Side A – Nia
Nia didn’t like where Margrada’s questions were sending her thoughts. Didn’t like it, but was finding it increasingly difficult not to follow them to their obvious conclusion.
“Uh, umm, uh,” she stammered out gracefully, “hold that thought. I need to check on something real quick.”
With a blink, Nia cast herself over to Yasgrid, seeking the counsel of the one person who would be able to see her heart the most clearly, and likely was also the person who was the most conversant with the metaphysics of the Darkwood’s Troubles.
Yasgrid who was also currently busy it seemed.
“A timely visitor has arrived,” Kyra said, flicking her gaze to the spot where Nia was standing.
Which was odd.
Other people couldn’t see her usually, on account of the fact that she wasn’t really there, just a projection in Yasgrid’s mind.
At least as far as either of them knew.
Yasgrid seemed to be having a similar reaction to Nia from the look of incredulity on her face. Kyra dismissed both of their concerns with a wave.
“I’m a Fate Dancer who broke the threads of fate,” she said. “I can do a lot of things I’m not supposed to be able to now.”
Which, as explanations went, was not the most comforting one Nia had ever heard, but exploring it further seemed like a task for another time.
“What…what brings you here?” Yasgrid asked, and odd wave of guilt flowing along with her words.
“Oh, I, uh.” Nia had intended to spill every Trouble related worry which currently occupied her thoughts out for Yasgrid to systematically squish for her, but with Kyra listening in that seemed like a terrible, terrible idea.
“I’m guessing you two would prefer to have this conversation in private?” Kyra asked. “If I may suggest however, I think you will benefit from some outside perspectives on these particular issues.”
“These issues?” Yasgrid and Nia said in unison, and turned to look at each other.
There weren’t ‘issues’ here. Just the one issue as far as Nia knew.
Except looking at Yasgrid that wasn’t the case.
Which sent Nia’s heart plummeting.
Had Yasgrid figured it out too? Did she see how everything that had happened to them was Nia’s fault?
The temptation to run in that instant was profound.
Except Nia couldn’t run from Yasgrid.
Not because they were mystically bound together too intricately for that.
Nia simply couldn’t turn away from Yasgrid. Not after all they’d been through.
If there were going to be recriminations though, then Nia wasn’t going to hide from them, painful as they might be. Yasgrid was too important for that.
It was as she made that decision that Nia saw the haunted look in Yasgrid’s eyes and felt the guilt, not anger, or disappointment, or hurt, but guilt that was bubbling up in Yasgrid’s heart.
“I think there is another who should be a part of this conversation too,” Kyra said. “Nia would you ask Margrada if she would care to join us?”
Side B – Yasgrid
Seeing Nia’s look of astonishment should have been amusing.
And it was.
A little.
Which helped.
For a moment, when Nia had shown up, Yasgrid had felt like judgment was about to fall upon her. The timing had been to perfect.
But Nia had looked as confused and scared as Yasgrid felt, and she was still here, which somehow counted for a lot.
Also, Kyra could see her. Which was weird. But weird wasn’t able to surprise Yasgrid much anymore, so that she was willing to roll with for the time being.
“How would I bring Margrada here?” Nia asked. “We don’t have our Shatter Drums at the moment. And I’m not sure either of us are up for playing even if we did.”
“Just ask if she’d like to join us,” Kyra said. “You two can take care of the rest.”
“We can?” Nia asked, to which Kyra simply nodded.
Nia vanished for a moment, her full attention returning to the cart she was sharing with Margrada. Yasgrid was amused, though not surprised, that Nia had appeared as a Stoneling but sized as an elf and clad in fairly comfortable looking Elven garb.
Her adoption of a Stoneling appearance was heartening in that it reaffirmed that even if Yasgrid was responsible for their switch, Nia really was happy with it.
Sizing herself as an Elf simply made sense in terms of fitting into their surroundings, and the comfortable garb was mostly noteworthy for two reasons, first when she was trying to be ‘Naosha’s daughter’ rather than herself comfortable garb was limited to when she was alone and second, from what Yasgrid could sense, Nia’s actual body was not, in fact, garbed at all at the moment.
When she returned a moment later Margrada was with her (also garbed, though in more typical Stoneling clothes).
“What the…?” Margrada was about as bewildered as everyone who was present save for Kyra. “But we’re still in the cart. I can feel the fur blankets.”
“This is more of an illusion than an transport,” Kyra said. “It how, I think, Nia and Yasgrid have been communicating.”
“I get that, sort of, but how are we seeing it?” Margrada asked.
“I was what we call a Fate Dancer,” Kyra said. “We learn from a frighteningly young age to sense the patterns and threads that bind things together. To some extent that allows us to see the future, or really possible futures, and to an even lesser extent we can change the past. I can’t do either of those any longer – in fact I don’t believe any Fate Dancer is capable of altering the past anymore and the future was a fickle and uncertain thing to tangle with at the best of times.”
“But you can do this? How? You don’t have a Shatter Drum and I don’t even hear the melody of the Darkwood here?” Margrada asked, pay no attention to either Nia or Yasgrid.
“This magic isn’t mine,” Kyra said. “It’s a part of these two, all I had to do was call on the threads that bind you and I to them already.”
“That doesn’t sound simple,” Margrada said.
“It would have been impossible for me before, now it’s surprisingly easy, at least with us.”
“Why? I mean why bring us together?”
“Because these two are just about melting down thinking they’ve each done something awful, and I think they need us to show them how wrong they are.”