Welcome to Gaia! ::

Fae-Fae might not understand what the starseed was saying, but Cosmos could hear all starseeds--even from across the universe. Sometimes, she heard whispers, but never for long and never for loud enough to place it.

She could hear a little voice, calling to her through the cracks of whatever barrier surrounded it. It wasn’t ever enough--until then.

She could hear Fae-Fae’s starseed calling out, from Earth.

Cosmos was not aware that Velencians had found their way to Earth, nor had she had any reason to suspect the starseed calling to her was different, but the haze of it all shifted once she was on Earth. It was not a starseed wanting purification, or freedom. Just, help.

She just wasn’t used to showing up in a bedroom, in front a pile of blankets.

It was odd, in more ways than she could formulate. It felt like it should be a trap and, given the past few weeks at the Cauldron, she was cautious. She stood with her staff in hand, aware that there was a strange energy around the house--a barrier, probably, and responsible for blurring out the starseed for so long.

Cosmos let a few seconds pass and then reached out a hand to rest over the blankets.

“One lump, but two starseeds. What are you hiding in there?”

Cosmos didn’t flinch at the weapon pointed at her, though her eyes slid from Fae-Fae’s face to the blaster and then back again.

“You are not of Earth,” she deduced, and it was a question more than an observation. She spoke it with a quiet calm; she seemed both young and timeless. She was reserved, and maybe even a little cold, but there was nothing unwelcoming about her.

“Put your weapon away. You called me here. I haven’t come to do any harm. I heard your starseed. If you aren’t asking for help, I’ll leave.”

She was holding her staff a little tighter but that alone was the only sign that she was in any state of discomfort. She wasn’t used to walls, and she would have much preferred to have this conversation outside. But then, she didn’t even know what this conversation was.

She wasn’t used to being called upon where she wasn’t wanted.

“Sailor Cosmos. Guardian of the Galaxy Cauldron. I have made a great trip to be here, for you and your friend.”

She watched Fae-Fae and though she had questions, she kept them to herself for the most part. “How did you come to Earth, and what has happened to your friend?”

Her curiosity was subdued but it was there. She had been gone from Earth for a while now, and it was suddenly obvious that she’d missed something. Maybe it was just Fae-Fae. Maybe it was something more.

Cosmos stood, for a moment unmoving. The display of emotion was not lost on her, but she gave Fae-Fae her space, and time to process this.

Cosmos needed time to process, too.

“I am sorry to hear of such losses,” she said, and she meant it. “I hope you carry your fallen close to your heart. Their memory will live on with you. I do not know what fate holds for anyone, but I hope you will take solace knowing that such parting is never truly goodbye. You will have a future. He will, too. In another life, perhaps you will meet again. I cannot bring your friend back, but I can see to it that he has a chance to find you again.”

She did not extend her hand to take the starseed; she had no intention of prying it from Fae-Fae’s grip. She wanted to take the starseed, to see it restored, but she would not fight for it. Not like that.

“...Perhaps things will be better by then.”

Cosmos smiled gently, a peaceful emotion tinged only with the sadness she felt for Fae-Fae’s pain. She accepted the starseed carefully, and though there was no risk of her dropping it she still cradled it as if it might jump from her hands.

She ran her hand over the bubble Lyndin had protected it in, and after a few seconds it rippled and faded. She held the starseed between both hands then, in all its pure and raw glory.

Her eyes were focused on it for a moment, and then something around the starseed rippled. It was iridescent at first, like a pale, glimmering sheen. The light grew brighter, and then suddenly there was a tangible energy around the starseed.

Suddenly, there was Gavaen.

A ghostly apparition, but he was there.

And, he spoke:

"Fae-fae, my dear friend - I won't tell you not to be sad, but it is my deepest hope that you don't let what has happened paint your view of what is still yet to come. Don't shy away from the experiences afforded to you - embracing Earth and learning the good and bad it has will not diminish your love for Velencya. Our home and Earth both have their virtues and flaws, as well as a lot to learn from one another. There are systems that are broken on both worlds that I know you have the tenacity to help make better. Not everything can be fixed, as my fate here has shown, but there is something that can be done, and it is something you are oh so good at - from this too, you will adapt. Nothing can get better without a willingness to change, learn, adapt. I didn't fight for the Velencya we had, but the Velencya hoped to see. Can you continue to help build that Velencya for me, so that I can see it one day?"

Gavaen’s form lingered for a moment, and then flickered; Cosmos did not look as if her energy was spent, but the starseed seemed like the soft light had faded a bit. Cosmos’ hands circled it, and once more it was bathed in a soft light.

“There is only so much I can do for his starseed here,” she explained. “But I will take it to the Cauldron. I will see that it heals. He will be protected and safe with me.”

She knew Fae-Fae’s words were for her friend, and Cosmos was certain that the words had eased the starseed.

“I don’t know how much influence you have on Earth, or what your intentions are, but your starseeds are like every other that I’ve cared for. While you are here, you are a part of Earth. Do no harm to this world. I cannot leave the Cauldron for long, I must return to protect it. But, I will be back. I cannot come every time I am called, but this was important. I will listen for your starseeds, and if I am able to help, I’ll be here.”

Cosmos nodded, still cradling the starseed carefully between her hands. There were no threats here that she needed to shield it from, but she knew that her time--and his--were short on Earth.

She bowed her head to Fae-Fae respectfully and took one small step back.

"I'm sure we'll meet again. Hopefully under better circumstances."

But then, this was not something that demanded sadness. His starseed was whole, and they could meet again.

There were others who hadn't fared so well.

As Cosmos had arrived, so too did she leave; the air shimmered around her and her aura flickered and then faded.

And yet, there was still a warmth in her absence.