The sun shone softly through the trees as Raith finished the last process of the burial ceremony. The whole affair had been a nasty business, what with dredging poor Kin's lifeless form from the river, and finding the adequate substitutes for the proper burial tools. And so now she whispered the final words for the abandoned corporeal shell in the words of her ancestors. Though her own eyes remained dry, within her head, a small voice wept copiously.Turning away from the grave site, Raith made her way through the Firey's Forest, seeking the most direct route out, wherever that might be.
Though her spirit-sister was once again within her, it felt like a hollow victory. The inevitable madness had been stayed, but a what price?
"I'm so sorry Kin," Raith whispered, seemingly to herself. Inside her head the sobbing subsided slightly.
**Sorry about what?** the voice snapped, accusatory and cold. **You got what you wanted. I'm back in your head where I ought to be. Right?!?**
"Kin," Raith sighed, "Don't say such things. You know you don't mean them. And you know that I deeply regret all that's happened to you." Kin was usually such a strong presence, so eloquent and articulate, that at times it was easy to forget that she was still just a child, and one that had been reared in unsavory circumstances at that. So, it logically followed that, like a child, she was easily hurt, and would lash out at that which hurt her, whether the lashing out be logical or not.
**It's not fair.** Kin insisted, her voice thick with the accent of tears. **You've had such a long time, and I didn't really get a chance to live.**
"I know it hurts, but it will get better. Sometimes bad things happen, but we need to learn how to get past them."
**Raith?** Kin said, peevishly.
"Yes?"
**Do you think that we could try and find a way back to the Masmos?**
For the first time through the whole affair, a tear glistened in Raith's silver eye. "Of course, Kin-swit." she answered in a hushed whisper.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
**I don't like it.** Kin said for what must have been the seventh time that morning. **The Fireys are not usually so inattentive of visitors.**
Raith sighed fatalistically. "Yes, I believe you mentioned something along those lines. I, however, am perfectly willing to let it be as it may, and enjoy this leisure time when I don't have to run for our lives." It was good to have Kin back, but also strange. It was as though the girl had changed with her brief corporeal existence. Her thoughts no longer had the same feel to them.
**Keep to the path.** Kin insisted as Raith's dust cloak snagged on some low hanging branches.
"Yes, dear." Raith returned.
It was not very much longer before they came upon a girl lying seemingly unconscious on the ground.
"Oh my." Raith murmured, stooping to investigate.
Xarra:
Xarra slowly regained consciousness, awaking to relative silence. Far away, she could hear a wind spirit laughing. Eventually, she heard two voices directly above her, garbled at first, but as she further rose out of her groggy haze she began to understand their words.
Raith:
**Raith, run.** Kin said simply, her voice fraught with the tension of barely restrained panic."Just a moment. She might be hurt."
**The more reason for her to mistake us as attackers, and attack us in self-defense. I'm going to say this once more, Raith. Run.**
It was at that moment that the girl awoke.
Xarra:
Xarra opened her eyes. "I'm fine, don't worry," she said groggily. Finally noticing her surroundings, she bolted upright. Her vision had been a teleportation. She was no longer at the gates to the city. Another surprise. Only one person stood over her. She could have sworn she'd heard two voices.
Raith:
Raith's large, silver eyes widened in alarm. It was one thing to have an unconscious person barring your path, and quite another to have that same person awaken and start talking to you. Startled, she stood up in a rush and took a couple of shuffling steps backward until she came up against the rough bark of a tree. In a moment, she translated that which the girl had said in her mind. It was then that she realized how very long it had been since she had used English. She remembered the elf-woman who had accompanied her for a brief time, and wondered how she had faired the fairie attack. Shaking her head slightly, she returned her attentions to the problem at hand.**Curse you, Raith!** Kin stormed in her head. **I told you to run. But would you listen to me? No. Of course not. Why should my opinion matter? After all, I'm just a voice in your head. And now look what you've gotten us into! If you would just utilize a modicum of caution . . .**
Raith scowled at Kin's mental tirade, and cut it off short by saying, in her own tongue, "Stop it, Kin. You know better than that. Your opinion matters a great deal to me, but this was my call. I chose to try and help someone who I though was hurt. No matter how that turned out, we're going to have to deal with it."
**It's your problem. You deal with it.** Kin responded petulantly.
Raith cleared her throat. "You are well now?" she asked the girl before them in English.
Xarra:
Xarra did not respond for a few moments, silently evaluating the situation.There had definitely been two voices. Both voices were present now. Only one stood before her. The second must be a spirit of some sort, but Xarra could not identify what. Both newcomers spoke in a tongue she could not recognize by name. Casting a quick spell, she absorbed the language and translated their previous conversation. Most of it had been obvious enough from the woman's actions and the looks in her silver eyes.
*Me? Dangerous?* she thought, laughing a little.
"It's all right," Xarra finally replied, using their own, more comfortable language, "I mean no harm." Everything began to spin again for a moment. She reeled. Recovering her balance, she grasped a low-hanging branch and returned her attention to the woman. "Would you mind telling me where we are? I'm a bit disoriented today and could use a bit of direction."
Raith:
For a moment, Raith stood agape, and even Kin's voice within her head remained in dumfounded silence. Had she heard right? Had the girl before them just spoken to her in their own language? In a moment, Raith gave voice to the furious workings of her mind."You are not Tramaelfalen'shira. How is it that you have come to know this language?"
It was at this moment that Kin once again found her tongue. **It's a trick, Raith! She's a trap. Run away, Raith, or we'll be caught!**
The urgency in Kin's voice warred with Raith's fascination of hearing the fluid sounds of the language of her people flowing from the mouth of this obvious outsider. After a moment, the fascination won out.
"Really, Kin. Her, a trap? She can hardly stand on her own two feet, much less pose any danger to us." Then, to the girl she said, "You are in the Firey's Forest of the Labyrinth in the Underground." Then, summoning a great deal of courage, Raith stepped forward, "I am Hwentharaithachaien do'Rahnvin Maieckesia Al'Mavhaiyren Treaileashaia Col'du'Marr Lanfael Retamaiske Atremeolier Faeryn shoealinaskia-taim Tremahalise. Who are you?"
Xarra:
Xarra raised a perplexed brow. Caught? What . . . who were they running from? She felt an overwhelming urge to inquire, but suppressed it to avoid further panic on the part of the woman's seemingly invisible companion."I . . . have a special linguistic talent," she replied shortly. This was no time for complex introductions. "My name is Xarra Hime. Xarra." She hesitated for a moment.
"And who are you?" she asked the other.
Raith:
Now it was Raith's turn to look perplexed. Licking her lips nervously, she slowly replied, "I just told you my name. You may call me Raith, though." She offered a small, wary smile.**Now you're telling her your thought-name?!?!** Kin screeched inside Raith's head. **Is there no end to this dangerously blind trust that you've managed to develop while I was gone? That's a habit I'm going to have to break you of, Raith-chaien.** The small, cultured voice spat out the term of endearment as though it were an obscenity.
Raith scowled slightly at this inner tirade, and mumbled. "Seems to me that not too long ago you were doing the same thing, Kin-swit. Double standards don't suit you."
**_I'm_ not the one who had to worry about a helpless bystander.** Kin groused.
"Self-preservation is ever the heart of the matter, is it not, my dear?" Raith responded dryly.
**I care about you too!** Kin insisted, her voice placating, having realized that her curt words may have hurt Raith's feelings. **I would never want to see you hurt, Raith-chaien. That is why I cannot see the trust you place in this girl as anything other than self-destructive. Be careful, Raith. That's all I ask.**
Raith smiled slightly. "I shall be careful. Just have a little faith in me, Kin-swit." She returned her attentions to the girl standing before them.
On to 'Into the Woods'
Back to the Firey's Forest
Back to the Library
