Welcome to Gaia! ::

The door creaks open, only to reveal a pair of mechanical-looking creatures. They're BIG, too, coming up to about Ghlyssa's chest! "Can Ican I help you?" they say, in a sort of odd, overlapped unison.

"Oh, yesyes, it is. One moment." The two creatures scuttle backwards at the same time, making far less noise than one would expect. "MasterMaster, someone is here!"

"Thanks, Biome," came a muffled voice from inside. A few seconds later, Mithril bounded into view, hackles raised, but they flattened when he saw Ghlyssa. The kirin Verlashi merely stalked over to the unlit fireplace and flopped in front of it, looking unconcerned.

"Who is - ah!" Riven came around the corner and zoomed over when he saw who it was. "Ghlyssa!" He hesitated for a moment, then caught her up and twirled in a little circle with her.

"Of course it's okay!" Riven nods and leads her inside, closing the door. "My mom isn't here right now, though. She's off... chasing her own past. Like we have to, I guess. It's a long story," he says, vaguely.

The two mechanical creatures scuttle past again, this time bearing a cup of hot tea between them, that they hold up to Ghlyssa. "Well, aren't you polite today," Riven chuckles. "Those two are... actually one, I think. Their name is Biome. They're a fandangle familiar, that Mister Moorgahaine made."

Riven shrugs. "They say they are. They used to be only one thing, so..." He lowers himself onto the couch, coiling his tail underneath him. "But you didn't come over here to talk about Biome, right?"

Riven looks startled for a moment, then nods, slowly. "I... I want to walk the Path of the Ancients," he says, in a firm tone. "My purpose... my duty... is to maintain the Barrier and make sure Chaos stays sealed for all time. You remember meeting Ssala in the Spirit Realm, a long time ago? Shi thinks that I can balance my duty in the Spirit Realm with life here, but there is no question that I have to become an Ancient to continue in my purpose..."

He pauses, then looks right into her eyes. "I don't regret deciding that. I can't put my own needs above those of so many. It hurts too much."

Riven bites his lip. "It... it wasn't really a question for me to decide," he admits. "I always knew - mostly - who and what I was, and what my responsibilities were... I can't imagine abandoning them."

He looks more serious, now. "What would happen if you chose the other path? I don't know everything, but I do know that... that, were I to become an Ancient, I would ... I would eventually have to watch... watch you die." He glances down, quickly.

Riven shakes his head, the beads woven into his hair clinking lightly against each other. "No. No, you don't want that..." He sighs. "I love the change here. It makes everything so much richer. The Spirit Realm is beautiful, but aside from pushing back Chaos and preserving the seal, nothing happens. There is no change in anything but the Barrier... there's a reason why, before, I watched the worlds outside so avidly. Mom says the TV is bad, but it's nothing compared to how I looked through Hoshi's stars. No."