Closed Wish upon a watchstone

[Faye]

3rd of Summer, 522 AV

It was shaping up to be a throughly warm morning Faye thought as she made her way across the the strange monolith that had appeared near the center of Skya. Near to Kihala’s shrine, it was a hard object to miss and Randal had already taken care of putting benches together so people could sit comfortably while observing the strange artifact. Of course, Faye didn’t know the slightest bit of what to make of the structure. It seemed almost otherworldly with strange markings on every face that she couldn’t identify, animal faces sculpted into the stone, and blossoming vines that wrapped the entirety of the structure that was about as tall as she was. At the top was an egg shaped stone that glowed a golden yellow.

Faye took a step closer to the monolith to better study the markings on each of its faces. The animals all had gemstone eyes, some of which were familiar like a vaguely look ashta one or one that looked some kind of kin to a cat but still there were many faces she did not recognize. An the markings well they were as strange as they were purposeful as if these symbols should mean something to her. There was a small hour glass followed by an intricate knotwork pattern that seemed to fold in amongst itself. Walking around she saw a strange triskelion etched into the stone and beside that a mobius strip that was endlessly weaving into itself. Her eyes continued to roam, not recognizing any of it as she came upon the next symbol, a long handled hammer followed by a trident and a windblown tree before finally she reached the last two symbols. The first was a silk mask next to three gouges in the stone that looked like something with strong claws had raked across it.

Something about that mark gave her goosebumps as she took a step closer to the side of the monolith and reached her hand out to touch it. As her fingertips went into the the grooves, she felt a shiver go through her as she smiled to herself, mostly for self reassurance as she took a step back from the monolith.

“Hello there.”

Faye jumped back to see a girl beside her where there hadn’t been one before. The girl made an eerie sounding giggle as Faye backed away in surprise to see this girl that didn’t appear quite so corporeal. One moment she looked solid, the other not so much as a strong wind seemed to blow much of her away until she became a hint of what should be but then the wind died down and she appeared as normal as any other girl. Like Faye, she had long blond hair and appeared to be around the same age if not a bit younger which confused her because she hadn’t known there was another ghost girl besides Veronica.

Gulping, Faye gave a small wave to the girl before managing to eek out. “Hi. Um. What’s your name?” She asked nervously, having a hard time meeting the girls eyes even though she knew in her heart that she shouldn’t be afraid. Not here of all places. The girl stopped giggling to cock her head at Faye, thinking on her question for a chime before answering.

“My name is Delahnor.” She said softly, skipping a step towards Faye before hopping onto the edge of the bench and balancing on one foot. “What were you doing just then?” Delahnor asked curiously.

“I was just taking a look at the monolith. Its a.. Well a new development you could say.” Faye said with a tender smile as she tugged at a golden, curly lock of hair and put the end in her mouth. “What are you doing here?”

“Watching you.” The girl said, hopping onto her other foot and making a show of balancing again across the top of the bench. It was almost comical, although Faye didn’t know enough about ghosts to know whether they needed to balance or not. Besides, what the girl had said slightly scared her and certainly made this all feel a fair bit more strange.

“Why were you watching me?” Faye asked carefully, not looking the girl in the eye but rather the lower half of her delicate chin that was currently pressed down against her collar bone as she pretended to balance.

At that question, Delahnor straitened up and stopped with the act for the moment, smiling slightly as she hopped off the bench and then sat down. “I dunno. I think we’re related. I- well I got this feeling we are anyways.” Delahnor mumbled, swinging her feet as she sat on the edge of the bench and rocked back and forth. Faye didn’t know how she should take that, so she took the answer at face value, reasoning that this girl had no reason to lie to her about that. It was more than passingly creepy though that she might have attracted this ghost to her. Almost enough that she wished it had been any other reason that the girl had been observing her.


Its not that she didn’t feel bad for the girl. Of course she did, but ghosts were such an uncomfortable topic and seeing one always brought up all sorts of bad feelings. The fact that this girl might be a distant relative of hers was both interesting and sad she thought as she considered the girl’s response. Still she felt like she was being rude so she walked over to sit beside the girl as she thought of what to say next.

“Do you know my brother then?” Faye asked thoughtfully after a chime.

Delahnor shook her head. “No, I don’t think so. Do you have a lot of family here?”

It was Faye’s turn now to shake her head. “No, just Cleon but I’ve got a sister back in Sunberth, and some more family besides kicking around.” Faye said, a bit uncomfortable talking about the later. They hadn’t left on such a good note, though she missed her sister Farren something terrible. The rest of her family she could do without. They had never been particularly kind to her, and her siblings seemed to hold a poor opinion of them which was enough to make up her mind on that account. She took in a deep breath then met Delahnor’s eyes, They were speckled green though she couldn’t tell if the lightness of their hue was because of her transparency or they were naturally light colored.

“Well I hope I get to meet him soon.” Delahnor said cheerily, the smile reaching her eyes for the briefest of moments before she touched Faye’s hand. Her touch was uncomfortably cold, clammy even and it took all of Faye’s will power to keep from yanking her hand back. Instead she forced a smile, and nodded.

“I think he would like that. Have you been here long Delahnor?” She asked quietly.

Delahnor shook her head no. “I’ve only just arrived when I saw you. There is something familiar about you which drew me kind of like this monolith drew you to it.”

Faye frowned slightly at the strange comparison. “Well I’m-”

“I’m sorry. I’ve got to go. I’m getting.. Tired..” The girl said, and before Faye could say another word, Delahnor’s corporeal form broke apart like a passing cloud, dissipating into the wind and leaving Faye very much so on her own once more. Confused, she wondered briefly if the girl was really gone or just invisible and where ghost went exactly when they weren’t corporeal. Staring at the empty space where Delahnor had been she almost thought that she could see the faintest of outlines of the girl that was, but couldn’t be sure if she was just seeing things or if the girl was actually there.

Faye rubbed her eyes with the heel of her palm, and then blinked several times. Delahnor was gone.


WC - 1,329

[Faye]

As Faye walked across the commons, she felt almost insubstantial, like she wasn’t really there. Her encounter with Delahnor had left her feeling off, and with more than a few questions about what it all meant for a ghost to seek you out and what if they were really relatives. She was young so did that mean she had recently died or was she far older than she appeared? There were quite a few questions, and Faye didn’t really have any answers. Nor could she ask Delahnor now that the girl had disappeared off to who knows where.

So Faye was just walking, and slowing down as she reached a small little raised cabana with quite a few bird guests fluttering about. There was a white cockatoo that swooped onto the upper railing beside to large jungle ravens that had been chattering about something before they noticed her approaching.

“Girl”

“Girl?”

“You want to play?” The birds squawked, each in turn as one of the jungle crows flapped down to the ground in front of her. They were rather large birds these crows, nearly as up to her knee but she gave it a friendly smile as she waved at the bird.

“Sure, how do you do today?” She asked, perking up a little bit at this fresh novelty. Although she had spent a season becoming acquainted with the talking birds around Syka, each time one spoke directly to her still felt special and as wondrous as it had the first time. Faye was glad to talk to anyone of them that took a curiosity in her as it made her feel somewhat special.

“Good”

“Fine”

“Nora” The pale cockatoo chirped, and a woman came to the railing to look down at her with a smile.

“Hello there? You’re Faye right?” Nora asked, leaning over and giving her a wave.

Faye nodded. “Yes mam. That um.. They said your name was Nora? Pleased to meet you.” Faye said, brushing her hair back behind her ears as she got a good look at the other woman. She was blond with golden skin, and gilded with quite a few lovely tattoos, namely a vibrant quarter moon that had a reflective violet sheen to it that caught the light as she turned her wrist. On the top of her hand was a knotwork circle that was reminiscent of the symbol she had seen on the monolith while on the other hand was a dimly glowing golden vortex that Faye thought must have been a trick of the light. All in all she was a very pretty woman with a face fit for warm smiles. Faye couldn’t help but smile brightly right back.

“Hold on a second, I’ll be right down.” Nora called out as she disappeared from the railing, and Faye waited, crouched by the jungle crow, rubbing the back of its neck between her thumb and forefinger. The crow cooed pleasantly, and pushed its head into her touch which drew a giggle out of her as she looked up to see Nora coming out in front of the cabana. The white cockatoo flew down from its perch above and landed lightly on her shoulder as she did so, and she reached up absentmindedly to stroke it with a finger.

“Its nice to finally get the chance to talk with you Faye. I’ve seen you around, but with those curses last season, well, you know.” Nora tried to explain, looking strangely embarrassed for a moment as she looked over at the cockatoo. “This is Snow by the way. Say hi Snow.”

“I already did.” Snow chirped.

Nora rolled her eyes. “Don’t be rude, say hi again then.” She said, tossing him a look.

“Hi again then.” Snow squawked.

“Jackass.” Nora said under her breath with a faintly amused smile, and then gave Faye an apologetic look. “I’m sorry, he’s usually not this obstinate.”

Faye gave a shrug and giggled. “That’s alright. Pleasure meeting you Snow.” She said, continuing to pet the jungle crow as she looked around. “Is this your place?”

Nora nodded. “It is indeed. Creature comforts is the working name for now. Its kind of my cabana and animal sanctuary all rolled into one. Would you like to take a look inside?” She asked with a slight smile, gesturing Faye over. Nodding eagerly, Faye stood up to follow her and the crow squawked in protest, flying up to land on her shoulder which made her stand still for a moment caught off guard.

“You’ve gone and spoiled him. Now you’re stuck with him for today at least.” Nora joked turning around to continue leading Faye into the cabana. She followed, crow friend in tow as she looked around in surprise. It was quite the space within, with plenty of places for the care and feeding of animals, and even sections for them to recuperate. Most of the stalls were empty except for the birds of which quite a few seemed to favor the place. There was an iguana in one of the stalls, and further down a much larger Ixam that was currently nursing an injured foreleg from the looks of it.

“Well here it is. I take in animals that they find in and around the jungle and give them a place to rest and recuperate before releasing them back into the wild. Right now we don’t have very many residents but I’ve got enough space to fit quite a few if need be.” Nora explained, leaning on an empty stall as she gestured to the rest of the cabana’s lower floor. Faye looked around wide eyed then smiled as the crow playfully nipped at her earlobe for attention. She gave it with some chest scratches like the ones Nora had given Snow which the crow seemed to appreciate.

“Even the wild ones?” Faye asked after taking a chime to understand it all, eliciting a giggle from Nora.

“Well of course, most of the animals I take care of here are wild.” She said with a smile.

“But isn’t that dangerous?” Faye asked, stunned. She hadn’t ever considered that there was such a place in Syka, but it made sense the more she thought about it.

“Not if you know what you are doing, which I do.” Nora said assuredly, and then walked over to the other side of the hall to dig her hand into a burlap sack. “Here, do you want to help feed a few of the birds?” As she asked that, she pulled out a handful of seeds that immediately got the attention of every bird in the room as she poured the seeds out into Faye’s palm. At once the birds flocked to her chanting “Mine” or “Gimme sum” or some variation in between and Faye let out a startled laugh as they swarmed to get at the seeds in her palm. Eventually after what felt like chimes but was actually significantly less, Nora came over and started shoeing the birds away then held up a stern finger towards them.

“One at a time you rascals. Don’t mob the poor girl.” Nora joked, before grabbing a handful of her own. Amusingly, the birds obeyed and landed on her arm one at a time, each taking a few pecks worth of seeds before flapping down onto the floor to enjoy their snack. Faye couldn’t stop grinning, really enjoying all of this as she and Nora briefly became the center of activity for the birds.

“This is really fun. Is this actually your job?” Faye asked after a while, drawing an amused nod from Nora.

“It is indeed. Occasionally I get an animal that can’t be released back into the wild so it needs a good owner, and whatever I end up selling them for I use to maintain this place.” Nora explained, dusting off her hands as the last of the seeds in her hand were finished. Faye did the same, wiping her hands off on her dress as she took another long look around the room.

“This place is so cool. Do you um, think I could come here more often?” Faye asked softly, her words tentative.

“Of course you can. Come whenever you like. You can even help me if you ever have a mind to.” Nora said smiling.

“Really? I’d like that very much.” Faye said excitedly.

“Yes. Besides you’ve made a good many friends here today so now you have to visit them often.” Nora added with a chuckle.

Faye beamed a smile and nodded, looking for her crow friend who flew down from the eaves to land back on her shoulder.

“Well I’m going to go catch some lunch, but it was nice meeting you Nora. I will be back soon!” Faye gushed, and couldn’t help but to give the woman a hug before she left back towards the Protea Inn. Her stomach was grumbling something fierce, and she knew that it was right around this time that Tazrae usually had something set out.

WC - 1,503

[Faye]

After lunch Faye decided to go for a quick dip in the pool and was delightfully surprised to find a number of the other children there being supervised by Duncan whom could now very clearly see again. It made him a lot more approachable in her opinion, probably because she could look at his eyes now without feeling too awkward about it. He had a friendly set of them, gentle and full of expression when he shifted his face this way and that, greatly amused with the antics of the children in the water.

Walking up to the edge, Faye dipped a toe testing it for a moment before submerging herself completely in the water and walking over to the nearest girl she recognized which happened to be Brea. She gave the epharian girl a wide smile as she wiped the wet hair from her face and then started to play at paddling as she neared where Brea was talking to another girl will pale blond hair.

“Hi Brea. Nice to see you again.” Faye said, drawing the girls attention, and promptly Brea wrapped her in a many armed hug. Hugging her back, Faye felt a surge of happiness that Brea remembered her from last season, brief as their meeting had been. Though she supposed now that it had been rather memorable with her ending up baked red as a lobster because Cleon got distracted napping. She had appeared a lot younger than she was now, but that didn’t stop Brea from greeting her like she was an old friend.

“Its good to see you too Faye. How’s your summer been so far?” Brea asked, paddling with her lower hands while her upper arms laid across the top of the water. It took a sufficient amount of effort to tear her eyes away from the sight as she still found herself amazed by the many armed girl. If memory served her right, Brea also had a knack for languages while Faye only knew the one.

“Its been good. Really good. How about yours?” She asked, then glanced shyly over at the pale blond haired girl who gave her an awkward smile in return. “My name is Faye.” It left her lips before it registered to her that Brea had already used her name, and her face flushed with embarrassment as the girls started giggling. It was the infectious sort, and pretty soon Faye was laughing along with them. When their giggles finally faded, the pale blond extended her hand towards Faye.

“Nice to meet you Faye. My name is Tori.” Tori said, intruding herself with a gentle shake. Then noticing where Faye’s eyes subconsciously went, she touched the side of her neck where a set of conspicuous looking gills were present. “Oh that, I’m a Konti. Do you know what those are Faye?”

“Come on Faye, don’t stare.” Brea teased splashing her with a bit of water as Faye held her hands up in protest.

“Hey I wasn’t staring, I mean I didn’t mean to anyways it just surprised me is all.” Faye said defensively, daring to splash Brea back who giggled and splashed her again. Tori just rolled her eyes and sank in the water up was her neck before raising back out of the water with a great big splash.

“Its alright Faye. I get it a lot. Those are gills, and they kind of help me breath underwater. I’m also a pretty great swimmer.” Tori said with a wink, showing off her hands which Faye now realized had a slight webbing between the digits. Come to think of it, there were quite a few things that subtly differentiated the girl from Faye, including the hint of iridescent scales here and there about her pale flesh. She was also very, very pretty and exuded a confidence that Faye was slightly jealous of. Looking bashful for a moment, Faye traded a smile with both Brea and Torie before something funny occurred to her.

“I bet that makes you really good at splashing.” Faye said with a giggle, and the splash fight continued in earnest the tick the words left her mouth with Tori being the most competent splasher out of all three of them. She ducked under the water at one point to get away from the onslaught only to spot Tori diving under the water, using her natural grace to close the distance and start tickling her sides before Faye could stop her. Then Brea joined in, and Faye couldn’t fight them off. She could only try to tickle them back as they all fell into a fit of giggles that dissolved into all three of them being out of breath and catching it on the edge of the pool as they traded wry smiles amongst one another.

“I was right. They do make you a very good splasher.” Faye chided, drawing an eye roll out of Tori.

“If that is true, Brea should be even better.” Tori countered sticking out her tongue and amused Faye looked back at Brea and gave a slight shrug.

“She’s got a good point.”

Brea splashed them both for good measure and they were back at it again for a few chimes before they eventually decided to take a longer break on the side of the pool. Some sliced fruit had been laid out on platters for the children to enjoy, and so enjoy they did, each of the girls grabbing a couple of slices of mango and pineapple to eat while they sat by the edge of the pool, careful not to get any of it in the water.


Fresh fruit was still one of her favorite reasons for coming here, but the company of children around her own age was quickly moving to the top of that list. She couldn’t express how good it felt to have friends of her own for the first time in what felt like forever. Of course she had always had her brother and sister, and always would but that was different then the friendship that she shared with Brea and Tori. Totally different. Like ice and fire. Faye savored the moment like she was currently savoring a slice of mango, and then laid beside Brea to soak in some sun. Pretty soon, Tori joined them as well, along with a different girl Faye hadn’t met before with curly brown hair. Together they enjoyed a few chimes of quiet sunshine before Brea sat up on her elbows.

“You guys got any plans for tomorrow?” She asked looking to her left and right. Faye shook her head as did the rest of the girls, at which Brea smiled broadly. “Well I was thinking, maybe we could beg one of these adults to take us out in the jungle and teach us a few things. That would be nice wouldn’t it?”

Faye nodded eagerly. “That would be really cool. I could get my brother Cleon to ask for us if you want. I think he knows quite a few people that would do it.”

Brea bit her lower lip, and Tori seemed pensive at the suggestion, thinking over it slowly before nodding. “That sounds like a great idea Faye. We’d be thankful if you would ask him for us.” Tori said, elbowing Brea in the side.

“Oh yea, yeah that sounds good Faye.” Brea said nodding suddenly as if she had just been lost in thought. Faye gave them both a confused slightly concerned expression that provoked an eye roll out of Brea. “Its nothing, I mean. I was just thinking about last season.”

“If you’re brother is coming along, we better let Lexi know or she’ll be maaaadddd.” Tori said dragging that last word out with a giggle.

“Why?” Faye asked, her confusion only growing.

“Well, I mean its not for me to say really, but I think she likes hanging out with Cleon.” Tori said evasively and Faye shrugged, not willing to press the point. She didn’t really know Lexi that well, and her brother certainly hadn’t spoken of her but that really didn’t mean much. Cleon was a bit beside himself with his own thoughts last season, and even before that he wasn’t the most open about what was going on in his mind and personal life. Maybe she’d ask him about Lexi if she got the opportunity but more likely she would leave him his privacy, especially if this Lexi was significant. The thought caused her to almost blush, but she avoided getting embarassed by thinking of what they would all do tomorrow.

“I don’t know if he will come honestly, but if he does I’ll tell him to tell Lexi. How does that sound?” Faye suggested, drawing nods from the other girls. Satisfied, Faye sat up and pulled her legs up to her chest as she looked back out towards the pool. She was confident that Cleon would help them out, but with how busy he kept these days she wasn’t exactly sure if he would be able to manage a trip out with them on such short notice which was a little disappointing. As much as she had been begging for freedom last season, getting free reign got kind of old fast when she didn’t know exactly what to do with herself, and large part of her missed spending time with her brother. It was why she started stealing chimes away with him during lunch.

Expectedly, that drew her thoughts towards Farren and what her older sister was doing right now. She hope that she was safe, and comfortable but knowing the life they’d left behind, she couldn’t convince herself of that lie. It sort of brought the mood down for her, something the other girls must have picked up on as Brea leaned over concerned to pat her back.

“What’s up Faye?” Brea asked quietly.

Faye shook her head. “Its nothing. I… I was just thinking about my sister back in Sunberth. Her name is Farren. I just realized I really miss her.” Faye admitted softly. Brea nodded, and then smiled.

“Well why don’t you try contacting her. There is the Outpost right? Maybe you could get your brother to try and get ahold of her and then you could see her there right?” Brea suggested. Faye nodded slightly, a smile beginning to crease her features as she looked up and hugged Brea.

“That is a great idea Brea, thank you!” Faye said, standing up suddenly and the turning around to orient herself in the direction of the Protea.

“Where are you going?” Tori asked, a little confused.

“To send a message to my sister.” Faye called over her shoulder. “I’ll see you guys tomorrow, okay?” She heard a chorus of agreement behind her as she started running off down the path at a slight jog, her wet bare feet slapping on the cobblestones. She hurried back to the Protea even though she knew her brother wouldn’t be there yet. It didn’t matter, she’d have time to write something down and compose her thoughts for what she was going to ask him. It wouldn’t be an easy thing to convince him of, but she had confidence that she could swing it she thought to herself with a smile.

WC - 1,878

[Faye]

The waiting was the most interminable part. Sitting on the edge of the bed, wondering what Cleon would think or say about what she had to suggest. Faye considered dozens of different responses, most of them negative and by the time Cleon finally arrived home she had almost given up on the enterprise all together. Then he walked through the door and asked what was wrong, and all of her barriers broke down. She started ugly sobbing into his arms, unable to get a single word out for several long chimes until finally she managed to catch her breath thanks to Cleon rubbing her back gently as he waited for her emotional flood to ebb and ebb it did eventually with Faye sniffling, and taking in deep breaths.

“I- I- I-” Faye swallowed, squeezed her eyes shut and concentrated on what she wanted to say. “I was just thinking about Farren today and I was wondering if there was a way we could contact her. I know how you guys left things off and I totally understand if you don’t want to but I just miss her you know and I-”

Cleon interrupted her with words she never expected to hear from his mouth. Words of understanding, and even regret? Its sounded like it to her ears surprisingly enough and at a loss for words, Faye wrapped her arms around Cleon’s neck, squeezing him tight. It felt good to hear him say that finally after there had been this tension in their family for so long. It felt like they were finally coming together again. She just hoped that she would get to see her sister soon to make sure she was doing okay. Of course they wouldn't be able to bring her back to Syka, but just seeing her in the Outpost would be enough she hoped for now until they could convince her otherwise. Faye sighed quietly to herself as her emotions quieted down and she leaned into her brother. It really did seem like that for once everything was really going to be alright now.

WC - 348

[Cleon]

Cleon knew something was wrong the second he entered the room he shared with his sister at the Protea. Something about the sad look on Faye’s face just struck a chord with him, and the words left his mouth before he even had a chance to consider them.

“What’s wrong Faye?” At those words being spoken, it was like a dam had broken and the water started pouring from Faye’s eyes as he rushed over to comfort her, wrapping her up in his arms and holding her long after her shuddering sobs subsided. He waited quietly for her to work up the nerve to speak whatever was on her mind, deeply concerned as he slowly rubbed her back up and down, much like he would do when she was younger and keeping him up with that nasty cough she’d come to Syka with. Fortunately, Faye had long since gotten rid of that cough thanks to the Panacea, but this emotion worried him. His mind was racing past all of the different possibilities it could be as his soul ached for how distraught whatever it was that made her feel this way.

“Faye, its alright. I’ve moved past that. I already reached out to her. I just got to hope she takes the offer.” Cleon said as he suddenly realized what had been eating her up and felt very guilty as a result. He should have broke the news much sooner, how could he have missed the fact that his sister would obviously be worried about their sister back in Sunberth. Stupid, but this was no time to admonish himself. This was a time for comfort he thought as he pulled his sister close, reassuring her as much as himself that they would see their sister again, and soon if he could help it. It had been a while since he had paid a visit to the outpost, and it was about time he did so again. Kissing the top of Faye’s head, he made a silent promise to himself that he would do so as soon as possible.

WC - 348