Nettle's Page!
Alec's Page
As Nettle, Alec, Corrander and the twins vanished from sight, Veil's anger immediately vanished and she turned her face to Cuinnsear's neck and let the tears fall.
"What is wrong with me?" Veil cried, leaning against the smooth scales of Cuinnsear's serpentine body. "I feel so out of control and helpless, and I don't know why!"
Cuinnsear curled his neck around Veil, supporting her while she wept. She felt the scales slithering against her skin and was comforted, much as a hysterical child could be calmed by the touch of its mother.
He softly blew air into her face, sending her the strength of the earth and the ancient trees.
"Calm yourself daughter," he said, his voice sending soothing vibrations through Veil's body.
The girl visibly relaxed, then looked up at her father's face through her tears. "I'm so sorry," she began, realizing what she had just done to her friends. "I'll go after them, they can't have gone far.."
"No, child," the dragon responded. "They have already gone, Balador has taken them," he explained. "They will be safe. It is you that I worry about."
Veil hangs her head, ashamed that she had abandoned Nettle in a fit of temper, not understanding why she has been so on edge and jumpy.
"I'm sorry," she begins again, but Cuinnsear interrupts her.
"You have become unbalanced since hosting all of my brothers and sisters," he says. "When you took in their spirits you absorbed their resonance, some of which are at odds with mine and so they fight within you. There are still lingering traces within, and this is what is causing your distress."
"You are conflicted within yourself, my daughter, and this must be put to rest before you can join your friends," Cuinnsear finishes.
"Why didn't you tell me this before?" Veil asks, thinking of the weeks spent with Cuinnsear after the last sapling had been planted, all of her confusion and conflicting emotions.
"I was not sure if it would pass on its own," her responded, making that odd purring noise deep within his throat. "But it seems that even if it will, it is not soon enough. You must purify yourself, daughter. Your spirit must be cleansed before you can return to the Chantry in Salt Lake City. Only then will you feel whole again, and recognize your purpose in the Goddess' plans."
Veil sniffles, and wipes the tears away from her eyes. "If they let me back into the Chantry after I've just treated Nettle so horribly," she replies, "so much for being a Guardian of her daughter. What happens first thing? I kick them out of my home and leave them to fend for themselves!" Veil feels tears begin to well up again and hurridly wipes them away.
"Right. Well, tell me what I need to do to cleanse myself, so I can get back to Salt Lake and apologize," Veil says, visibly taking herself under control.
Cuinnsear slowly unwinds himself and crawls on his belly to the small sapling in the center of the glade. He curls himself around the tree and turns back to Veil, looking down at her from his full height.
"Look within yourself, your Avatar has been trying to speak to you for days, she will show you the way," he answers, then lowers his head to the ground and closes his eyes, apparently sleeping.
Veil feels more guilt wash over her at the realization that she's become so out of touch that she ignored the call of her Avatar.
Leaving the glade, she follows the path through the woods to the small cottage where she's been sleeping. Letting intuition guide her for the first time in weeks, she gathers items from the shelves and cupboards, placing them within a worn leather backpack.
The last item she picks up is a magnificent silver blade, etched with runes and as light as a feather in her hands. She stares at it wonderingly, remembering the ancient Atlantean statue that presented her with this gift as she sought the Tree of Life. A cool calm washes over her as she touches the sword, and a hint of alien intelligence whispers behind her thoughts as she belts the sword to her hip.
She takes one last look around, then shuts the cottage door behind her and steps back out onto the umbral pathway. She doesn't look back as she walks, eyes focused ahead to the unknown destination before her.
Nettle's Page! |
Alec's Page |