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 Posted: Wed Sep 30, 2009 8:35 pm
Consciousness returned to her slowly, in small doses, an irritatingly persistent drip.
The first sign that Zaoll was awakening was a change in the rhythm of her breathing; it became faster. Her fingers moved and she frowned in her sleep, disapproving of something in her dream. After several long minutes, her ivory eyes cracked open the slightest bit and then shut again as she sat up and stretched. It felt like she'd been sleeping for weeks, laying in the same position, like the best night's sleep she'd ever had. One hand quested for her glasses as the other rubbed the sleep from her eyes, and finding grass instead of a table, she finally looked around.
It was the glade from that nightmare, she saw; it looked like paradise now, because she hadn't woken up dead. In fact, that she had awoken at all seemed like the most precious of miracles, and she smiled with jaunty relief as she flexed her fingers and wiggled her toes. Everything was there. She was unharmed.
Zaoll was unharmed and she really wanted a shower.
She stood up and ran her fingers through her hair; it had come loose sometime, probably when she'd lost her glasses. Then she squinted nearsightedly around her. It seemed like she was alone, except for peaceful birdsong...
"Hello," she called, her voice soft and nearly lost among the ambient sounds of the glade. "Airi?..."
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Posted: Wed Sep 30, 2009 8:50 pm
Airi wasn't there but someone else was. A blur of various shades of green zoomed up to the marble girl and stopped abruptly a foot from her face. Once no longer in motion the blur could be best described as a tiny mint person clothed in leaves, with violently green wings, hovering with a somewhat overexicted expression on its face.
"You are up! WOW. Finally. You are up up up! Can you stand up? WOW. We waited SO LONG. You wouldn't believe how long we had waited. Days and days and days. Wait and wait and wait." - the little person flailed its hands in the air, trying to bring across the exact feeling of sheer anticipation it had to endure while Zaoll slept. Then, as if a switched finally clicked in the green blur's brain and it claimed down: "Oh yeah. Airi. Airi is not here right now. But she is around. I'll get her. And Elsbeth, too! Want me to?"
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Posted: Wed Sep 30, 2009 9:07 pm
Zaoll leaned forward and almost fell, but she caught herself and peered at the little fairy nearsightedly. Whether it was the long sleep or the mere fact that she had called across universes with her mind, this vision of a little green person didn't seem to surprise her too much. Her eyebrows lifted a little bit, and then she caught her lower lip between her teeth and said, "I'm up." She watched with something not quite amusement, more of a morbid fascination. Was this another Fa'e?
"Please, do you know how long I was asleep?" The announcement that it had been days and days unsettled her. It couldn't have been too long, could it? But that would explain why she was actually hungry for once, if it had in fact been a very long time.
She shook her head. "Please could you get Airi, and-" the marble Fa'e thought of her guardian, her traitorous guardian, and continued grudgingly, "and Elsbeth, too. S'il-vous-plait-ma-belle-fille?"
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Posted: Wed Sep 30, 2009 9:20 pm
"Many many many many many many days. More then two. Many." - the little green pest folded its hands across the chest and nodded a rather energetic nod, as if his explanation not only made sense but was also brilliant in its logic. It eagerly listened to Zaoll's request to go fetch Airi, but the last phrase that came out of the marble girl's mouth stumped it.
"What's is silvuplamabelfi?"
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Posted: Wed Sep 30, 2009 9:36 pm
She sighed. That wasn't helpful at all! but still - the little beast was offering to help her and she didn't feel like getting angry. "It means 'please'," she explained in her quiet, reasonable voice. "Could you please go get Airi and Elsbeth?..."
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Posted: Wed Sep 30, 2009 10:02 pm
"Oh ... please. Well, that is one funny please. But I'll get her. Just you wait." With that the air headed little fairy was about to fly off, but stopped, seeing something behind Zaoll.
"I'm here" - said a voice behind the two, then a small girl child wearing a simple white dress walked up through the grass of the clearing to Zaoll and her easily distracted companion. Airi seemed upbeat when she spoke to the other girl.
"I am sorry I was not here when you woke. I am very glad to see you well and in clear mind. You've slept for half a months, though I would not have been surprised had you slept even longer." - she smiled, sitting down next to Zaoll and stretching out her hand. The hand contained glasses. "Elsbeth wanted to be sure you had them when you woke up."
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Posted: Wed Sep 30, 2009 10:14 pm
Zaoll's reaction was more than a little slow; with a breathless squeak, she finally looked over her shoulder at Airi. Then, hearing how long she'd been out, she gasped - that was so unjust, so unfair! How could someone sleep for fifteen days? It ought to be impossible. She frowned and then sighed again. Really, there was no point in being sensitive about this.
Her eyes lit on the glasses - familiar ones, heavy black frames. Hers: And Elsbeth had wanted her to have them? So... odd, that someone could betray you and then do something like that. She took the glasses from the younger girl, her fingertips brushing against Airi's palm. They were cool, probably from being in shadow for all fifteen days of her... rest. "Oh," she said, slipping her glasses on and rearranging her curls around them. "That... that was kind of her."
Out of habit, she adjusted the glasses and said, "Thank you," although she was not sure it would be quite enough to express her gratitude. Stating the obvious, she continued, "You didn't lie to me."
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Posted: Thu Oct 01, 2009 10:58 am
"I didn't." - Airi nodded. "You are no longer in your world but in a world called Gaia. There are more beings like you here, and you will meet them all in time."
Airi breathed in and hoped that those meetings will be positive. But that was always up to her children to decide, whether to be friend or foe. However, it was also important to addres the consequences of Zaoll's long sleep. Airi had experience with awakening from lengthy trance-like states and she shared with Zaoll her recommendations. Yet her voice did not sound concerned as she spoke, more matter-of-fact:
"You might feel hungry, but I wouldn't rush eating. The fairies made sure you had enough liquids in you when you were unconscious, but your stomach will be unused to solid food now. Also, you should take care while standing and walking and do it slowly or you might loose consciousness again."
The pale girl folded her hands under her knees and continued: "I am sure you will have a lot of questions. I can try answering them for you."
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Posted: Mon Oct 05, 2009 3:16 pm
Zaoll nodded, not quite understanding how there could be other worlds but figuring it was something she would understand with more thought - preferably less foggy thoughts, as well. "Thank you for the advice," she said, trying a smile on her face. She liked that Airi was blunt.
"What is a Fa'e," she asked after a moment of thought, only once she realized she hadn't ever heard an explanation. "How do I know which others are Fa'e like me?" More importantly... "Is Elsbeth... here?"
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Posted: Mon Oct 05, 2009 3:57 pm
Airi expected these questions from Zaoll and so she was prepared. Straightening out her dress she nestled in comfortably on the grass next to the marble girl and started her tale.
"A Fa'e is something that I have created. I am a Fa'e and you are a Fa'e, and a lot of people coming to the house that this trail" - Airi turned around to point at a narrow fern lined earthen trail disappearing in to the woods - "leads to are also Fa'e. You all look different, but a Fa'e is a being of power who had ceased to be, yet who wished to exist again. It called out to me and I provided it with the physical shell necessary for day to day existence. Since I now dwell on Gaia, most Fa'e ended up living on Gaia as well. But some, like you, lived much farther from me and knew nothing of their general purpose. I had always deemed that it'd be better not to interfere with the lives of these Lost Children, but more and more of you seem to be coming into trouble of one kind or another. Like you did, when you reached out across the worlds to call me for help."
Airi took a breath and moved onto the second question Zaoll asked her: "To know which ones are Fa'e or not ... well ... some Fa'e can tell by feeling, but most can't, and then you will just have to ask them, I suppose. I can tell you the names of Fa'e who live on Gaia now, if that is any help. As I just mentioned, a lot of them stop by the house to interact sometimes. That is also where Elsbeth is right now. She is your Guardian and so responsible for your well being. You two cannot be separated for long, or your very existence will begin to fade away. Though you might be angry at her now, I want to say that Elsbeth did not mean to endanger you, but was trying to help you instead. She did not mean to cause harm."
Airi fell silent, allowing Zaoll time to process the information she had just given her.
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Posted: Mon Oct 05, 2009 4:40 pm
Zaoll agreeably looked at the trail as Airi pointed it out. A house, she says? Oh, all right, that made sense. Houses were often on trails of some kind... A being of power, she reflected; like her power to walk through stone, perhaps? It couldn't be related to her inability to break a secret, because that was more weakness than power, but...
So she could ask the visitors to the house if they were Fa'e. That made it simpler to imagine meeting the others of her kind... of course, first on her list were the four from the dream she'd made. Angry Black, Orange Wings, Orb Boy and Purple Genie - she knew their names but couldn't quite remember them now. Not quite...
Elsbeth is at that house! Zaoll stiffened, the muscles around her mouth becoming rigid. Elsbeth. She didn't bother to look away; it didn't matter if Airi could see the bitter expression on her face or not, because the marble Fa'e was certain she would know anyway. "I suppose I'm to go to the house you mention, too?"
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Posted: Mon Oct 05, 2009 8:09 pm
"You can stay here if you find buildings uncomfortable." - Airi shrugged as a response. "I would give your feet a bit of time before moving. You are exceedingly heavy and if you fall, no one here would be able to lend you any assistance."
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Posted: Tue Oct 06, 2009 4:27 pm
"No," said Zaoll, thinking fuzzy thoughts about the Curia Acculeia in Rome, "buildings are great, I love buildings, always felt like I should be part of them or something -"
Then she frowned at the reminder of her weight. No one knew exactly how much she weighed, just that it was a lot and normal scales couldn't quite hold under it. It made carnival games kind of fun, though... "It's good," she said, "I'm less dizzy now anyway. And I don't fall." Did she? Zaoll didn't quite think so...
With a shrug, she decided to ask one more question. "Those men... can they get to me here? On Gaia, I mean. Not here."
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Posted: Tue Oct 06, 2009 4:34 pm
Airi looked down and sighed: "I doubt that those particular men can get to you here, on Gaia. However, there has been a steady rise in violence against the Fa'e over the years and I am not certain if there is not another threat laying in wait for you here. I cannot see the future. One of the Fa'e, the wolfman Silver had warned me about some trouble brewing even on Gaia against the Fa'e, so I would be cautious. It would be best to ask the others you will meet in the house though, as I do not venture much from my glade. I, too, am afraid of violence against me."
She looked back up apologetically at Zaoll, unhappy that there was nothing encouraging she cold say on the matter.
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Posted: Tue Oct 06, 2009 4:44 pm
She shook her head wordlessly. Caution she was no stranger to, but for someone to threaten Airi? "I will look out for you," said Zaoll as she shifted, trying to find a more comfortable position. And she'd remember there was a wolfman named Silver who was a Fa'e, too.
Zaoll sighed, and then said "I suppose I should go take a look at this house where all the Fa'e are." Because she didn't want to go back to Earth, but nor did she want to be caught off guard and left in a dank earthen cell again, either. And also, she wanted to brush her teeth and maybe shower, too. She adjusted her glasses and examined the leaves overhead without further comment.
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