Welcome to Gaia! ::

Their corner of the kitchen was softly illuminated, adding a touch of color to Onora's otherwise drawn face. Shai listened carefully, with so many new words...but one struck him with ancient understanding. "Witch." For the first time, his brow was drawn flat, lips pressed into a thin line of concern. The rest of her story was a blur...something of bones and birds, boys and enchantment. As she sat her cup down again, Shai settled his hand closer to hers...not quite touching, but closer in a silent offer of comfort. Her troubles sounded dire, and suddenly his story seemed simple.

"I left..." He paused, thinking it through. In truth, he'd never been asked this question. Not so simply. "...because it was time. They had failed Him. Failed themselves." The reverence with which he spoke covered the slight sadness in his voice, and Shai's tone cracked subtly, revealing for a moment the deep, rich timbre it would someday achieve. "I was not...needed."

In four simple words, Shai revealed the deepest truth he held. If he was not needed, he had no purpose...and to be without purpose was the only death he knew. It took only a few moments for his smile to warm again. It was always there, it seemed, right below the surface.

"But, Onora, here we are needed, yes?" He turned his face to the window, overlooking the gardens, and the shards shifted gently in response. The glare kept him from truly seeing beyond the glass, but Shai knew what was out there. For them both, a second chance. "Morris, needs you? And this place?" His eyes were full of light as he turned his gaze back to Onora, and for a moment looked silently over her sallow angles. "You will protect them."

Shai leaned back, watching Onora in quiet contemplation until she smiled. He hadn’t thought about his reasons for speaking as he did…it simply seemed correct. He returned the smile, wholeheartedly. ”You keep safe, from she that hunts you.” He shrugged, and the shards raised slowly as he nodded towards the stairs.

”You protect your Morris, and…” Though his bright eyes were almost impossible to read, Shai tilted his head towards the tea pot on the stove. His wry smile told her that he hadn’t forgotten the near violence of their initial meeting. ”You protect you.”

He got to his feet after a moment, and took a few steps towards the sitting area the next room over. His tea sat there still, steaming on its own little plate by the fire. ”I believe…it is what we do. If not to serve, then what?” His faith in that simple thought seemed unshakable, and Shai tilted his head towards the distant fireplace with another small smile. ”Would you like to sit, Onora?”

Shai followed her in, glad to be back by the fireplace. He waited for Onora to sit before settling back into his own chair...reclaiming his tea and taking a small sip. Only warm now, but he still enjoyed it.

He watched Onora bundle up, and absently glanced around for a throw blanket. Her question, however, startled him from his search. "My...age?" Shai seemed at a genuine loss, but a slow smile crinkled the edges of his eyes. "Old. Young now." He wasn't trying to be mysterious, it simply felt true. The smile faded, however, as he thought about his few short years.

"I had...a friend. Also young. For each season, I..." Counting briefly on his fingers, trying to translate the thought into numbers, Shai finally shrugged. "A season to her...was year, yes, to me. We...grew...apart."

Despite the grim words, Shai did not seem sad. What had happened with Gera was bound to happen again, and regret could not change that. The shards of the Tzohar relaxed as he settled back, nestling upon his shoulders and against his sides where he tucked into the plush chair.

He knew better than to ask the same question in return, Aki had taught him that much. Still, he was curious about the wan young woman that huddled across from him. "You look young, as well. But...is Onor...are you, ah, well? " Shai lifted the back of one hand to his forehead, as though to check temperature. He had never met Onora before, and did not wish to offend, but she seemed...what was Aki's term? Under the weather?

Shai took the last sip of his cooling tea, and set it aside. She seemed calm for someone with a mystery ailment, but in truth, he respected that. Surely her weariness had a purpose, as all things did.

"Not sick at home? Something is...new here, then. For you." For a moment, he glanced about as though he could spot the problem...the shards lifting a bit from where they'd settled against him like fat fireflies. "Maybe not enough birds."

Again, his tone was serious, but Shai's unreadable eyes crinkled at the corners. If it would help, he would catch one of every bird, just for Onora! "When you are well, yes, then the river?" It was a gentle question, without insistence.

Shai opened his mouth, but Onora was already off...disappearing as suddenly as she'd appeared. He shut his mouth slowly, and smiled. If she was in ill health, he was going to suggest she bring her Morris along, as well, but Onora didn't seem like the kind of person that needed his advice. Instead, Shai gathered up their dishes and made his way back into the kitchen.

He'd just finished putting a few things into a plastic bag when she returned, dressed and ready. Shai brightened at the mention of the fish, and grabbed an empty jelly jar from the shelf as well. "Yes, Onora." His agreement was immediate, and he slung the half full shopping bag comfortably over one shoulder. "I am ready!"

Holding the door to the HQ open until Onora passed, Shai stepped out after her and took a breath. It was still cold out, but the first true wash of morning was already painting the sky. "It is not too far, with good company." His smile was warm enough to stave off at least some of the chill.

The creak of the garden gate announced company, even before Aki spoke. "Shai? Are you leaving?"

His guardian paused in the gateway to the garden, one hand still on the old metal latch. Aki's face held the cool, unreadable elven expression that marked her and her brethren until she nodded once, offering the slightest smile to Onora.

The shards of the Tzohar lifted, catching the serene pinks and golds of the early sunrise. "Aki! Yes! We leave to the river."

"We are going to the river." She corrected him absently, still studying Onora.

Shai nodded, grateful for the correction. "We are going to the river. Yes. Ah! This is Onora!" Shai settled one hand gently on Onora's shoulder, and motioned with his other hand towards the gate. "This is Aki. She is my Morris." He spoke with a straight face, but the smile was ever present in the corners of his eyes.

"Good morning." No one seemed inclined to force a conversation from Onora. Aki took one last long look at the girl before nodding, and glancing off as well in the direction they faced. "See you when you're back, then."

Shai nodded, letting his hand fall from Onora's shoulder. "Someday, I will meet your friend." He motioned as a courtesy for Onora to lead, so she could enjoy the view without his bright form in the way. The path was clear and simple, all the way distant banks. At this time of morning, it was bound to be a lovely walk.

Taking a breath, Shai smiled. "The garden...was one of the first memories. Of here. This place." He spoke quietly, a little nostalgia in his voice. "The garden and Airi..." He didn't try to hide the affection in his voice. Shai wasn't embarrassed about such things.

"Did Ono-...did you arrive in the garden?"

He nodded absently as he listened, though Onora was faced the other way. Shai wondered, briefly, if nature was the true tie between their homelands, and resolved to ask every Fa’e he met if they shared this in common. ”Ah, you…recommend…too late.” The smile was obvious in his voice, even if she wasn’t looking. ”Always rain, in Elam. Always.” The young Fa’e lifted his eyes as he spoke, watching the slightly overcast morning sky beyond the dappled canopy. A tiny twist of nostalgia surprised him…not homesick, never that, but it twinged a bit nonetheless. Perhaps it was just Gera he missed.

Once they spotted the river, Shai paused, watching Onora’s actions curiously. She wiggled right out of her boots and socks, and took to the shallow water easily. Her eyes seemed a little brighter as she glanced back, and he was glad for it.

”Cold as hells. I don’t see many fish.”

Shai’s slight smile faded into a quizzical look, his spunglass hair shifting as he tilted his head. ”Onora’s hell is cold? I did not know!” He sat on a largish rock and took his own sandals off with much greater ceremony…setting them neatly aside once he finished. Stepping into the water, silently agreeing with her fish population assessment, Shai took a moment to phrase his next question.

”If Onora has hell, has she heaven?” There was a quiet, hopeful curiosity in his voice, marred by just a bit of a shiver. He wiggled his tones against the cold river rocks, and bent down to scoop up a particularly eye catching one as they spoke.

Fish? Shai's face was blank for a moment as he considered that. The third gate was for fish? It clicked after a moment, and he smiled at her discovery. They hadn't brought a jar (not that he knew of, anyway) but at least they'd spotted a fish in the water! There was hope yet!

He continued to smile as he thought about Onora's words. She had some unusual points of view and reference, it seemed, but she spoke her own teachings well. "Ah, I see pure of heart as...more can do?...than righteous. To be righteous, must you not be all three?" He wasn't challenging her, Shai was simply musing as he turned the river rock over and over in his hands.

Finally he handed her the wet stone with a smile, stepping out of the river as well. "Reminds me of Onora." It was simple chert, half dusky green and half rust red, divided by a layer of white quartz that shot through it like lightning. "Forgive if I asked far, please. Heaven is...very important. To me." There was weight to his words, but it was his own weight. Shai shrugged. "Is it not important to Onora?"