Welcome to Gaia! ::

The past few weeks had been horrible at the Musaeum. With Nara missing, Dr. Smith and ea Delano had to fumble their way through the crisis that had sprung up. Nearly a month ago, Dr. Smith had found Nathaniel wandering around the Library grounds, dazed and starving. Though they had taken the boy in and healed his physical wounds something seemed to be missing.

Then came Talner. The man was, most like a literal, god send. Though the boy hadn't quite warmed up the to man at first, he had consented to stay with him. The boy even seemed to be getting a bit of color back. Satisfied they had done a good job, the two didn't think much more of it.

With the excitement of Nara's safe(ish) return, the matter slipped even farther from their minds. Though the two saw him about, neither one thought to meantion to Nara what had been going on.

Thus it was some small surprise that on her daily walks, which were steadily getting farther and farther from that bed she had been to weak to leave for a while, that Nara stumbled across Nathaniel.

The woman had vaugely recognized Nathaniel, in the mundane sense. But she really recognized him the way that only another scroll could. She smiled back at the boy and returned his wave, only to blink closer. What the--

"That's allright. We're the same," she replied wondering who the man was. "Ah.. You don't happen to know where his guardian is, do you?" She moved towards Nathaniel, reaching out to tap the boy on the shoulder.

Nara simply stared at the man. "No. You're not," came the instant rebuttal. Ignoring the man's belated greeting Nara moved over to Nathaniel.

"Hey," she said quietly. "I'm Nara. You probably don't remember me but I'm the one that unsealed you. Why don't you come with me for a moment. It's really important okay. I need to make sure you're healthy and fix this problem with your guardian. " The chilly look she gave Talner promised quite a bit of pain and destruction in his future. Of course if Nathaniel's mother... yes, it was a woman, had really dissapeared without intending to come back.. This was going to be a nightmare.

Completely out of patientience with the situation and the man, Nara brushed him off, ignoring him completely. The woman led Nate through the halls, down into the bowels of the Library. Deeper, deeper, twisting and turning. Finally the two managed to end up on Nara's hallway. Knowing how uncomfortable the boy must be, Nara began to talk, though she was fast tiring. "This is the hallway I live in. Way down at the end. There should be enough rooms here for everyone. Did you talk to my partner? He wears a lot of black and hates to talk. Or Dr. Smith. He's old and balding."

By the time the two got to Nara's room, she was dizzy and lightheaded, nearly leaning against the wall for support. Shaking hands managed to open the door and stumble inside. "Ah.. Just a moment. Still tired...."

After a moments worth of fuming, and catching her breath, Nara chivvied the boy onto the bed. "I just want you to relax allright. Take deep, slow breaths." The woman herself sat down in a chair situated in front of a large wooden cross. Steepling her hands, Nara appeared to pray.

In reality what she was looking for was the echo of familiarity that Nathaniel's guardian should have. What she found was a twisting knot of dark emotion. Slowly opening her eyes she stared at the cross.

"...Nathaniel, right? Your guardian.." Nara hesitated, wondering how to word it. "Something happened to her and she can't come back." The relic swiveled around in the chair and moved over to the boy. "It's not your fault. And it's not anything anyone could have predicted... or prevented." Though privately the woman wondered about that.

Nara ignored Talner, who had no clue what was really going on. "She can't come back," she said quietly. "Have you been feeling tired and achey?" she continued to ask, fairly certain she knew what was going on. Fairly.

Though... Suddenly Nara stared at Talner in a new light. Maybe this wouldn't be such a disaster. Perhaps the boy could be saved. "Nathaniel, you need to answer this honestly. If you could have anyone other than mommy take care of you.. Who would that be?"

Nara nodded at the boy's answer. "I'm going to make the hurt go away," she replied to the child. Snagging Talner's ear, she twisted it. "And Mr. Coleman and I are going to have a talk, just outside the door allright?"

She didn't really wait for an answer, just tugging Talner's ear sharply. Letting go, the woman tried to march proudly out of the room. But the break from walking she had recieved when checking Nate hadn't really been enough to bring enough energy back. Instead her steps dragged and the woman had to half support herself by holding onto the walls.

"Mr. Coleman. Nate is bonded to his previous guardian. I don't know if I can transfer this or not but he would like you as his new guardian." She held up a hand to stop any comments. "Nathaniel has a special destiny, and special skills. This bond, if you abandon him.. he will probably die. He's already dying from his previous guardians abandonment. He will age faster than normal children and things... might take an interest in him.. and you.. should you take on this responsibility. He also has enemies due to what he is, enemies that would not hesitate at taking your life or that of anyone you hold dear. Think long and hard. Should you accept and abandon him, we will find a way to hunt you down. "

"I don't think you understand the severity of this," Nara growled. "It's not an question of whether or not he could emotionally handle it. Wrap your mind around the concept that it would kill him. Literally. Physically. Dead as a doornail." The woman elaborated, staring at Talner to ensure that he understood what was going on.