Unexpected encounter
author: Teri/Stana
Date: Fri, 16 Jul 1999 17:48:34 EDT

 Clip paced nervously through the crowds. He had known letting the
mortal out of his sight had been poor judgement, but she had been
insistent that he let her be.

The anxiety he felt was not at all benevolent, all the more viscious
for his
newness at this type of emotion. Since meeting up with the mortal, he
had
been plunged into one insanity after another. Mortals were sickly,
frail
things, and the longer Clip spent time among them, the less real they
all
seemed.

      Except for the few he traveled with.  Each threw off a power much
like the Element they supported. Teri burned furious, Emily churned
like a whirlpool, and Stana- well, Stana HAD felt like a cool spring
setting.
Now
the impressions he garnered of her was of a single branch sanding stark
against the winter snows.

     His Princess had set him to watch her, so watch he must, and
rid himself of the burden as soon as he could.  He longed for his home,
and loathed this land of death.

  He spotted Teri out of the corner of his glance as she entered back
into
the room from outside, saw her turning deliberately to avoid him. He
had
sensed her shock at Stana's earlier outburst, had sensed the
_wrongness_ of
it. He had denied this to her, and had regretted it bitterly since.

     Clip had told himself that a mortal would not have understood,
and only afterwards realized that only a mortal COULD understand the
afflictions of another mortal.

   He therefore maneuvered himself into a position where he could
shove her out of direct sight and transform himself into a human shell.


  "What do you want Clip," Teri said with guarded hostility, "Go
and find your bitter companion and feed off one another's deserts for a
bit."

   His eyes were openly contemptuous, but inside them was a flicker of
unease.

    "It is about Stana that I wish to speak." He hated this! Looking to
a human for help! The wry lift of her eyebrow-- As if this mortal had
the
right to even look on him! "There is something...not right with her."

 Teri stopped, absorbing this idea. It had reinforced her own
feelings, but for Stana's Guardian to voice a reservation, especially
CLIP to voice a reservation, indicated perhaps something more serious
than even she anticipated was going on. Not that she really had a clue
what
was going on, to begin  with.

    "I'm listening."

    The Unicorn stifled his exasperation. Why must she be so dense. He
was willing to leave it there, stalk off and forget it, but the tight
feeling in his chest would not let him retreat. He glared at her,
furious for exaggerating this emotion in him.

     "You have chosen to think that we abandoned you at the Healer
Rashka's hut. So be it. The mortals were elected to this task and at
recongnizing  your condition as serious, decided not to include you in.
The morning we left you , on our mission, the mortals and I were
attacked. Stana was given a grievous strike that darkened her soul.
The Warrior performed an exorcism, but there was a taint there still.
She was not well. "

   Teri's momentary return of the outrage at not having been included,
her
desire to retort that there was a difference between "serious"ness and
gravity, dulled at the rest of Clip's words. It began to be replaced by
a
nauscious worry only partly emanating from the unicorn, who continued..

    "The sickness in her began to gnaw at her, until she shadowed
against what was.  When we reached the end of our journey, there was
little left. She pulled back from the brink, and restored herself
somewhat. Yet still she languished.  The amulet.. chills her, or vice
versa, one need feeding off the other, both out of balance."

    "How did she get the marks on her palms?" Teri asked. She hadn't
tried to
remove her own pendant, and hadn't ever wanted to. Now, she was
beginning to
think twice.

     "After you left our chambers, she grabbed the amulet as if to
tear it from her. There was a flash of light, and she took her hands
away, scarred."

    He did not mention the rest, the screams, his struggle to reach her
against that explosion of brightness. The crushing weight forcing him
back, step by step, or the force that had blasted him into the wall as
he touched her hands with his Alicorn.

      Clip shook his head, amazed that he was telling so much, and yet,
the emotions within, the dread and anxiety, were so new and oppressive,
that he would have gladly cast them off to rest on another.

      He saw her still appraising him, and gazed back with a defiant
hauteur.

        "How do you suggest I help?" She didn't bother to hide the
unspoken question why she should even bother.  She thought it was
pretty apparent.

        "Only a Mortal can understand another Mortal's affliction,"
Clip repeated the phrase aloud this time.  Teri nearly smiled. An
admission
from Clip that he wasn't omniscient was an unexpected pleasure. The
only thing dampening it was that Clip didn't seem to acknowledge that
admission.

        "I'll see what I can do," she said, still smiling with
arrogance nearly equal to his, and an equal distaste. As the Unicorn
turned to
go, an idea struck her. "Wait-" she said quizzically. "What exactly are
the purpose of the Amulets?" Her fingers were wound round the gem at
her throat, a faint red glow enveloping her hands against the darkness
of the shadowed corner.

        "The Amulet represents the heart of the element. It contains
all
that your Element feels. More I cannot say."

        Teri watched him as he shimmered back into equine form, and
emerged into the golden candlelight. She looked down at the ruby, like
a large drop of blood against her white fingers.  She felt the pulse of
warmth, of light, and passion within it. She remembered the rage, too,
and
the hatred, and wondered sadly whether that was what a forgotten god
would
feel. She let the pendant drop from her fingers to settle against her
skin.

        Moving into the light, she pressed herself against a column,
letting  her head drop back. Sighing, Teri closed her eyes against a
barrage of  emotions.  Eyes closed, her face smoothed itself into
expressionlessness,  something she was unaware of.  The feelings
appeared and vanished so quickly  she felt overwhelmed- mostly because
of her weariness.  Perhaps because of the wine. Words came to mind..

        ~The soul is dyed the color of its thoughts. Think only on those
things that
are in line with your principles and can bear the full light of day.
The
content of your character is your choice. Day by Day, what you choose,
what
you think, and what you do is who you become. Your integrity is your
destiny... it is the light that guides your way.***
    ~Close your eyes. Breathe lightly, breathe in the warmth of your
body heating  the air. Feel the heat, let the heat wash over you and
bring you to a glowing  calm.  Focus on one color- turn it around in
your mind, in your heart. Feel  it, smell it, taste it, experience it,
and then move on.  With every strand  you distinguish, the others will
unknot themselves and calm. In this way you  can understand yourself at
any given time. Only when you understand yourself  can you begin to
understand others.~

The chapter of the Ancient's book focused on the momentary knowledge of
oneself, of the moment and the immediate experience at hand. The
principle was also true in a more general application.

The vibrating sun-strand of her anxiety. The silver-blue color of
moonlit  waters that slips from the grasp like a cold, wet snake was
her evasion, the  part of her that wanted nothing to do with Stana or
her problems. Rough salmon pinkishness scratched resentment across her
consciousness, and tender, carnation pink soothed her.

A mess. She was a mess... but less of one than her friend. Looking from
her corner of the world onto the bright airy room filled gaily with
laughter and  sparkles, she searched for the dour presence of the Earth
Guardian, and her  friend of yester-days. Holding on to the image of
the girl she had known on earth, the girl she had known in the Aethyr,
even, Teri expanded her senses towards the banquet hall in search of a
soul in need.