Welcome to Gaia! ::

Journal Entry:

Veive has started to wander off more on her own and I'm not sure if I like it. Hey happy-go-lucky attitude has diminished as time has gone on and she's back to snapping, except verbally instead of physically. She spends alot of time down by the lake now, not doing anything really except sitting and staring at the water. I wonder if something happened to her at the lake that she doesn't want to talk about? At night she wakes up alot, saying it was nothing and telling me to leave her alone, but I know that she's been having nightmares. I wonder what's been bothering her and I wish that she would tell me. I also wish that she would take an easier way down from the cave that our cabin is in...her favorite is diving head first into the lake below. I keep fretting that she's going to get trapped by the water fall some day but she seems to be fine. I'll write more later since she just ran off again. It's so hard to keep an eye on a toddler.

~ Ice

Veive found herself once again standing in the middle of the lake. It was a lucid dream, this time she knew where she was and what was going on. The water swirled around her, creating a cocoon to her tiny toddler frame.
"Your learning quickly little one. Soon you will know all of your past."
Her arms struggled against the encassing water and it fell away like a piece of silk. Looking at her outstretched hands she saw iridescent nails attached to longer, more slender fingers.
"Don't be afraid child...the past holds your key to the future."
Swinging her head rapidly and turning in a circle Veive strained to see that Mermaid who taunted her from the edges of her dreamscape but saw nothing. Just the forest and the lake on which she stood. Looking down at her reflection she saw herself as older, not as tiny or as fragile with longer, more silver hair. Her kitsune features remained true and her ice blue eyes were set in a determined glare. It was no time to wonder at her new apperance, that sea hag was here for her. Balling her hands up and clenching them she raised them into fists and walked towards the edge of the lake. "Why are you here for me?! What do you want of me?!"
"I want only to reveal things to you my child. Nothing more." The end was punctuated with a sharp clang of metal. Jumping, Veive turned and looked at the far shore line. A sparkle caught her eye and she made her way carfully over to it. Staring down at the two daggers she noticed an engraving. Something told her that it might be a bad idea to take them, but they were so pretty with a mother-of-pearl handle and sapphires in the hilt that she couldn't resist. The Fighter in her couldn't resist. Bending down she picked them up carefully to read the inscription.

Breathing heavily Veive sat up in her bed. Her dreams had become more vivid lately and the Mermaid was always there, yet she could never see her. Rasing her hand to brush back the hair that had fallen in her face she felt something cold touch her forehead. It was then that she realised she still held the daggers from her dream.

Veive sat on the edge of the lake once more, a bundle in her lap. Her dreams had become even more intense then she thought possible eventually resulting in her waking up with the daggers. Where had she gotten them? Had the Mermaid been in the cave?!
"That's silly Vieve. How could a Mermaid be on land?"
Then again, how could alot of things happen? She shrugged off the thought and almost growled she noticed her finger dancing around the edges of the bundle. She had concealed the daggers in some burlap cloth and had to try every second of every day to not take them out and just look at them. All it took was a minute of lost concentration and her hands would find her way to them. At night, she almost always woke up now with their cold metal in her hands.
Why do they call to me like this? I don't remember ever seeing them before...

Walking slowly across the lake, Veive looked to the shore line and found trees mysteriously missing. In fact, the shore's sand line stretched on to a size much larger then was normal for a lake. Slowly Veive realized that she was in her dream world again, a corset clinging to her child's body and full skirts swaying with every step. Shoulder length hair brushed against the fabric of her new dress as she turned....and saw herself on the jetty talking to the mermaid. Veive was no longer safe on her lake in her dreams, she was relieving her past from an outside perspective. Her past self was ill-formed and she could barely see her between the mist of the crashing waves, but the mermaid was as clear as day. Old, haggard almost, and so powerful that it radiated from her like an aura. Her hair was silvered, like Veive's was now, but the eyes shone and suggested that her sole was still vital.

Veive's attention snapped back to herself as the singing began, allowing a small smile to creep across her face. She remembered how happy she had been. For the price of a song she would gain the skills of battle that she had always dreamed of. How foolish. Her face sombered as she opened her eyes and listened to her own voice sing...and watched the mermaid smile. Tears sprang to her eyes at the sound of yearning in her own notes that she hadn't even realized were there and at the sight of what the mermaid was doing. The Enchantress of the Sea, that's what the sea hag had been called in Veive's first life, and now she was finally able to see the enchantment that had doomed her. Moving gracefully, the witch stood and began to move rythmically to Veive's voice, weaving her enchantments....as the sun broke over the ridge, a final flash was all Veive could see from her vantage point and the sound of her song coming to the end. The Enchantress sank back to her seat, tired and old. So old. So drained that she appered to be nothing more then a crippled old lady. Creasing her brow, Veive wondered why the spell had taken so much out of her. She was so magical that something this small should have been trivial. Then she saw herself on the jetty. Long black hair snapping in the wind, ice blue eyes opening slowly to see the rising sun, and the aura of raw power around her. More then just physical power.

Clamping a tiny hand to her mouth she realized suddenly the missing piece to why she was banished...confirmed by the sickingly happy smile of the Enchantress that was directed at her as she was now. Grabbing her full skirts, she turned and ran towards the open ocean in her dream scape.

Jerking awake, Vieve brushed back her hair and looked at the elongated fingers as they fell back to her lap. It was no surprise to her at this point, waking up changed. Sighing, she sat up and swung her feet over the side of the bed. "So there's one piece to my puzzle....but where are the others?"

Veive sat at the edge of the water and dug a dagger into the soft soil, making swirly designs. Her mind ad been plagued ever since she had had that dream about watching her transformation. It hurt to know the truth sometimes but it was almost better then having all those questions. Almost. A part of her wished she had just turn and run. "Why the hell did this happen to me?!" She suddenly screamed, throwing a clump of dirt into the lake. It wasn't fair, not even to someone who had broken the rules like she had.

The Ice Road

Veive listened to her foot falls on the soft dirt road and tried hard not to think of her slippers that were getting worn through to the soles of her feet. Back in her own world, Veive's land had been more in the "medieval" times as inhabitants of this one would call it. She had refused to pick up the clothing trends of this world in favor of her old styles and Ice had been nice enough to understand that. Maybe that's why they lived so far off from everyone...no, not the time to think about Ice and all the nice things back in the cabin.

Stumbling, Vieve caught herself and looked back at the rock in the road that had caught her daydreaming. Stupid rock. Even her trail seemed against her. Walking further Veive tried to not let mind wander, focusing instead on the bland dirt trail in front of her and sound of her own footfalls. Anything more then that just hurt too much.

Around late afternoon Veive came across some sort of old abandoned farm house...which was odd but convenient. She needed a place to rest but without the company that a town might offer. Opening the door, the dust and cobwebs were almost overwhelming but she had no right to complain, so she set her little satchel down and went to work cleaning as best as she could. At the absolute least, it got her mind off of other things for the few hours it took to make rooms look live able again.

As the moon began to rise Veive tucked herself into bed and sighed. Silence closed in around the little kitsune girl and she shut her eyes tight against it.

No, I won't let my mind wander. I'll just go to sleep and tomorrow I'll continue walking. That's all. It's far too early to think about it.

"Is it really to early Veive?"

Veive's eyes snapped open and it felt like her heart was trying to claw it's way out of chest. Sitting up in the old bed she brushed the silver hair from her eyes and looked around the room not even trying to hide the blind fear in her eyes.

"Now Veive, really dear, you might want to think about it."

There! By the window! Veive's eyes strained to see the woman she knew was there but all she could make out in the darkness was her silhouette. It was enough. Long silver hair and sharpened finger nails were distinctive enough for Veive but the thing that made her jump back against the wall and pull the covers up tighter was the tail she could just barely glimpse by the light of the moon. Long, silvery blue and shiny with the scales that covered it's length.

Licking her lips Veive tried her hardest to remain calm but the words that came out sounded like the words of a terrified child.
"What do you want with me Sea Witch?! Haven't you come to me enough?!"

"Oh, but those visits were so boring. All I could do was visit you in your dreams and show you tricks of the mind. Illusions if you will. Seeing you in person, now that's more exciting, don't you think?"

"I know this isn't the first time you've visited me in person Sea Witch-"

"Cassandra..."

" - I have the daggers and note to prove it!" Reaching under her pillow Veive pulled out one of the daggers and held it up. It was glowing slightly and humming, proving that they did indeed belong to the mermaid of Veive's past.

"Veive...your obviously still far too young if you think having my daggers means that I've visited you. Now be a good little kitsune and get some sleep. You have a very long way to go."

With her final statement the witch, Cassandra, fragmented into millions of droplets of water that evaporated like mist.

The daggers hum and glow died but Veive stayed where she was, staring at the spot by the window. Her heartbeat slowed to normal and her breathing returned to it's normal rhythm but she remained in that stiff position till the suns glow finally broke her thought pattern.

Journal Entry:

I really don't know what to do. Veive is gone and there's no sign of her. I thought she had just run away for an hour or two like she's been doing recently, but it's been over 24 hours and still no sign. Somethings been bothering her lately but she won't talk to me. She won't say anything but she's just become so...distant. I'm afraid somethings happened to her or that she's run away for good. I don't know why though...I haven't been a bad guardian...have I? I'm going to try Lavi, then go looking again. Maybe while I'm out she'll come home and read this? At least she'll know how worried I am. Please come home Veive.

~ Ice