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Rivener had an umbrella and wandered through Durem, wondering if he'd lost his damned marbles. Earlier that night when he'd been feeding on the few stars visible between clouds, before the rain had started, the silly twinkling bastards had all but YELLED at him.



He had no doubt who "smoke snake" referred to. Cordelia. But dissipating? it certainly sounds like she was in trouble! And bottling her, he had no idea what that meant, really, but he was going to guess it basically meant he should stop her dissipating. So, get her out of trouble. He'd taken to the streets, trusting his guts to veer him down this street or that- ever since the rain had started, the Starspeak was no help at all in giving directions so he had to trust to luck. And the rain was so cold... Dells was like himself, she didn't like the cold! He needed to get to her quick.

Suddenly Rivener turned a corner and lo and behold, Cordelia was standing in the street looking up at the sky and not moving, smoke sizzling off her as the rain pattered onto her body. It shocked him. It ALWAYS shocked him when the Starspeak actually said something he could decipher and it led him to things like this.

Wordlessly, he approached until he was within reach, extending the umbrella over her. "Dells? Dells, what are you doing out here? It's cold. You're WET. ...Are you okay?" There was something in her eyes, now that he could see them, that didn't seem quite right. The Scorpion frowned in concern, moving a little closer.

Rivener just blinked at her as she called his name so questioningly the first time, like she'd been sleepwalking and only now realized that there was a world around her. The Scorpion watched her face go through a change from empty and gray to utterly upset, and then she was latching onto him and sobbing so hard! For a second Rivener had gasped and just stood there with arms akimbo, stunned, but a second later he was cradling her with his free arm, pulling her close (mindful of both their sharp bits of course) to wrap her in his wings. The umbrella lowered to become the cover of their coccoon, shielding them from the cold rain. She was wet and cold already and it ached where she touched Riv, but he knew she'd warm up soon enough.

"Holy hell, Dells, what-... Dells, what happened? Shhh, shh..." For the longest time he didn't do anything but caress her back and shoulders, trying to calm the poor girl down. The rain was starting to come down a little harder though, so they needed to move... A quick look around yeilded one haven: an alley covered by a fire escape someone had covered with a wood plank "floor", making themselves a rough patio. They could hide from the rain there. Rivener slowly floated them over, murmuring reassuringly throughout, and when they were finally out of the painful cold he tried his hand at speaking to the upset girl again.

"Cordelia, what happened. Your phone's ringing off the hook, do you not want to talk to them? Do you want ME to talk to them for you?" Of course, Riv's first assumption was that Cordelia's Guardians had somehow done this to her.

Rivener frowned in concern as he let Cordelia move in his arms, reaching into her pocket and fishing out the phone. He watched her reactions, but she was inscrutable. Had Ebony REALLY done something to make Dells this upset? Was that why she wasn't willing to answer the phone? Riv grit his teeth and was about to reach for the thing himself when the noise suddenly stopped. He heaved a soft sigh and hugged at Dells, opening his mouth to reassure her some more, but the damned phone started again.

This time Cordelia crumbled, and Rivener had had enough. He snarled and bent to cover her form with his own like a protective coccoon, snatched the phone out of her hand and snapped it open, pressing "talk".

"Ebony?" he said snappily, having seen her name on the screen. "Look, I found Cordelia. She's alright, but she's upset so I'm taking her to my home. She'll be safe. NOW STOP ******** CALLING." He snapped the phone closed without waiting for a response, turned the power off, and stuffed it into his pocket.

Shushing softly, the Sigel then moved very gently to pry his friend off the ground so he could start guiding her gently out of their little haven, the umbrella providing cover. Riv was sure Zul would agree to letting her stay: both Sigels loved her dearly. "Come on, Dells. Let's get you somewhere safe and dry, with no humans around. It'll be just me and you and Zul. Okay? Shhh, you're alright Dells. You're going to be alright, I got you."

Rivener gathered Cordelia close and couldn't have explained how relieved he was that she seemed to have come around enough to speak. The Sigel had a soft smile for her and he caressed her hair soothingly under the umbrella. "Don't mention it, Dells. Let me know if you need anything. Or Zul. He'd love to help too, I'm sure. Come on, let's get you somewhere nice and calm and quiet, warm and dry. You'll feel better in no time."

Riv headed into the street and very gently, very carefully drawing her towards Durem Central. There might be more people there for a while, more noise, but once they would get to the Sigel's apartment, they would find the peace and quiet inside. All in all, they had to float for about half an hour just to make it to his building, since he was moving so slow and careful with his friend on his arm.

The building was a tall one, centrally located so both he and Zul could get to their work quickly, and Riv had insisted they get something on the top floor so he could eat starlight easier. With the city lights drowning out most of the stuff, a high apartment was a necessity. It also meant that that high up, the din of the city would be muffled to near silence, and Delia could have some peace and quiet. The Scorpion punched in a number at the door and the thing buzzed him in. They passed a security station whose lone guard just gave Riv a nod, blinking at a new half-torso person but saying nothing about it. Then into the elevator they went, all the way to the top, where one of the four doors led to the two Sigels' home. There were many windows letting in the dulled evening light of the city, though the glass was streaked with rain.

"Zul? ...Ah, he's out," Riv murmured as he noted the usual quiet sign they left each other when they were out to work: an apple left on the counter. Too bad, Rivener was sure his Flower would have liked to help take care of Delia.

The Scorpion's attention could settle on Dells wholly, then. Riv turned on the lights, guided Delia to the sofa in the open-concept main room, then made her sit. "Stay right there, I'll get you a towel." Even leaving her for two heartbeats so he could rush into the bathroom and get a fluffy white towel seemed like too much, and when Riv returned with the fabric he wrapped it around the girl's shoulders carefully and began rubbing her down, floofing her hair and frowning in worry.

Maybe, if she was a little more ready after that long walk... "...You want to tell me what happened?" he asked gently. "I'll listen, Dells. I got your back no matter what. Please, tell me what's wrong."

Rivener left the towel on Cordelia's shoulders and turned to the nearest end table, where the remote for the electric fireplace sat. He clicked it on, hoping it would help both of them regain some much-needed heat, more so Dells than himself. She seemed to be doing better, at least, not nearly as shivery and huddled as before.

The silence dragged on, but Rivener wouldn't press again. He would let her stew if she wanted to stew, would let her think if she needed to think, though frustration and curiosity both warred for top spot in his mind. Curiosity because he wanted to know what was wrong, of course, but frustration that she wouldn't or couldn't tell him. How was he supposed to stop whatever was hurting her if she didn't tell him what it was? The Scorpion's wings kept rattling as he twitched them in impotent rage, wanting to stab whatever was causing the problem so it would stop.

After a long quiet, though, Cordelia finally spoke. Her voice, though low and whispery, was at least more coherent than the half-catatonic words she'd rattled off in the alley. Rivener blinked and tilted his head, inching closer to hear.

...Ah. She'd learned where her Soul came from? And by that look of pain across her features, it was something she would rather NOT know. Riv sighed deeply, sympathetic to some degree but never quite all the way. It had been the same when Eiry had found out HIS origin, the ghostly Raevan clutching that bottle with a tiny dead body in it for weeks. That had been creepy as hell, but it had also nearly unhinged the green Frei. Riv hadn't understood then, and he didn't understand now, either. When he'd been very young, he'd asked Aphi where Raevans came from, and he'd gotten a very straightforward and informative answer. He knew his own origin and felt no qualms about it. But then again he didn't know the details of Dells' past life, either.

"...Do you wanna talk about it?" he offered quietly, moving close again to wrap the poor girl in a tight hug. "It helps to talk, Dells. I'll listen."

Rivener listened very carefully, letting Cordelia get everything off her chest without interrupting. It was all a little worrisome, this emptiness Dells spoke of, but she followed it and found herself. Her old self. And she found out her own Guardian had killed her.

The pain in the girls' voice was palpable, and Rivener squeezed her gently, offering support as best he could. Wondering what he could say to make it better. Wondering if the things he could say were the right ones. Wondering if he should speak at all. In the end he focused on petting her hair, held his tongue as long as possible but couldn't stay quiet.

"Cordelia, I know it wasn't a pleasant experience, finding out like that. But you have to know that a basilisk sounds like a really dangerous thing! It was likely trying to kill Ebony, too. Maybe she did it in self-defense. Ask her. And... Look, you're not only that anymore. You're not just a basilisk. You're also something else, something amazing: You're Cordelia. It must be so horrid to remember dying, but remember that you came back to life, too. You're Cordelia! ...You're Dells. Okay?"

Ugh, he suddenly realized he'd yelled at Ebony on the phone for nothing, then. He would have to apologize to her, but for now he needed to make sure Dells didn't lose herself over this. He didn't want to lose her, didn't want her to dissipate like the stars had warned. If he wasn't careful, he feared she would go away like Gage had, like Zave did...

"Whoa, whoa!" Rivener protested, raising both hands to fend off the other's temper. "Dells, it's alright, I'm not saying anything! I'm not saying any of that, I'm not siding with her, I'm on your side! On your side." Though he truly did NOT understand. Though perhaps that had something to do with not being in her shoes, of course. It really seemed like those whose previous selves had possessed some kind of consciousness suffered much more from it. Riv himself had only been a mindless little critter, he'd never once been subject to old thoughts, old emotions... But here Cordelia was talking about what she USED to have, what she USED to be.

For all he knew, Raevans were NOT new things. Perhaps those with old lives just changed. And that really was a scary thought.

"Okay. Okay, I hear you. It's true that I don't really understand, Dells, I've never been through anything even close to what you're going through, but it does sound... bad. Real bad. Here, come here, I'll be here for you, I promise. Get it all out. Yell, cry, anything you need." He tried to gather her up into a hug again, petting at her hair softly.

"Bbbzzzzzt- Mister Rivener, there's some frantic lady here saying she needs to go up. Should I ring her in?" The doorman. Rivener sighed. He moved to the intercom near the entry, keeping Dells beside himself if she allowed it. Otherwise, she could wait on the sofa. He pressed the button and sighed into the speaker.

"Is it a purple-haired woman looking pretty pissed?"

"Yup," the doorman said.

The Sigel glanced over at Cordelia, raising an eyebrow. "It's up to you, Dells. You want me to keep her away?"