The Passing
"I love it when daddy cooks…" Aire said contentedly as she and Ainad strolled back to their cottage in matching cloaks.
Ainad looked slightly disappointed at this as her meals never received that kind of reaction, but she quickly forgot about it as they rounded another familiar grove of trees on the path between her cottage and Koarai's waterfall. She closed her eyes and held a hand out to her side, using her memory to guide her along as Aire hummed at her side. She sighed, letting the peaceful setting wash over her and allowing her mind to clear when, without warning, she stumbled, clinging to the nearest tree to catch her fall.
Her eyes were still open, but she couldn't see anything in front of her. She blinked frantically and noticed black figures moving across her mind. They were saying things to each other, but the harder she tried to listen, the more her head began to ache. When the pain was finally unbearable, she cried out and fell to her knees, clutching the sides of her head as though it might ease the pain. Slowly, her vision began to return and the quiet of the forest was all she heard.
"Mom?" Aire asked cautiously, looking very pale. "That was really scary… what just happened? Are you okay?"
"That's never happened before." Ainad said shakily as she stood up, still clinging to the tree for support. She noticed her heart was racing, and her entire body felt as though she had broke out in a cold sweat. "I saw something, but I'm not sure what it was… I've never had a vision while I was awake."
"Let's go home." Aire said concernedly as she grabbed for Ainad's hand, "Naya will know…"
"NAYA!" Ainad shrieked as she pushed off of the tree and stumbled forward. "Something's not right…" She began to run, feeling unstable on her feet but unwilling to stop, knowing her home wasn't too far away.
She reached the clearing where their home was shortly; the same welcoming smoke was drifting out of the chimney, but something about it was eerie. What was it?
Finally regaining her balance, she stormed up the front path and threw the door open to find the room dark. Hugs and Quilly were both sitting on the couch, Hugs looked upset and Quilly looked as though he was trying to comfort him.
"She's gone." Ainad breathed.
"What?" Aire asked as she caught up, "Who is?"
"Naya." Ainad explained, small tears forming in her eyes. "She just left, didn't she?"
Hugs nodded sadly and looked towards the table by where Naya usually sat. There, lying perfectly on a coaster, was her small golden wrist brace.
"Noooo," Aire moaned as she crept closer for a better look.
Ainad was just about to say something when she felt her heart wrench and turned around to look out the large window just in time to see Drev's large form collapse in their front yard. "Goodness!" she shouted as she opened the front door and ran down the path towards him.
"Drev, are you okay?" she demanded, wiping the tears from her eyes.
"I came as quickly as I could." he said, breathlessly as he shakily sat up. "It happened while I was hunting - I just dropped everything."
"What happened?" Ainad asked. "Unless… did you black out too?"
"I guess you could call it that," he said as he brushed some drenched hair out of his face, "Whatever it was, it was terrible. And I knew she was gone."
Ainad frowned, wondering what could have happened to them, why Naya would leave in the first place, and why Drev had felt he had to come. "Why did you come here?" she asked, "You never knew Naya."
"I did," he answered simply. "She came to my cave once."
"She went to your cave? Why would she do that?"
"She wanted to talk to me." Drev said vaguely as he stood up. "How am I supposed to know?"
"Why did she leave?" Ainad asked him desperately, slowly beginning to tear up again. "Why didn't she tell me?"
"She didn't want you to freak out," Drev answered, "and she did tell you."
Ainad stared at him blankly, "She didn't… unless you mean what happened…"
"Why not? Wouldn't you rather find out that way then just come back and see her gone? Once it happened you knew, didn't you."
"Yes," Ainad admitted, "but it didn't hit me until Aire mentioned we go home…"
They both sighed and looked downward, allowing their minds time to process their thoughts before Ainad spoke again, just barely over a whisper, "What does this mean… for us?"
"I don't know," Drev answered truthfully. "Did she leave anything?"
"Just her brace." Ainad choked.
"That's it!" Drev said as his eyes widened with realization, "The brace!"
"What about it?" Ainad demanded, looking at him with cloudy eyes.
"It's there for a purpose - it's got to mean something…" he mused aloud as he paced back and forth, rubbing his chin. "I think… I think maybe you should try it on."
"HAH!" Ainad laughed harshly, "Try it on? It might fit on my pinkie finger if I squeezed it enough. Don't you have any respect for the dead, Drev? How can you suggest that so shortly after her passing! If nothing else, we should bury it in honor of her memory."
"No." Drev said firmly. "You can't get rid of it. She left it with you; it's your responsibility now. Something tells me she wouldn't be happy if she knew you had gotten scared and disposed of it."
Ainad sighed exasperatedly, "So I'm supposed to play dress-up and wear it? That's the silliest thing I've ever heard of, Drev. Here we've just lost the only relative we've ever known and you're coming up with these stupid ideas - why can't you grieve like a normal person?"
"Mom?" Aire called out as she closed the front door to the house and walked towards Ainad and Drev, holding something small in her cupped hands, "You need this."
Ainad frowned when she was what Aire had brought her, were she and Drev working together in this? "No, Aire, I don't need it, nor do I want it. There's just something wrong with playing with those kinds of artifacts."
She reached over to take it from Aire, but quickly withdrew her hand. As soon as her outstretched palm was over the brace, it had immediately begun to glow and increase in size. Aire shrieked and dropped it into the grass where it stopped growing and split open down the middle like a trap waiting for its prey.
"Creepy…" Aire voiced for all of them as they carefully surrounded it. "Why'd it do that?"
"Ainad's its next wearer." Drev explained before he turned to face Ainad. "It's time for you to awaken your powers."
Small, pearly tears flowed down each of her cheeks as she looked back and forth from the object to Drev, "I… I'm scared."
"Don't be, mom." Aire said as she patted Ainad awkwardly on the arm. "I think he's right."
Ainad looked back to Drev and was shocked to see something different in him. Had Naya's passing changed him too? For once, she felt like she could trust him… he seemed to know more than she did - he seemed so mature.
Without another word, she lowered to her knees and placed her arm in the brace. It clasped shut and sealed with a beam of golden light. It seemed to be the perfect fit!
"Cool…" Aire said as she watched Ainad stand up.
"Well, I tried it on, now what?" Ainad asked, seemingly disappointed that nothing had happened and all of her apprehension had been for nothing. "And how do I get it off?"
"The wish of the wearer, remember?" Aire said excitedly. "You just have to wish it off! It probably won't hurt you when you take it off because you're not immortal or anything. Remember, that's how they stayed alive… Naya must have wished hers off tonight…"
Ainad frowned and held her arm up in front of her for further examination, "Well, if I'm not immortal, what use is it to me?"
"Try something." Drev suggested, "Just your regular magic."
"Drev," Ainad said sternly, "You know I don't like to use my magic…"
"Just try it."
Ainad rolled her eyes before closing them and snapping her fingers, immediately all of the blue lights in the meadow sparked to life, lighting the entire place as though it were mid-afternoon.
"Wow!" Aire said as she looked around.
Ainad's jaw dropped, "I… I can usually only make a little spark… I use that when it's really dark out…"
"Try something else!" Drev said.
"Er…" Ainad hesitated before holding both hands out in front of her and creating a large blue dome that covered the entire meadow.
"Oooohhhh…" Aire commented as though she were watching a fireworks show. "What about that thing that you do when Drev attacks you or when you're really scared?"
"Um…" Ainad said, still in shock at how intense her powers were at the moment, "I can't really do that on command…"
"How do you feel?" Drev asked as he looked around the meadow, surveying the blue dome and blue lights. "Is it taking any of your energy to keep this up?"
"Not… really…" Ainad said, trying to remember what it felt like using magic before. "I would have collapsed by now for sure."
"So maybe it just intensifies your magic!" Aire said, "That could really come in handy!"
"Not really," Ainad said as she waved her left hand over the clasp and the brace fell off of her arm. The meadow went completely dark once more, only a few dancing blue lights offering light to see by, "I have no use for such power…"
"You will." Drev said, "Don't dismiss it so easily - it could come in use."
"Like how?"
"Healing power." Drev said, "What if someone in your family was near death and you were able to intensify your magic enough to save them?"
Ainad's bottom lip trembled; that reason alone was worth hanging on to this item… maybe it would come in handy. "But I don't want to wear it all of the time…"
"So only use it when you need it." Aire said. "Just keep it nearby just in case."
"O…okay." Ainad said as she picked it up and watched it shrink back to its normal, small size. "But what about…?"
She looked cautiously over to where Drev stood by her side. "What about you, Drev?"
"I'll be fine." he said gruffly as he turned away and spread his wings. "Just keep it safe."
It was too late to stop him before he took off, Ainad only hoped that something would change in him too… if it hadn't already. "Lets go, Aire." she said sadly as she slipped the brace into the pocket of her cloak and turned to go inside, "I think that's enough excitement for one night."
Ainad looked slightly disappointed at this as her meals never received that kind of reaction, but she quickly forgot about it as they rounded another familiar grove of trees on the path between her cottage and Koarai's waterfall. She closed her eyes and held a hand out to her side, using her memory to guide her along as Aire hummed at her side. She sighed, letting the peaceful setting wash over her and allowing her mind to clear when, without warning, she stumbled, clinging to the nearest tree to catch her fall.
Her eyes were still open, but she couldn't see anything in front of her. She blinked frantically and noticed black figures moving across her mind. They were saying things to each other, but the harder she tried to listen, the more her head began to ache. When the pain was finally unbearable, she cried out and fell to her knees, clutching the sides of her head as though it might ease the pain. Slowly, her vision began to return and the quiet of the forest was all she heard.
"Mom?" Aire asked cautiously, looking very pale. "That was really scary… what just happened? Are you okay?"
"That's never happened before." Ainad said shakily as she stood up, still clinging to the tree for support. She noticed her heart was racing, and her entire body felt as though she had broke out in a cold sweat. "I saw something, but I'm not sure what it was… I've never had a vision while I was awake."
"Let's go home." Aire said concernedly as she grabbed for Ainad's hand, "Naya will know…"
"NAYA!" Ainad shrieked as she pushed off of the tree and stumbled forward. "Something's not right…" She began to run, feeling unstable on her feet but unwilling to stop, knowing her home wasn't too far away.
She reached the clearing where their home was shortly; the same welcoming smoke was drifting out of the chimney, but something about it was eerie. What was it?
Finally regaining her balance, she stormed up the front path and threw the door open to find the room dark. Hugs and Quilly were both sitting on the couch, Hugs looked upset and Quilly looked as though he was trying to comfort him.
"She's gone." Ainad breathed.
"What?" Aire asked as she caught up, "Who is?"
"Naya." Ainad explained, small tears forming in her eyes. "She just left, didn't she?"
Hugs nodded sadly and looked towards the table by where Naya usually sat. There, lying perfectly on a coaster, was her small golden wrist brace.
"Noooo," Aire moaned as she crept closer for a better look.
Ainad was just about to say something when she felt her heart wrench and turned around to look out the large window just in time to see Drev's large form collapse in their front yard. "Goodness!" she shouted as she opened the front door and ran down the path towards him.
"Drev, are you okay?" she demanded, wiping the tears from her eyes.
"I came as quickly as I could." he said, breathlessly as he shakily sat up. "It happened while I was hunting - I just dropped everything."
"What happened?" Ainad asked. "Unless… did you black out too?"
"I guess you could call it that," he said as he brushed some drenched hair out of his face, "Whatever it was, it was terrible. And I knew she was gone."
Ainad frowned, wondering what could have happened to them, why Naya would leave in the first place, and why Drev had felt he had to come. "Why did you come here?" she asked, "You never knew Naya."
"I did," he answered simply. "She came to my cave once."
"She went to your cave? Why would she do that?"
"She wanted to talk to me." Drev said vaguely as he stood up. "How am I supposed to know?"
"Why did she leave?" Ainad asked him desperately, slowly beginning to tear up again. "Why didn't she tell me?"
"She didn't want you to freak out," Drev answered, "and she did tell you."
Ainad stared at him blankly, "She didn't… unless you mean what happened…"
"Why not? Wouldn't you rather find out that way then just come back and see her gone? Once it happened you knew, didn't you."
"Yes," Ainad admitted, "but it didn't hit me until Aire mentioned we go home…"
They both sighed and looked downward, allowing their minds time to process their thoughts before Ainad spoke again, just barely over a whisper, "What does this mean… for us?"
"I don't know," Drev answered truthfully. "Did she leave anything?"
"Just her brace." Ainad choked.
"That's it!" Drev said as his eyes widened with realization, "The brace!"
"What about it?" Ainad demanded, looking at him with cloudy eyes.
"It's there for a purpose - it's got to mean something…" he mused aloud as he paced back and forth, rubbing his chin. "I think… I think maybe you should try it on."
"HAH!" Ainad laughed harshly, "Try it on? It might fit on my pinkie finger if I squeezed it enough. Don't you have any respect for the dead, Drev? How can you suggest that so shortly after her passing! If nothing else, we should bury it in honor of her memory."
"No." Drev said firmly. "You can't get rid of it. She left it with you; it's your responsibility now. Something tells me she wouldn't be happy if she knew you had gotten scared and disposed of it."
Ainad sighed exasperatedly, "So I'm supposed to play dress-up and wear it? That's the silliest thing I've ever heard of, Drev. Here we've just lost the only relative we've ever known and you're coming up with these stupid ideas - why can't you grieve like a normal person?"
"Mom?" Aire called out as she closed the front door to the house and walked towards Ainad and Drev, holding something small in her cupped hands, "You need this."
Ainad frowned when she was what Aire had brought her, were she and Drev working together in this? "No, Aire, I don't need it, nor do I want it. There's just something wrong with playing with those kinds of artifacts."
She reached over to take it from Aire, but quickly withdrew her hand. As soon as her outstretched palm was over the brace, it had immediately begun to glow and increase in size. Aire shrieked and dropped it into the grass where it stopped growing and split open down the middle like a trap waiting for its prey.
"Creepy…" Aire voiced for all of them as they carefully surrounded it. "Why'd it do that?"
"Ainad's its next wearer." Drev explained before he turned to face Ainad. "It's time for you to awaken your powers."
Small, pearly tears flowed down each of her cheeks as she looked back and forth from the object to Drev, "I… I'm scared."
"Don't be, mom." Aire said as she patted Ainad awkwardly on the arm. "I think he's right."
Ainad looked back to Drev and was shocked to see something different in him. Had Naya's passing changed him too? For once, she felt like she could trust him… he seemed to know more than she did - he seemed so mature.
Without another word, she lowered to her knees and placed her arm in the brace. It clasped shut and sealed with a beam of golden light. It seemed to be the perfect fit!
"Cool…" Aire said as she watched Ainad stand up.
"Well, I tried it on, now what?" Ainad asked, seemingly disappointed that nothing had happened and all of her apprehension had been for nothing. "And how do I get it off?"
"The wish of the wearer, remember?" Aire said excitedly. "You just have to wish it off! It probably won't hurt you when you take it off because you're not immortal or anything. Remember, that's how they stayed alive… Naya must have wished hers off tonight…"
Ainad frowned and held her arm up in front of her for further examination, "Well, if I'm not immortal, what use is it to me?"
"Try something." Drev suggested, "Just your regular magic."
"Drev," Ainad said sternly, "You know I don't like to use my magic…"
"Just try it."
Ainad rolled her eyes before closing them and snapping her fingers, immediately all of the blue lights in the meadow sparked to life, lighting the entire place as though it were mid-afternoon.
"Wow!" Aire said as she looked around.
Ainad's jaw dropped, "I… I can usually only make a little spark… I use that when it's really dark out…"
"Try something else!" Drev said.
"Er…" Ainad hesitated before holding both hands out in front of her and creating a large blue dome that covered the entire meadow.
"Oooohhhh…" Aire commented as though she were watching a fireworks show. "What about that thing that you do when Drev attacks you or when you're really scared?"
"Um…" Ainad said, still in shock at how intense her powers were at the moment, "I can't really do that on command…"
"How do you feel?" Drev asked as he looked around the meadow, surveying the blue dome and blue lights. "Is it taking any of your energy to keep this up?"
"Not… really…" Ainad said, trying to remember what it felt like using magic before. "I would have collapsed by now for sure."
"So maybe it just intensifies your magic!" Aire said, "That could really come in handy!"
"Not really," Ainad said as she waved her left hand over the clasp and the brace fell off of her arm. The meadow went completely dark once more, only a few dancing blue lights offering light to see by, "I have no use for such power…"
"You will." Drev said, "Don't dismiss it so easily - it could come in use."
"Like how?"
"Healing power." Drev said, "What if someone in your family was near death and you were able to intensify your magic enough to save them?"
Ainad's bottom lip trembled; that reason alone was worth hanging on to this item… maybe it would come in handy. "But I don't want to wear it all of the time…"
"So only use it when you need it." Aire said. "Just keep it nearby just in case."
"O…okay." Ainad said as she picked it up and watched it shrink back to its normal, small size. "But what about…?"
She looked cautiously over to where Drev stood by her side. "What about you, Drev?"
"I'll be fine." he said gruffly as he turned away and spread his wings. "Just keep it safe."
It was too late to stop him before he took off, Ainad only hoped that something would change in him too… if it hadn't already. "Lets go, Aire." she said sadly as she slipped the brace into the pocket of her cloak and turned to go inside, "I think that's enough excitement for one night."