Welcome to Gaia! ::

"What now?" Airi straightened up, her expression momentarily surprised. What now? What now! The question was so familiar, so unanswerable, it was nearly funny. As it was, she couldn't help a crinkle of mirth to her eyes, a faintly patronizing smile. He thought that she had those answers for him, even after all she'd just said?

"Well, Mikhail," she answered, her voice unusually buoyant, filled with a spark less melancholy, a spark more of life, "what is it that you want? All Fa'e make this choice someday of their lives, because all Fa'e are born with two paths to greatness. Some Fa'e want to reclaim their ancient lives; others want to build fresh and new. How do you feel? What's your desire?"

"You're in luck, then." Airi would have beamed from ear to ear, if there weren't such a strong, unwilling part of her holding her back. As was, her face was nearly glowing with a silent encouragement. "Because you are Fa'e, you will have the time you need. This choice will have to be made someday - but until you are ready for it, it will not be forced on you." And when the day did come that he would need to make that choice, Airi was surprised to find that she was very interested to find out what it would be. She hoped, for no sake but Mik's apparent impatience to learn, that it would not be a day too very far off.

Pushing herself off the chair, Airi stepped carefully over the place where the circles had been, wandering a few steps toward the balcony. Her hands folded behind her, fingers interlocked, stretching downwards, and she mused, "I am the oldest of the Fa'e, and yet I remain as I am. Some of my children must seem quite ancient compared to me, growing to make their choices as they have. Don't you wonder why that is?" The smile that she gave Mik then could be described as nothing but sardonic, though the haunting sadness in her eyes seemed more prominent than ever just then.

"As every Fa'e faces decisions and meets these challenges at different times, also, every Fa'e grows differently. Just consider that I made my choices very early on in life, while they make theirs constantly as they grow." It wasn't a very full truth pertaining to her, really, but it was close enough; and, for the illustration that concerned Mik, painted a complete picture. "For a time, Mikhail, it is all right not to know. We all live like that. But you can be confident that when the time comes that you will need to know such things, you will be ready for it. Does that help you at all?"

Her features softened, and in minuscule, her whole body seemed to relax. Softly, honestly, assuredly, she replied, "I am glad."

This place, here, with Mikhail... it was not so bad as she had feared it would be. Whether Mikhail had agreed with her intentions or not regarding Chaos, this was... civil. No, that was being too plain. It was good. She felt a little less hollow today than she had the days before, a little warmer, less alone. Even if Mik spoke with her for no other reason than to learn about himself, Airi found herself feeling a bit more....

Well. It was just for the moment, anyway, better not to be too caught up in it.

Airi lifted her head, eyes going back to the window of her sanctum. Was it strange that she felt some sort of reluctance to banish herself again, so soon, when the world outside had proven less troubling than she'd feared? But ah. She shouldn't impose her company on Mikhail too long - not if she didn't want for their conversation to wander into hostile, uncomfortable areas that it was bound to.

At the very least, though, she couldn't leave without a proper goodbye.

"I am sorry, Mikhail, that this world has only so many answers to give you at once. You've been lost once without knowing, and for a while that was good. But if you find yourself lost again...." And here was the difficult part, where she knew what she wanted to say, but was scared to say it. She'd been betrayed by her children before, after all, and the hand that was once bitten....

She dropped her voice. "Some among the Fa'e have little wish to visit me, anymore. And admittedly, I have found it harder to face them. But if you find yourself lost, Mikhail, know that I am always here. And if you will seek me out then, I will welcome you."

Airi accepted his gratitude wordlessly, with a smile and nod. There were no tricks or flashy shows of power returning to the balcony this time. She simply crossed through the fireplace (where Calcifer hurried to move out of the way, oddly silent through either respect or reverence to the house's mistress), walked the halls with a sort of meandering inspection, and climbed the stairs to the second story. There, the trees of the stained glass windows again parted for her, and Airi disappeared again into the welcome familiarity of her sanctum, separated once more from the world of Gaia where her Fa'e lived out their lives.

But this time, it seemed, she could feel them more strongly than she had in quite some time. And the mists there - glowing untraceably and making the confined walls of her room seem to stretch out into eternity, perfect in their illusion - seemed just a touch thinner than they had been before she'd left.