|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Mon Jan 17, 2005 11:25 am
"Sort of. Sort of not," Riven sighed. "I thought I could balance being in the Spirit Realm and being here, but something happened... something got out. I'm not sure if I could have stopped it, but I keep wondering. Would it have happened if I had been up there more? Airi said this life was a second chance... and I thought that meant it didn't have to be just like before... but..."
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jan 17, 2005 11:31 am
"We'll fix it, remember?" Ghlyssa bit her lip. "I'm going to help." She thought desperately for a moment or two. "Riven, I can fix things that the Earthkeeper can't, because I can leave her realm and move around and go pretty much anywhere. If... if things had escaped anyway, and you couldn't leave, then you wouldn't have been able to do anything."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jan 17, 2005 11:37 am
Riven shook his head. "My mom said there wasn't any point in thinking about what might have been, 'cause you can't change it. It still bugs me though," he added, with a wry smile. "I hate not knowing what I'm supposed to do. Maybe because before, I always knew what to do? It was always the same thing.... and I always knew what to do. But I wanted out so badly." He wrinkled his nose again. "Everything is confusing."
He reached out and took her hand, gently. "Sorry," he apologized. "I shouldn't talk about it so much. Mom says it makes me sound like a broken record, whatever that is."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jan 17, 2005 11:41 am
Ghlyssa blinked. "I don't know what a broken record is, either." She squeezed his hand. "But I was pretty bad before I left, and talking in circles, like you said. So it's okay."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jan 17, 2005 11:44 am
"I almost wish Chaos would do something. Then at least the waiting would be done." Riven squirmed a little, then was silent for a moment.
"So the Earthkeeper thought you could try to become an Ancient, then?" he said, finally. "Did she give you a reason?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jan 17, 2005 11:52 am
Ghlyssa looked away. "See, at first, she didn't want me to. She wanted to live as a human, and give up that part of me that connects me with her, and eventually die. And I didn't want to do that. I argued with her. And eventually she decided I needed a chance."
After a moment of hesitation, she said, "She thought we were sort of on a thin line. We had to either become closer or further apart. We couldn't stay the way we were. So she let me try to prove that I was strong enough to become closer. And I went to see the life trees.
"There are trees, everywhere, that the Earthkeeper's power goes through," Glee explained, "and if you cut them down, all the plants nearby die, and then the animals die or go away, but people don't recognize them. They get hurt, or damaged, or cut down. She let me take the path of the Ancient because... because I can go to places where the life trees are in danger, and I can help new ones grow faster. I can do that, because I'm not stuck in one place. Does that make sense?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jan 17, 2005 11:55 am
Riven thought for a moment, then nodded. "I guess so. So you have a good reason too. That's nice." He tilted his head backwards and looked up at the branches above them.
"Is there a life tree around here?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jan 17, 2005 11:57 am
Ghlyssa closed her eyes, trying to feel it out. "I... I think so. It's a little ways away. A lot of them just look like regular trees. And there's a lot of them, all over."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jan 17, 2005 12:15 pm
Riven stretched and floated up off the ground, then held out one hand to Ghlyssa, grinning. "Show me?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jan 17, 2005 12:20 pm
Ghlyssa laughed softly. "Of course." She took his hand, then hesitated. "But. Uh. I have to go over..."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jan 17, 2005 12:24 pm
"... right. Uh." Riven let go of her hand sheepishly. "Meet you outside, then, I guess?" He turned and phased through the surrounding thicket.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jan 17, 2005 12:28 pm
Ghlyssa fluttered easily over, and once on the other side, she folded her wings and reached out for Riven's hand again. "It's over this way," she announced, pointing.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jan 17, 2005 12:35 pm
"Okay." Riven took her hand and followed along, curiously peering at every tree they passed.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jan 17, 2005 12:56 pm
Ghlyssa didn't say anything, but she smiled contentedly as she led Riven along.
Presently, she piped up, "It's about a five minute walk, I think."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jan 17, 2005 1:00 pm
"Is that why the forest is so big here?" Riven remembered getting lost in the forest when he was much younger. It had been big and scary then, but Mithril had been with him. And then other people had come too, like Anen and Mortimer's Guardians, before they had found their Fa'e. "Does the forest feel nice to you?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
