Welcome to Gaia! ::

Rowan was more than a little bit excited at the prospect of seeing Aruna’s homeworld. Her growing fascination with her own world pushed her harder to learn about others’. Some distant part of her knew that she’d been…limited in her ability to travel in her previous life. While it wanted to make up for the time she’d lost those centuries ago, the idea of helping someone wake their own world up was thrilling, especially when it was for a friend.

These excitable thoughts bounced around within her, happily chasing off the gnawing dread that had been hectoring her since Harold’s big tantrum. She’d barely pulled up the emergency brake before she sprang from the driver’s seat. With a few quick steps she found herself in front of the door, pushing the last burst of momentum into a few quick knocks.

Rowan returned Halia’s tired smile with an edge of concern. From the look of it, she hadn’t been getting much sleep either. The scale around her friend’s neck immediately drew her eye, a reminder of both what they’d survived and that she had uncharacteristically left her subspace disorganized. She wasn’t quite ready to deal with everything that came with that right now. When she was, she would turn out the subspace and pick through the mess, pull out the scales and find someone to help study them. But that was a problem for another day. Maybe a distant one.

“I’m ready, but are you alright? I haven’t been getting much sleep myself.” She offered a warm but self-conscious smile, “You can tell me as much or as little as you need to. Or nothing. Either way, I’m here to help. With Aruna or whatever else.”

Of course, she needed to see what Halia wanted or needed for Aruna. Whatever the world happened to be she suspected, or at least hoped, that helping put it on a path to healing would do something to ease her mind.

Rowan nodded slightly, it was clear that Halia wasn’t telling her the whole truth, but she stood by her word and dropped the subject. For now. Not pressing the matter wouldn’t stop her from doing what she could to at least let her friend know that she’s not alone. Maybe someday she would realize that she didn’t have to carry this by herself, but until then she’d do what she could to support her. With a final pondering look she turned her attention to the task at hand.

“Alright, did you have a place in mind?” She had a few spots near her apartment that she used for transformations. It wouldn’t do to come and go as her alter ego. She wasn’t sure where the good spots were around here, so she followed the other woman. “Well, you told me it’s a Necropolis so I’ve got a good idea of what to expect. I’ve never actually been to a necropolis but I’m ready to help with whatever I can.” She tried to temper the eagerness in her voice but she couldn’t be certain if she succeeded. She had no idea how much life could return to a house of the dead, but she was ready to find out.

Rowan nodded, she didn’t find the idea of visiting countless graves as intimidating as she may have thought. If anything, the idea of offering at least some remembrance to people long forgotten gave her a strange sense of comfort. They were faceless of course, nameless to all but those who could read what words left behind, but no less deserving than those who came after. She had yet to encounter anything she could definitively describe as a gravesite on Tempesti and suddenly found herself wondering what form they would take on her own world. Taking Aruna’s hand into a soft but firm grasp, she readied herself for the sensation of crossing the solar system in an instant.

Her eyes roved the chamber, all but inhaling every detail of the space as the growing light steadily offered more. It wasn’t as claustrophobic as she would have expected, though it wasn’t as if she had any experience in the matter. If this was just a point of entry she had no idea how large the rest of the complex must be.

“It’s remarkable.” Rowan wasn’t entirely certain that she spoke aloud, a twinge of embarrassment asserting itself almost as though breaking the ancient silence was somehow an act of disrespect. “So, what do we need to do?”

Rowan’s eyes widened in surprise at Aruna’s revelation, “All over the galaxy?” She paused a moment to allow the implications of that to sink in. So many people, so many cultures. So much lost to the ages. If they could help recover even a fragment...who could say what else there might be to discover? “That’s incredible.” Her musings were, of course, ineffective in terms of helping Aruna create that reality. With effort she managed to drag herself from fantasies of the future to the no less awe-inspiring present. Now… now she could give Aruna the extra hands she needed. The sheer enormity of the task at hand was a familiar companion and the way she saw it, lightening the load even a little bit was the least she could do.

“I’ve seen some writings on Tempesti, not that I could do a thing to read them” A playfully exaggerated grimace crossed her face, a shadow of her true frustration making a brief appearance before sinking back into the amused acceptance she’d grown used to. “But I’m ready to help with whatever you need!”