merely keep songs, but compose them. I like that idea. I hope you do too.” Then she calls across the room. “Badri, that’s the other one,” she says, gesturing at Aurelius. There’s an expression on her face, like she expects the former Sword-Saint to laugh. Like she’s almost inviting him to.

raises an eyebrow.

: “It is an…unusual feeling. I am not sure I entirely composed this one myself. But.” A deep breath. “I have tasked Izaak with spreading my words to the other yeresh.” A beat. “As my apprentice.”

winks at Aurelius before pushing over a prepared slice of cloudberry jam’d toast to him.

: “I like your rash thoughts, Friend-Wolf. You will do well with us on the Beast.”

: “Grats, I think?” Another piece of toast quickly devoured.

, having found himself looking at Badri, notices the expression and follows his gaze to see who it could possibly be about. He allows himself only the tiniest fraction of a smile before promptly shoving his face back into a cup of coffee.

: “No one writes a song completely on their own, do they? I’m no composer, but we all write the Sword-Saint’s stories.” She winks at Badri, and looks back to Wolf. “Congratulations, yeresh, on your apprentice.”

He smiles, but it’s sad-edged. “It was overdue. I was going to apprentice him after we returned from the Tangle.” To his credit, his voice is more regretful than bitter. “I had forgotten.” He blinks, head coming up. “Oh! Aurelius.”

: “Hey. Whenever ya’ll are ready, Tsen’s waitin’ at the spot already.”

nods, chugs the last of his coffee in one fluid, practiced motion, and heads over towards the meeting point for the swifts.

: “Heading out!” He waves and calls to the Courtyard Sink Inn’s propriteress. “Thank you for everything! It’s been lovely, and we will visit again!! If you yearn for beautiful adornments, seek out Iosi, the dyer, at the Kesset marketplace!”

shoulders their camppack, and places one more slice of toast through their faceplate. Their voice sizzles a bit “Ready whenever the group is. Let me know if we have more to carry.”

opens his mouth to make a comment, but…at that, stops, looking a little…not miffed per se, but very much like a dog that didn’t get the attention that it wanted. He shrugs and turns back to Salme and Badri. “Long story short, this time, the yeresh will be forewarned about what is coming. They shall help attend to matters here, while we are away. And if we don’t come back.” He stands, stretches, squares his shoulders–makes his farewells to the proprietress–and turns back to the rest. “Shall we away?”

: “Oh, didn’t mean to rush or anything if you still got stuff on your plate or mind that needs cleaning, definitely do that first.” He says, while peeling a hard boiled egg and then chewing on it.

ensures that he grabs some travelling goodies- jam’s the best thing to get out of a mental jam, on the road!

stands and takes both of Wolf’s hands. “We will come back,” she says, certain. “Yeresh Wolf, we will come back and Izaak will be your apprentice and you will lead us through a strange season into a new brightness.” She squeezes his hands, and then considers, and then grabs him into a hug. “Good job.”

: “Ooh, the tension of potentially not coming back. If there is an impossibility, you have named it square and capitalized.”

: “We will return. While I stand, you will not fall.”

looks very much surprised at the hug–both in general and from Salme–and it takes a second before he figures out what to do with his hands. But he gives good hug, after that! “Thank you, my friend.”

hustles about, gently pinching at the tip of Aurelius’ tail as he then dances out of range, not unlike a pup biting at another’s paws at playtime. “Oh don’t act like you’re not excited to show off this plan of yours~.”

goes around and feeds the swifts the last of the contents of the bag of swift-snacks

: “Of course.” She releases him, disappears some bread and eggs into her pouches, and heads towards where one of her Choices is terrorizing the other.

: “Yes, I’m buzzing with palpable anticipation.” He says, completely deadpan as he hops onto a Swift. And then, does not sit down but attempts to see if he can ride it while standing since they’re going such a short distance this time.

pats Unua on the shoulder as he heads towards Starseeker–gives a rather amused look at Aurelius’ stunt–and gracefully swings up onto his swift’s back, back straight and proud.

: “Aurelius!” she calls, looking up at him on his swift (she hopes she gets to watch him fall off).

jogs a loop and hops up onto his swift, giving it antler-base scritches.

: “What?”

: “You better amaze all of us.”

hops on her swift too, feeding it another apology apple.

: “Of course.”

slides up from playing with his swift to hugging its back, arms and legs wrapped gently but firmly around it, still gently nuzzling.

nods seriously as they come upon their destination.

slides off of Starseeker’s back, and very definitely shares a look with them of “WE would never be so undignified as to ride like that,” which amuses both of them greatly.

waits for the swift to slow down a bit, pats it on the head, then jumps off gracefully.

dismounts their swift, and pets it. They find a suitable chunk of stone and add it to the contents of their pack. Future projects await.

slides off with the same grace he had jumping on, and nuzzles his swift’s snout. “Be seeing you!”

looks slightly put out that Aurelius didn’t fall, but has to admit it was sort of impressive, dismounts easily, and presses a kiss to her swift’s forehead. “Thank you, and say safe,” she says, offering another apple.

also slips his swift a hard-boiled egg, it might stink up the coming paths too much.

slides back off and shares a nose-nuzzle with his swift before giving it a gentle tap, inviting it to stay.

does not seem bothered by the increase in the audience, but does move to stand a bit away from the rest of the crowd.

tilts his head. “Oh? It can be done here, and not at the door?”

returns the wave, happy to see his new friend again.

: “Yup. Like, maybe would have been slightly easier there but all factors considered we decided this was the best spot.”

: “Appreciated, honestly.” She hadn’t really wanted to go back, and imagining whatever he’s about to do happening in one of the most sacred places in Almachadta is … well, she has some sense of propriety.

: “Come to enjoy the show, Tsem?” he calls out.

: “Shall I ward the perimeter, Aurelius?”

: “I’m willing to say there’s even odds on it getting weird, and I have no idea what’s about to happen.”

: “I don’t… think it’ll matter, but a bit of peace of mind wouldn’t hurt either.”

: “Wolf, can I help you with that?”

nods, then headtilts at Archie. “If you would like. My way of warding may be very different from yours, but we shall see how they weave together!” ⁂

moves out to a comfortable distance from the proceedings and then starts to walk a circle–but “walk” is a bit of a misnomer. His steps are slow, steady, but there’s…arcs and turns, an almost dance-like rhythm–boots occasionally scuffing or sliding; humming softly under his breath as flourishing gnosis starts to trail behind him with every step. 🙧

takes the opportunity, while Archie and Wolf set the wards, to approach Aurelius. “I was going to wear the Mask while you do this, if you don’t mind the–audience.”

: “Knock yourself out.”

: “…Not sure that expression parses off Beast. Uh, yeah feel free to.”

: “Do you think this is likely to lead to anyone being rendered unconscious?”

: “No.”

waits for Wolf’s performance to end, watching appreciatively. He finds a stick and begins to draw in the ground. A perfect circle, at first, then another and another, each smaller than the last, intersecting the others at points marked by geometric certainty and practiced precision. Satisfied with his work, he kneels at it and begins to focus his gnosis into it.

.

inclines her head in acknowledgment, hesitates, says, “I do. Have absolute faith in you,” unable to look at him, and retreats to watch from a safe distance, taking out her mask and donning it.

gives a thumbs up.

watches, still a bit flushed from his exertions, as Archie sets a very different ward–and yet…he reaches out his fingertips, and plucks one of the lines of gnosis like a string to hear the “tone” of it.

: “Hmm… looks good. Alright, let’s get this party started.”

: “About time!” He punches a fist into a palm.

performs an old, foreign Ritual to create a Miracle. ⁂

tilts his head back and looks up at the sky, his eyes lingering on the patterns in the clouds quietly for several moments before they settle on one in particular. As he takes in a deep breath, his eyes begin to glow purple, and the light behind the clouds in turn pulsates ever so slightly in time with his breathing. ⁂

then exhales and begins to speak. As he does, two things happen: the first is that a blurry image begins to overlay itself on top of Aurelius. Another person, another man, younger than Aurelius with softer facial features and… human? Has has long purple hair that goes down to his waist where it`s tied off with a teal bead, and on the right side of his head are three thin braids which hang down. His eyes are teal as well, though they’re hard to make out behind the stylized, green tinted sunglasses that he wears. No meta-human features either, he does indeed appear to be human. The clothing is different as well - a dark brownish-green shirt and blue jean pants are worn under a long, leather duster coat, and black sneakers upon his feet. On his left hand is a single dark blue fingerless glove, while you can make out a hint of a long, elaborate black tattoo on the back of his right which presumably runs up the length of his arm. ⁂

The second thing is that his words are not just tinged, but saturated with liminal energy. Additionally, the accent he speaks with is slightly different from normal. Louder, bolder, more deliberate, but not so different that you would notice if he weren’t so fond of talking in general. “Once upon a time…“ As he speaks, the liminal energy in the air begins to gather the other five types of gnosis, and then weaves them together, back into pure concentrated Mana. “In ... distant land ... four hero ... journey ... to ... world. For a time ... ... and hope ... ... sadly ... no trace of them was ever found.” His words, like the image of the other man overlaid on top of Aurelius` form flicker in and out, allowing you catch only a few of the words in his story but he continues none the less as the liminal continues to weave the Mana. ⁂

: “But time flows like a river, and history repeats...” The image of the other person slowly becomes more prominent as he pulls a small black figure - some kind of bird-person? - from his pocket and begins to suffuse the Mana into it. ⁂

The AF hovers in the air for a moment, before plopping down into his outstretched right hand. Though it’s no longer Aurelius’ hand - instead all you can see is the image of the other man, no longer flickering in and out and in full detail now. No trace of Aurelius remains. “Did you know?“ He turns back to the party, looking over all five of them in turn. “That those with a Pure Heart can travel to a whole new world?“**

The AF then starts to lift itself into the air, and an alien power begins to fill the air - ⁂

Ah, and also… don’t forget. [Reality Glitch]. This one is the [Kinder, Gentler Path]. 🙧

: “Bam.”

just…stares. And stares. The head-tilt goes 45 degrees one way…and then back…and then back again.

gives up trying not to laugh once the door opens. And then she laughs, and laughs, and laughs, and laughs.

: “So… yeah. The trick to doing something impossible is, obviously, to just do something much easier in an adjacent fashion. Obviously! Not even hard.”

spends most of the process staring at his wards, ensuring there are no flickers in its glow, making sure that all is as it should be. He looks over to Tsem and they lock eyes in a moment of shared triumphant amazement.

crosses his arms and closes his eyes, frowning, and tilts his head this way and that. He leaaaaaaans all the way left, stretching into a squat, and leaaaaaaaaaaaaaaans all the way right, rolling about on his heels to do so without standing up.

walks up to…Aurelius?…and just…walks around him in a slow circle. Examining. Especially the hair. Especially the hair.

Oh, yeah. The hair is WAY different.

can’t help it. He takes a surreptitious sniff to see if whatever this is extends to that deeper sense.

It smells of fresh lavender.

: “Well, it must still be some form of Aurelius. He refuses to explain anything coherently. Is there anything that needs doing before we proceed?”

straightens back up and opens his eyes.

starts to take deep, intentional breaths, trying to get the laughing under control. “When I requested amazement this isn’t what I had in mind,” she says. She’s grateful she wore the mask for this. Very grateful.

: “That was uncalled for, you didn’t even ask for an explanation.”

: “Two things.”

blinks. Looks at Salme. Looks back at…this person. “Forgive me.” A deep breath. “What the fuck?”

: “First of all, I guess it’s very like you to go around the problem, rather than through it.”

: “Ah, of course.” He spreads his arms wide, and large wings made of innk burst forth from his back. “I’m the Angel of Darkness.”

starts laughing again.

: “Second, are we calling you that, because I definitely don’t feel like ‘Awoken’ is any more absurd of a name anymore!!”

jolts back at the sudden burst of wing, and if he wasn’t super graceful he’d probably have fallen on his ass. “That is not an explanation!”

: “That is the opposite of an explanation, that is just more questions!“

: “That’s how I know it’s still part Aurelius.”

: “You can call me Jorule if you want.”

: “…What would you like me to elaborate on?”

opens his mouth, closes it, opens it again…just shakes his head. “You know what, I wouldn’t even know where to start, so I’m just going to…to…” He has the look of a man who’s rolled with one too many punches and now is a little punch drunk. “I’m going over here.” And he goes and he walks over to Salme and just…sits.

: “The most important question, out of all of this, absolutely has to be-“ And he leans in close, craning his neck up to stare Jorule right in his face-

: “-do you have a different deck for Rites, or is it the same?”

: “Could go either way, honestly.”

breathes again, focusing, again, gathering all the pellucid within herself to stay calm and pay attention. She gives Wolf a helpful pat on the shoulder, and then heads over to–Jorule, and circles him. “Are you who I saw with the flourishing gnosis back at Kesset?”

nods. “So long as you’re not gonna slow me down!”

: “Bitch you’re the one slowing me down.” He then tilts his head towards Salme. “Oh that green aether mind reading shit? Yeah you kinda brushed up against me a bit.”

: “So how much of Aurelius is who we’ve come to know as Aurelius, how much is who the Hunter … was? And how much of it is you?”

is, like Wolf before her, pacing around Jorule.

: “Oh man that is a DELIGHTFULLY complicated question, you sure you want me to get into it?”

refocuses his eyes and nods enthusiastically at the chance to add to his knowledge.

: “No,” Wolf says from where he’s still sitting, plaintively.

: “Yes,” she says, and then, after a moment, “though perhaps not now? I assume there will be chances later.”

leans back and puts his fists on his hips. “You can feel it rolling off of him. This is him when he’s most ‘him’.”

: “There’s nothing left to strip back, now!”

looks directly at Salme at that, eyes narrowing, back straightening.

: “I mean sure but I’m outta here before we land in Samudra. Too many potential cognitive hazards there.”

glances at her companions. She doesn’t want to hold up her companions but she does want to know.

nods to Jorule. “Now might be for the best. Our next opportunity to discuss this matter freely may not come for a while.”

: “A brief summary for the class should be good, but I’m sure you could pull a more intimate answer out of him whenever.” He winks at Salme.

: “That’s one yes, one no! Do we have a tie breaker?”

: “I recind my no. I just won’t understand any of it.” Still plaintively.

: “Ah, it’s not that complicated. Okay so… Like.”

takes a few steps back and does a dramatic flop backwards onto the grass- taking a bump, as it were- and relaxes into both hands behind his head and one foot crossed over the other.

: “I’d say probably 60% of this is me forgetting to act, and 30% me being a bad actor, and then 10% trying to let the vessel run on instinct.”

: “What percentage of this is an over-dramatic backstory reveal?” the words are tart, but she is still studying him with curiosity. She reaches out and runs a hand along one of the thin braids.

It’s tightly woven, but the hair itself is velvety soft. “L-o-w unless you want me to talk about the world outside the world, winter, the caravan… but none of that shit is important. I could talk about the empty vessel if you want? That’s probably kinda relevant.”

: “Yes. That’s probably relevant.” She notes the hair texture. “Did someone burn out whoever was there before?”

: “A’yup. You, of course, remember how you threw a temper-tantrum about Wokey-pokey over there hearing a secret before you did, and then Aurelius saying it was probably a bad idea to tell anyone else? That’s because when Crim - sorry, The Queen told him the truth is kinda resulted in a blue screen and knocked him the fuck out. And then that Architect guy scooped him up!”

: “So… I’m sitting here staring into this world from the outside trying to figure out what the play is this time, and see all six of you just layin’ there limply on the slabs and I figure, well shit, if one of the heroes is empty I probably should fill in before the Sage notices.”

: “… Turns out recovering memories after a crash and amnesia is sort of hard though, but eh, it’s working more or less.”

: “That’s the first thing you’ve said that I’ve understood.” Still plaintively.

: “After all that work to apologize to me you’re calling it a temper tantrum?” she says, though she sounds amused.

thumbs up, but seriously.

: “That apology was when I gave up and let instinct kick in for what it’s worth so this isn’t me backsliding.”

laughs again, and there’s a brightness in her eyes. “So when we go to Samudra, you’ll leave, and–Annarr?–is who will be left? Before you. Invited yourself in?”

: “Annarr is who he was. Aurelius is who he is now. This world don’t keep backups, so I don’t think Annarr’s ever coming back For Real but, yeah, more or less.”

: “And we won’t know him. Because it’s been you, mostly, this entire time?”

: “That’s about the size of it. If you wanna know more about Annarr specifically, your best bet is probably to ask Saranzaya. Annarr would HATE that I’m saying that, but it’s true.”

: “Longer we go the better I’ll get at cracking open his memories too so… who knows, maybe Aurelius will be more Annarr-y as we go? Probably not though, dude was way too dryad.”

: “And I’m not Seth enough right now to do Dryad.” He rolls a shrug.

stops moving, and takes off the mask. “I don’t give a shit about Annarr or–whoever. I don’t know him. I want to know–“ she breathes, and then tries again. “I want to know if the man I–“ she makes a gesture that probably only Wolf would recognize, though he’d never do. It’s considered very rude on Almachadta. She does it aggressively and intentionally. “I am trying to figure out if we are going to lose our companion for a stranger, you absolute dumbfuck.”

: “(Clue _less )” he whistles through his teeth.

: “I was curious if you were going to threaten to kill me or not, but I suppose now that you’re starting to lose your cool: no, I’m not taking your crush away from you, it would be entirely too dumb for me to stay this in control for long periods of time.”

looks back and forth between the two, eyes narrowing again, headtilted–not in confusion, but in listening.

: “Oh, that would be entirely too dumb, but none of this,” she gestures at … everything, “is dumb! This is cool and absolutely the stuff of epic stories and not something I’m going to be tearing my hair out as I review the memories of the mask!” She breathes, again, trying to get in control of herself, and says, “so Aurelius is not you, is not Annarr, but is some–I don’t have a crush on him what the fuck?”

: “Yeah sure you don't.“ He gives a look and a shrug to the Awoken, before turning back to Salme. “Anyway it’s not MY problem you don’t know the genre you’re actually in.”

: “I warned you that it was a distraction,” he casually remarks from his supine position on the grass.

: “Let’s thank the nice man for making a path and move along.” He waves a hand dismissively. “Worlds aren’t going to save themselves!”

: “Yeah,” she says, flatly.

: “One last question, if I may?” Wolf says, standing, brushing himself off.

: “Certainly.”

: “What the fuck are you doing when you sound like that?”

: “Like This, this, or both?”

: “Yes.” Flatly.

: “First one is my normal accent, but it turns out some really fucked up property of your world makes it HARDER to talk normally than, uh, like this?”

: “Second one is just what you did but cooler.”

: “Third, obviously. is just doing them both at once.”

: “It’s not flourishing resonance but–liminal, or what liminal approaches. The truth.” She says it like Wolf asked her, not whoever this clown is.

: “Alethic.”

: “Looking at the world with both eyes open, something like that.”

: “Hmm.” His eyes narrow, and he bows…to Salme. “Thank you.”

: “Y’wanna know how?”

rolls her eyes. “As if he needs you to tell him.”

turns his head, slowly, to look at the…other man. His eyes narrow, and he smiles, very slightly. “Thank you, but no. I can figure it out.”

: “‘Ohh look at me my name is Salme, I like to ask questions and then get mad when I get answers i wasn’t ready to hear’.” He opens and closes his hand like a mouth a few times.

takes a step forward toward the other man. “Take care with your words.”

: “Alright. Well, you kids have fun exploring the semi-known. See ya.”

: “…Uh…”

stares blankly at his wards, which have never been pushed to their current limits before.

steps back and away, rapidly–though Aurelius may still be able to catch the spark of anger in his eyes as he walks to the ward-edge.

scratches at the back of his head - and it’s all him again, no lingering traces of the angel to be found. They were simply there one moment and gone the next.

: “Hey Aurelius?”

: “Yes?”

: “The bird inside you fucking sucks.”

: “Your next line is…” He sits up and holds a hand to his forehead. “( _{I dreamt I was a dumbass} )…”

just gives a short, sharp bark of laughter.

: “I mean… yeah, from what I gather he doesn’t have many friends.”

erupts in what can only be laughter

looks over at Aurelius with relief. “Please tell me you can control when that happens.”

: “…Maybe?”

rolls up to his feet and hops to a stand. “Right!”

would say it’s good to have him back but she really can’t bring herself to articulate that, so she goes over to Wolf and bumps his shoulder mutely.

glances around at everyone else one at a time in lite confusing then shrugs. “…Anyway I guess the door’s open now? Should I -?” He mimes opening it.

he leans back, briefly–reaches up and squeezes her shoulder in turn–then turns back towards the door. If there’s any trace of that anger-spark left, none of you can see it. “Are you alright?” he asks Salme, in a low voice.

: “If you are returned, then yes, we should continue.”

gives the door a shove and looks inside.

shrugs a little and murmurs to Wolf, “I was scared he wasn’t going to come back.” And then she shrugs and then “whoever he is. It’s not important. Later.”

: “We’ve caused enough of a scene! Let’s move!”

clears her mind and puts the mask back on.

doesn’t look for one moment like he believes it’s not important, but he nods and lets it pass. He turns back towards the door, taking a breath, clearing his mind, listening with both ears and soul.

: “Nice!”

stares in open wonder at the…thing? The wagon? But far too intricate to be a wagon, and pulled by…the thing, up front? He doesn’t stare at the golem, though, that would be…rude. “What IS this…this thing? It cannot be a wagon…”

boards the train unhesitatingly. “Thank you! Where are we headed?”

follows Archie. She doesn’t bother to notice the details, just finds a back corner and wedges herself into it.

: “A train of…what?” He stops by the carriage door to run a gentle hand over the doorframe, marveling. “So much metal…!”

: “Do we have tracks to swing by and pick up Ciet before tracking down the signal?” to the Golem.

: “Who’s askin’ about a ticket?” He boards after Archie, casually running his hand along the velour and woodwork of the tops of the seats.

: “Trains! Who knew the spaces between were so like home?.” As they climb aboard.

blinks at Unua. “You have these, on the Beast?” He climbs in–albeit rather gingerly–and doesn’t sit down because he’s too busy examining all the little filigrees and bits of metalwork.

: “I gotta say though, this is quite splendorous.” He nods in approval at the gilded metalwork.

: “Fair enough, maybe on the way back.” Aurelius then climbs in and finds a seat.

slowly begins to unfurl into a kaleidoscope of colour and silver and gold light, six colourful glass wings stretching to their utmost, beating, once or twice, with the shimmer-sound of chimes, and start beating, strong as a heartbeat, against the ambient energy of the Strange Path

presses his face against the glass windows, shamelessly, face alight in wonder, watching the light, the wings, the process of it all!

leans back into his seat, exhaling in comfort. “This is so much nicer than walking through the dark.”

nods to the small golem. “Conductor! Ticket-master? How shall you be addressed? And also- what destination do we have!”

: “If you need answers to any of these, you can just ask.” He jerks a thumb to point to himself.

watches the colors with delight!

: “Oh…?”

wistfully sighs as the surroundings dim.

smiles, thinking about the first time they were here and how far they’ve already come. Even though the surroundings are still foreboding, being here again feels comforting, somehow.

: “Guess it’s growing… That’s pretty cool.”

started swiveling her head around, looking, about partway through the ride–more for the Mask’s sake than her own. She takes in her companion’s delight. Notes it.

: “It…changes? Based on…us?”

: “That probably makes sense when you think about it. A void’s basically the absence of something, right? So our presence is filling it in.”

: “What doesn’t? Hearts of metal and hearts of meat, the brook that cleaved to the touch, even if it were for but a moment.”

blinks at the Awoken. “You’d be a lovely lyricist if I ever knew what in the gods’ green earth you were talking about.”

: “I think he basically just said what I said…?”

gives a polite gesture to the Conductor and barely restrains himself from running off the train, eager to see if anything else may have changed from the group’s last arrival.

looks to Wolf. “I’m counting on you and Salme to fill that void. But that will have to wait until our return.”

: “I…see?” He doesn’t.

pulls a Lucre out of his pocket and hands it to the golem as he steps off the train with a nod - “A tip.” - before looking around at the bare platform and wondering… could he at least get it to form a bench?

spins about with just the right amount of rotation to smoothly step from the train’s cab to the station.

disembarks with the rest of her companions.

gets off the train slowly, almost reluctantly, giving it a gentle pat as he hops down to the station, just like he would Starseeker.

.

pulls out his bauble from his cloak and studies it, wondering if it matches the same pulse.

then immediately gets distracted by the clanging patterns. The same sort of code that Tsen and Tasna were using to send messages…?

: “How noisy. How can anyone get sleep with all that racket!”

: “The heck kind of question is that? Hmm. Probably a key phrase.”

: “Does ‘which way does the moon rise tonight’ mean anything to any of you?”

: “The rhythm is a message? What does it say?”

holds a hand above his head, and proudly says. “Not a thing!”

looks towards Salme, brow furrowing, racking his vast memory of lyrics and poetry.

taps on the icosahedron. “.. - / .-. .. … . … –..– / .-.. .. -.- . / .- .-.. .-.. / - …. .. -. –. … –..– / - — / - …. . / -. — .-. - ….” A frown, a look of recognition.

raises an eyebrow at Archie.

moves to the frame and repeats the pattern. “.. - / .-. .. … . … –..– / .-.. .. -.- . / .- .-.. .-.. / - …. .. -. –. … –..– / - — / - …. . / -. — .-. - ….”. Insistent, now, to communicate what must be communicated.

: “Archie? What did you say?”

watches the Archivist though the eyes of the Mask.

looks at the frame of the portal. “It’s… I barely remember. But I know that phrase, and the response. It meant something to someone. But… who…?”

: “Suppose we’ll find out soon.”

: “Oh that sounds like it did some kind of trick.”

: “Since uh, they certainly remember you.”

: “.. .—-. – / …. . .-. . .-.-.- / .. .—-. – / -.-. — – .. -. –. .-.-.- / -.-. — – . / – . . - / – . –..– / .. ..-. / -.– — ..- / -.- -. — .– / .– …. . .-. . .-.-.- / .. / …. .- …- . / … — – . / .–. . — .–. .-.. . / - — / .. -. - .-. — -.. ..- -.-. . / -.– — ..- / - — .-.-.-“

turns from the portal to look at the group. “Well, I don’t know if we have the option to change courses at this point even if we wanted to, but I know where that arch leads. It’s… home. Samudra. I want to go. Please, come with me. But if you do, there’s some things you’ll need to know.”

: “We’ve no reason to dissuade or abort!”

: “The others can wait yeah, no rush on the Beast at least.”

: “Lead the way, my friend. We walk the path you forge.”

: “I am happy to carry the mask wherever we six choose to go. What do we need to know?”

nods thankfully to each of them as they speak. “Almachadta is a world where everything eats and is eaten. In that world, threats were easy to identify, to know. They came from without and could be avoided or defeated in a Rite, given sufficient attentiveness. In Samudra, the thing you will need to be most attentive to is your thoughts, and the thoughts you inspire in others. The threats there come from within, created by the mind itself.” His stern look softens. “I have no reason to think you won’t be able to do it. All of you have already shown yourselves to be strong, resilient beyond measure. But this requires a different kind of control. It was instilled in me from birth, like with any native of Samudra. But for you, learning it for the first time, it will be difficult. Depending on what we find, it might be difficult for me, even. But it’s important.”

sensing this might be Long, discreetly moves over to the pile of leathers while giving Archie an ‘im definitely listening’ look, lifts the pile up, then whispers to the shining eyes, “(You mind if I do some light renovations?)”

purses his lips, clearly turning something over in his head.

furrows his brow and frowns, not in displeasure, but in thought. “To control thoughts, though, is nearly impossible. One may redirect, one may choose to let them pass, but what one thinks is…”

: “(…Ah, I see you’re on top of it already! Thanks.)” He pats the pile reassuringly, then gestures with his head and hands inside.

: “Of course. Having them and letting them pass fortunately does little harm, especially within the warding circles we use. The ward I added to yours when we opened the door was a version of such a circle, meant to keep the outside and inside separate, so people can speak freely of the things that weigh heavily on them without affecting the world. It’s only when you let them linger and fester that things get bad, and especially if it’s more than one person. Which is why it’s important to think about, too, the thoughts that your words and deeds inspire in others.”

tilts his head. “Is it only negative thoughts that are the issue, then?”

: “I was just about to ask that same thing, yeah.”

bobs his head, tilting it from side to side with a noncommittal expression. “It’s more complicated than that, but that’s a good starting point, yeah. The world is based on consensus reality, which has to be carefully maintained. There are things that are dangerous to think about, which live in the depths - you may hear people speak of them, when they absolutely must speak of them, as ‘Uninvited Guests’ or ‘Polite Visitors’ - but even those things are typically only thought of as dangerous because of the thoughts and feelings they inspire. Fear. Anger. Hatred. Despair. These are feelings that must be kept in check and handled with care on Samudra.”

bites his lower lip, then, quietly, thoughtfully: “What of…triumph? Joy? Hope?”

: “Reverence, awe, adoration?”

nods, thoughtfully. “Feel them to their fullest and share them with whomever will listen. Be ready to receive the same, though. Which often means listening for three hours to how someone found a way to add 0.01% to the yield of our hydroponics farms. It’s the sort of thing I relish whenever I can, but I get the sense it might not be everyone here’s idea of a good time.” He tries not to let out a chuckle and mostly succeeds.

nods, and looks somewhat allayed…but there’s something clearly still on his mind, from the crease between his brows. He doesn’t ask any more questions, though.

: “And what if this is not a thing we can do?”

frowns.

sighs, and takes off the Mask. “I used to be quite good at controlling my thoughts. But I’ve become prone to distraction. I don’t want to endanger your world, Archie.”

: “Then don your Mask, and listen, and tell their stories of Hope, and of….hydro….ponics? Let your thoughts always move you, not root you.”

steps closer to Salme, meeting her eyes. “I’ve seen how deeply you feel. I understand why you’re worried. Honestly, I think you’re the person I thought might have the hardest time with this. Or, maybe the second-hardest.” His eyes glance over towards the Awoken for the briefest second. “But even though it might be a hard time, I know you can do it. You’re stronger than you’re giving yourself credit for. I can do my best to make sure we’re never too far from a warding circle if there’s something you need to get off your mind. But I wouldn’t be asking if I could bring you with me if I thought you would do more harm than good. Worst case scenario, you have a moment, a fiend appears, and we have a Rite on our hands. Somehow, I think I’ll take those odds.”

rests a gentle hand on Salme’s shoulder. “You won’t be alone, Salme. We’ll be with you, every step of the way.”

looks like she might nod, but she hesitates for a moment. “Is there not a way to … douse these parts of us? To …” she makes a gesture, like snuffing out a candle flame. “Surely you’ve figured something like that out?”

shakes his head. “Even if such a thing were possible, it would be terrible. Nobody would use it. Controlling our moments of fear, anger, despair… it is essential, on Samudra, but to lose the ability to feel them at all would be an incalculable loss. We talk about these feelings when we can, with the people we trust. It’s part of what makes relationships meaningful, on Samudra - the person you share your fears with.”

: “Despite the risks, do not be afraid to live, sweet sparrow.”

: “They are one and the same, my friend.” His fingers squeeze gently, reassuringly. “Joy and sorrow, pain and pleasure, these things are one. Take one, and you mar the whole. We cannot…carve…our way to freedom from our shadows.”

: “I see. I will endeavor to do my best.” She dons the Mask again. “Thank you for your faith.”

: “However fate looms its shadow, one must run towards what they fear most.”

lets his fingers fall, a shadow of worry on his face, but steps back nonetheless.

nods towards the others. “That’s the biggest thing you needed to know. But remember, it’s not just about your feelings, but the feelings you inspire in others. It means making sure you don’t ask questions that make people uncomfortable, or being sure about what you invite people to imagine, at least when we aren’t in a warding circle.” His eyes linger for a moment on the Awoken as he says that part. “Otherwise, if people ask who you are or what you’re doing, you’re my research assistants, and if people ask where you’re from, you tell them it’s too heavy of a topic and to sink the thought. The rest is nothing I don’t trust you to figure out on the fly. Now, we’ve got a portal to open!”

begins to inspect the portal, looking for bits of gnosis to weave together, complete, correct, repair - eager to clear the static and the path home.

: “Hmm… ‘sink the thought’? That doesn’t come across as hostile?”

: “It’s not ‘riotously blow up the thought,’ so it should be fine.”

: “Samudra loves its euphemisms. It’s basically just telling them to stop thinking about it, for their own good. It’s the kind of phrase everyone hears so often that it’s instinctive. Usually, you won’t even get so much as an odd look, if they take the warning seriously.”

: “Right on. I imagine we’re going to be saying it a lot so wanted to make sure it was… something that wouldn’t ruffle feathers too much.”