Welcome to Gaia! ::

When Sei sat on the floor, Caoi did too. Except not on the floor. She plopped down on the edge of the wide windowsill, feet kicking against the walk in slow beats. She still had some height on Sei in this location; that was all that mattered. Even though Sei seemed to gloss over his cool power, Caoimhe was not about to let the subject drop so easily. "Wait -- so, like... can you talk to all electronics? Could you make my toaster make toast right now?" If so, Sei would be even more valuable to have around. The selkie youth could only imagine the possibilities. He could preheat the oven for her without her ever having to stand up!

Chewing at her full bottom lip, Caoimhe wedged her hands under her thighs, flexing and unflexing her fingers so that her legs moved up and down. "So what are we going to do? Just... Google them?" Despite her lack of skill with computers, Caoi still knew of the wonders of Google; it seemed to transcend everything else. Plus, it had been incredibly useful when she began to do more research on Ireland and Scotland, and on the internet records of her people, the selkies. It wasn't something she wanted to think about right now. It was just as stressful as losing her bond with Gristla, to be honest. Nope, she'd rather just focus on Sei's cool ability to talk to computers.

Caoimhe could not let this computer power go, not even in the face of a much more serious and pressing topic. Leaning forward, she said, "So, like, if you were sitting in a park, and a kid walks up playing his DS... could you start playing the game for him with your mind?" It would seem that Sei's power permitted a series of wonderful hijinks to be had. Caoimhe wondered if he had ever tried it out.

When he brought out his laptop, Caoimhe watched more or less disinterested, chewing at the dry skin around her nail. Her mind trickled back to the more serious topic. "Has anything else like this ever happened before to you guys? I mean, I haven't been on Gaia as long as everyone else so I didn't know if this had... happened before." Part of Caoimhe hoped that it did so that those who had gone through it once might be able to help the others. Or was this some massive cosmic power sent to rip away all her happiness?

And perhaps more importantly -- where was Airi?

A wide grin broke across Caoimhe's face when Sei confirmed her hopeful thoughts. If he was kidding, it was totally lost on the selkie youth. "Oh wow, you have to let me see you do that some day!" She laughed, but it was more of a giggle that echoed in her nose. The giggle leaked away when she was brought back to the seriousness of their current situation. It was so easy to forget that her bond had been broken with Gristla, so easy to ignore her impending fading. And yet, when it returned, it was like a knife in her chest, a wound she could not see to heal.

The corners of her mouth dipped downward, and Caoimhe curled her knees to her chest. "Like my birthday..." she mused, though she didn't quite want to talk about it more. It had been nearly a month since she grew to her new body, since she ventured to that terrible Finfolk city beneath the waves, since she saw what had happened to the selkie people while she slumbered in death. The thoughts made her mouth fold into a deep frown, chin dipping to hide below her knees. Caoimhe would never be free of the guilt she felt. Because of her, the selkie people had all but been eradicated. All because of her. She blinked slowly, face warping into an uncharacteristically pensive mask. For a moment, she looked her age -- perhaps even beyond it.

Then she forced herself to snap out of it.

"How do they know about our guardians? How is it possible for them to find us? I mean, I know that we all come from different places -- different times and existences. How is it possible that we would all have the same enemy?" It didn't make sense to Caoimhe. It was like when Dustin was fighting the giant brass bull outside of the HQ. Sure, the thing attacked Caoimhe when she tried to help, but it was really after Dustin. It was a relic of Dustin's past, right? It had to be. Caoimhe had never seen anything like it before. "It's like me with the Finfolk," she said, trying to be a little bit clearer. "They attacked everyone, but they were really only there because of me." Her cheeks tinged a little as she spoke. "So maybe this thing that is attacking our guardians is someone else's -- what do you call it? -- nemesis. Maybe one of us has an enemy so big it could bring this level of mayhem."

Caoimhe wasn't sure if it made any sense, but when she said it out loud, it seemed to make plenty of sense to her. "Is that possible?" It was a little hard for her to believe that the Fa'e all had one common enemy given the depth and breadth of their existences. So perhaps this was someone else's enemy who was just taking its frustration out on all the Fa'e. But whose could it be?

Who the hell was this Riven guy? And why was his nemesis so overpowered? The Finfolk weren't exactly something to sneeze at, but Caoimhe doubted that they had the ability to target all the Fa'e guardians -- just her. Was Riven like Airi? Was he the... Father of All Fa'e? In fact, that was a damn good question to be asked out loud. And so Caoimhe did. "So what -- is Riven, like, the Father of All Fa'e kind of like Airi?" It prickled Caoi to learn that Sei knew exactly who this Chaos figure was. If he knew so much, then why weren't they chasing down this Chaos a*****e right that second? Why were they even bothering to play this little game? "If we know it's Riven's Chaos guy, then why aren't we busting down his door right now demanding answers!" Anger rose up in Caoi, flushing her cheeks and making her hands curl into fists. She could lose her LIFE over this s**t. If it was all Riven's fault, then the legless wonder had some explaining to do to one pissed-off selkie.

She scowled darkly, lip jutting out and eyebrows darting down into sharp angles. "If I fade because of this, it will be all his fault!" Petulance sprang up in Caoi's voice, but also fear. "Gristla could have died," she said, a bit more quietly. If there was a single Fa'e responsible for this... Caoimhe would lose her mind. Sure, people had been in danger at her birthday party, but everyone had come out A-OK. She failed to see the hypocrisy in her attacks at Riven's expense. Besides, it was quite easy to hate a person she had never met.

Even though Sei tried to explain how it might be more than just Riven that Chaos was after, Caoimhe had already made up her mind. She was blaming the purple spirit Fa'e until she found another obvious culprit. Folding her arms across her chest, Caoi tried not to lose her temper on Sei. He was just the messenger. When he offered news on his own riddle, she let her focus shift to that, though her hands refused to unclench at her sides. "What song?" she asked, pursing her lips. Caoi wasn't huge on music. She liked the sound of the fiddle, certain flutes, but most modern music felt like an assault on her ear drums.

It made Caoimhe feel better to see other people sharing her emotions. Usually, she was simply feeling something that opposed the feelings of others. She was the child who acted out, who cried when others were laughing, who wanted to run when everyone else was ready to nap. Even if it was just a glimmer of anger in Sei, it made Caoi feel like she wasn't so damn alone in all of this. "I want to kill it myself," she said, glowering. It was a nearly impossible task to take on for an impulsive youth, but from the moment those tentacles first wrapped around Gristla's throat, Caoimhe knew that she wanted to punch her fist through the chest of whoever did it. She had no idea what Chaos was or even how powerful it might be, but it didn't matter. Caoi would go up against an entire army if they wronged her. She was foolhardly, impulsive, and violent. There would be no stopping her. She was a loaded gun, and she was just looking for someone to aim her in the right direction.

When Sei furthered up his moment of agreeance with an impassioned assertion that Caoimhe would not be allowed to fade, the selkie youth felt even better. Sei was a smart guy. If he said she would be okay, then she would, right? Right! After all, she was Caoimhe -- nothing could bring her down! The thoughts brought a swelling of pride leaking into her chest, a familiar feeling that she had been missing for the last few days. "We won't let anyone fade -- not a single one of us!" It was a battle cry that she believed in her bones. It wouldn't happen to her; it wouldn't happen to anyone. They would kill this thing, and they would all be stronger for it. And Gristla would be rebonded to her; Sei had said Riven could do it!

The positive emotions continue to rattle in Caoi's head, each moment bringing a more motivated, more confident selkie into the conversation. Sei was saying exactly what she needed to hear, even if he didn't know it. None of the sappy bullshit -- just action and confidence. In her book, Sei skyrocketed to the front of the line of People Who Were Worth Seeing. With her fears temporarily quelled, she hopped off the windowsill and padded over to Sei, leaning over his shoulder to see the screen. "What is the whole lyric?" she asked, resting both hands on her knees. She wasn't the best reader in the world, and so she'd prefer if Sei did all the translating for her.

Sei had rebonded other Fa'e? Caoimhe's eyes flickered from the computer screen to the back of Sei's neck. What kind of powers did he have if he could do the things that Airi could do? If anyone could bond the Fa'e, then why was Airi in such a position? Her mouth formed a small o as she tried to fathom what Sei was telling her. "If I... think about her? We will reconnect?" Her voice rang with disbelief. It couldn't be that simple -- could it? A part of her wanted it to be, wanted it more than anything else. Despite it all, she loved Gristla more than anything, even more than Hot Pockets. She didn't want the only mother she had ever known to disappear, or worse, for her to disappear in her place.

Tucking a strand of hair behind one ear, Caoimhe straightened up, looking toward the door. "We can try it now. We should try to rebond now." Caoi had no patience and so she darted off through the house. Her feet pounded dully as she ran up the stairs. Then came the sound of them coming back down. Doors opened, curses rang out, and after a few moments, she came back. "Damnit, they went somewhere." Even though Gristla was probably only trying to clear her head, it made Caoimhe angry, cheeks flushing and mouth falling in to an annoyed pout. It bothered her that Gristla wasn't there for them to try to replace the broken bond, but it was even more bothersome that she hadn't felt her departure. It was just another reminder of what had been lost.

Staring blankly at the floor, Caoimhe folded her arms. "Sei," she said after a moment, "how long has this Omi girl been surviving since you did this?" A few was not a sign of success, not even a few months. But years? Years would bring peace to Caoimhe. The song echoed along in the background, but Caoi ignored it. Her one track mind had fled back to the bond destruction and away from the solve-the-problem function. Sei would need to put her back on track, or deal with her frustration.

Caoimhe nodded slowly, methodically, her curls bouncing with her chin. "A few days isn't much," she said, mouth falling in to a pout, "but if she can feel her..." Brown eyes retreated elsewhere, head reeling with all the possibilities of what could happen. Gristla and Caoimhe had been through a lot together; the selkie was convinced that they had been through more than any other Fa'e-guardian pairing. Hell, they had escaped from a planet full of people who wanted them dead! Neither one had seen a toilet before. A shower created magic rain. Microwaves cooked without fire. Aranorn was not an undeveloped world; it was just developed in very different ways.

Not to mention the whole my guardian is an awesome talking tiger thing.

Curling one arm around her waist, Caoimhe returned to her previous spot on the windowsill, curling a knee to her chest. "Do another one," she said, pointing to the computer. Just like that, she was back on track.