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((Maeko/Miss, y'may want to move this elsewhere. ^__^))

"Of course Gwynna," she said, putting down the parchment she'd been reading. "Please, come in and take a seat." She smiled at the mysterious gypsy- knowing so little about her. "What's on your mind?"

"Well," Oqaia began, hardly knowing what exactly to say, "you can always tell me anything. A dream, your past- whatever makes you comfortable." Something about the way she'd emphasized 'how I used to live' suggested Oqaia to say something more.

"And know... that I'd never judge you for anything that may have transpired in the past. I could never do that. I've known too little of the world to make judgements," she said softly, smiling at the gyspy.

She was silent as Gwynna spoke, but by the end, her fingers were paused delicately at her lips, and her yellow eyes were filled with tears. Living life as a prostitute- flung to the arms of those who didn't love her, and who used her... and then, the first sign of true love in her life- an infant so pure and beautiful... it was wrenched away from her as cruelly as anything else in her life. It made Oq's heart weep, and those tears spilled over into her lap.

"Oh Gwynna... I'm so, so sorry. To finally find love of such purity and beauty- a true blessing of the meij- it was taken away. I can't imagine such hurt."

Oqaia nodded. She'd wondered what the strange visions during the wagon ordering ceremony had meant for this sad, mysterious gypsy. Now that she had a glimmer into her world, her feelings were pale- sad and grey. But at hearing that Gwynna had wished for healing... it made her heart soar.

"I think that the meij has brought you to the right place for healing," she said softly. "You're a part of us, now. We won't let you fall into darkness."

The meij is a powerful thing. It spirals and weaves through the world, its invisible strands touching everything, sampling life and emotions with a thirst of a newborn babe. It is the oldest thing in the world, some say... but in some ways, it is forever a perpetual child, yearning to understand what it's like to feel... to be loved. It can only touch our lives, only basically feel these strong sensations- and sometimes, it yearns so much that it must push itself into this world.

An object fell from an upper shelf of Blessed Change. It had been so far back that it could not have possibly rolled off on its own- especially not while the wagon was at a standstill. But as the wooden flute hit the floor and rolled to Gwynna's feet... unharmed... Oqaia's eyes lit up in realization.

"I think... that's your answer, Gwynna." Oqaia beamed with happiness. She then explained how the meij always touches our life... and that sometimes, some part of it, some entity within the meij desires so much to be loved that it chooses a parent. "You're its mother, Gwynna. It may not seem that way now, but this has chosen you."

Oq closed her eyes to the sound. "Oh, it's beautiful," she breathed. "I can't wait to see what form it takes." She said a silent prayer to the sky- not knowing exactly who or what she was thanking- but for once, she saw the meij not as some entirely foreign entity that rolled through their world... but as something precious and dear... something that would give a woman a second chance at a child, a life... and it lit something up inside her.

"I'm just... so glad," Oqaia said, and through the simplicity of the words, such complex, unexplicable emotions came pouring through them. She truly was... astounded, and grateful that she had been given this gift of a second chance, a new life with a new baby. Maybe even a daughter, as she was so sure it was. Oqaia just shook her head- she couldn't finish her sentence. ...This world was still so unfamiliar to her, but she was coming into her own a little more every day. ...And the magic, and the suprises were enough to keep her enchanted.

Finally, she reigned in the sea of emotions, and gave the pair a smile. "If you have any questions about Fortunettes, just ask me or any of us- we're you're family, and we want to help you in any way we can."

Silver had decided to take Ais for an early morning walk to enjoy what might be their last sunrise in this place before the caraven headed off toward the mountains. As they passed Oqaia's wagon, Aisrhan noticed something and pointed. "Mommy," she said. "Hrmm?" Silver looked up and noticed a piece of paper hanging from the outside of Blessed Change.
It was a list of favors Oqaia was willing to pay couplets for. Silver spied, near the bottom of the list, in Oqaia's beautiful handwriting, "I have a craving for some wild oatgrass. Could someone find me some?" Silver didn't see anyone's mark on that one. She set Aisrhan down, took out her dagger and stuck it into the ground. She used the muddy point of the blade to draw her signature, the image of a sleeping dragon, next to the sentence, before cleaning the blade with the hem of her skirt. It wasn't perfect, but it would have to do since she didn't have a pen wth her.

We're going that way anyhow, Silver thought. "Mm'kay. Let's go, hun," She said, hoisting Aisrhan back into position on her hip. She would put the girl down to slither when they got closer to the river.

Silver walked for a long while, enjoying the cool morning air. Aisrhan couldn't help but watch the crickets that lept out of the way of her mother's crushing boots. They would taste so good, if only Mommy would let her have one!

"Ahah! I knew it was here!" Suddenly something brushed her tail, and Ais looked down. They were standing in a large patch of wild oatgrass. Here the plants were a bit taller than the surrounding grasses, reaching clear up to Aisrhan's tail and it bothered her immensely. She twisted and writhed, forcing her mother to put her down. "Alright already! Hang on!" Silver set Ais down on the ground carefully. "Now you stay right there." Ais nodded and for once did as she was told, afraid of getting lost in the tall grass. It was so itchy!

"Huh... these are ready for harvesting... well, that's good - but did Oq want the seeds or the whole plant?" Silver mumbled to herself. She decided to just take the whole thing since she didn't know what Oq wanted. She selected several of the healthiest stalks and folded them carefully into her sack. "Right then, let's go Ais."

She picked up her daughter and they didn't stop walking until they got to the river. They spent about an hour there, playing, swimming. Silver had felt it was a particularly beautiful sunrise, and Aisrhan was happy that her mother hadn't seen her catching crickets. They were so yummy!

As they passed Blessed Change on their way to Weathered Melody, Silver opened her pack and bundled up the oatgrass with some string. Silver knew Oq was always out helping Valelldia at this time of morning, so she didn't bother with knocking. She tied the bundle to the door handle so that it couldn't blow away and walked back to Weathered Melody, a quite happy Aisrhan in tow.