[Trail of Waterfalls] Once Lost, Found Anew (Haneht)

[Savis Maren]

9th of Winter, 518 AV

Savis Maren realized entirely too late that in her letter to that Eypharian child, Haneht, that she neglected to mention a time. The chill of the altitude swept throughout Lhavit, but there was no bite to the winds nor the air it brought about the city. Morwen no longer presided over the season, and snow failed to find itself much of anywhere. The Nuit recalled the days of snow with a measure of longing, but with nothing able to be done about it she ignored her nostalgia for a more prominent concern. The Nuit watched Syna's rise from the window of her room on the property of Infinity Manor. The quiet that presided over Dawn had the Nuit overlooking her figure in the mirror.

Lhavit's crisp air was often very good for the 'health' of her temporary shells. The altitude held less of the sun's warmth than the ground below did, and it made it that only the flesh deep within her abdomen was exposed to a great deal of festering. The deep, sealed scars at the abdomen showed signs of that deterioration, and the Nuit felt immediate action was best over time spent considering her move. If she repaired herself appropriately, her shells could last longer, allowing elderly or idiotic persons to perish and provide her with a new shell to occupy. Savis Maren willed djed to flow from within. The power of the soul flowed from her Soulcore, and she willed it to slither from the depths of her arms and wind about the next layer. The astral body slid from its bounds with her encouragement, and her arms fell limp at her sides as she willed those astral limbs to stretch, liberated from their bonds. Her spectral limbs shot forth, thinning as they stretched to nearly three times their original length. On the nearby table, her satchel lingered with the tools required for the task ahead.

The Nuit grabbed bandages with one hand, and the embalming fluid with another. She pulled them forth and onto the stool at her side. Then, Savis Maren willed her limbs back, to retrieve the perfume from her satchel as well as sutures and needles for the task ahead. While those astral limbs fumbled through the satchel, the Nuit shifted from side to side in front of the mirror. Hollow silver eyes measured the corpse she wore, appraising the middle-aged flesh and the terrible scars that manifested out of necessity upon it. Tumours and unnecessary organs resided within the flesh once, and the poor stitches on her neck and abdomen were the Nuit's (in conjunction with Madeira Craven) attempt to better accommodate the ichor and the spirit of Savis herself. The Nuit willed her astral limbs back into place, taking her time to weave her astral arms back into their proper placement within the composition of her soul. Satisfied with her efforts and quite aware of what needed doing, she pushed forth. She raised her arms when she was able, and took the bandages off from her shell to reveal the hideous scars on her neck, chest and stomach. Slowly, the Nuit wove her needle into the sutures, and she followed the patterns already set on the corpse's flesh. She wove them into the previous sutures, then arouns them, creating more tiny holes in the corpse's body that were covered up by the thread.

Satisfied with her fortification of the previous sutures, she was content that the new ones would serve the purpose when the previous decayed. A ritual taken every ten days or so, Savis Maren was glad for her efforts. Next, the Nuit breached into her djed once more. Rather than allow it to spread throughout, the Nuit allowed the 'Sight' to manifest in a different form. She breached into her own aura, feeling the coarse, dark-gray cesspool that began at her chest and spread throughout to several feet in either direction of her. The aura held in it the scent of her decaying flesh, which melded sharply with the presence of the embalming salts. She joined that sharp scent with that of the formaldehyde mixture, dabbing it on her flesh and allowing it to sink in with the assistance of a portion of bandages. She cut that portion from the rest before wrapping her abdomen with the white bandages. The first layered clung to the embalming fluid mixture, clinging to her flesh as a result. It made it somewhat easier for her to wrap the bandages about, and she did so slowly to ensure a proper application. When three layers wrapped about her abdomen, she inspected the sutures on her neck and followed suit.

Satisfied with the upkeep of her unliving form, Savis Maren dressed herself in the plain, sterile gray blouse and dark pants she'd arrived in the city with. Perhaps Haneht would recognize her if she dressed the same? Plain as it was, the outfit was sufficient to her purposes. She wrapped herself in her coat next, before shrouding her neck with her scarf and making her way out. Syna was well into the sky when her task was complete, dawn turning to mid-morning as she began her ascent through Zintia. There was an entry point to the Trail of Waterfalls not so far from Infinity Manor itself. She swept through, and reflected. It'd be easiest, she supposed, to meet Haneht closer to his own home. The Nuit didn't pretend to know all of the denizens of the Solar Wind Apartments, but she'd never seen Haneht past their first encounter in Alheas Park.

So, logically, he'd live in the Okomo Estates, right? Sharai it is, she reasoned. The Nuit wasn't so familiar with the Sharai Peak as to know where the Estates were, specifically, but she made her way through the Trail of Waterfalls. Her silver eyes admired the roaring waterfalls, which cascaded water from the peaks and down the mountains that Lhavit built herself upon. The altitude was staggering to consider, and she was momentarily bound to follow the flow to its inevitable end. Once the notion escaped her, she shifted onward and towards the entry point from the Sharai Peak. Savis Maren, rather than look further for Haneht, allowed him to come to her. The Nuit was noticeable enough and had no way of knowing when he'd arrive. Rather than wait idly, the Nuit sat on a bench, which quickly vacated of its other inhabitant upon their realization of who claimed the space. Common folk seemed to flee from the Nuit on principle, and she was just fine with that... for now. She allowed her mind to fall into nothingness as Savis shut her eyes to the world. Light spilled over her eyelids as the world fell away from her scrutiny.

[Haneht]

9th, Winter 518AV

My sweet boy,

Haneht shambled out of his humble abode perched on Sharai peaks as soon as Syna's first rays warmed the earth, handsome features lit by a small, but nevertheless hopeful gleam in his eyes that hadn't so much as existed as a spark in the past couple of months. His strides, though graceful and seemingly carefree as ever, were noticeably stiffer than they had been two seasons ago. Beneath his jaw was a thin line, neither too obvious nor completely invisible, a memento of Summer's end. What was supposed to have healed undisturbed and faded into a thin line, barely discernable, had instead been picked at and denied proper healing in the anxiety and restlessness that had possessed him after Summer. A shame, a sin, against his divine bloodline, but what was so divine about their blood if it ran as red as everyone else's?

We met not so long ago, and yet it feels as if an eternity has passed, no? How strange it is for me to say that, given my nature, but you've been fondly remembered in our time apart.

It had been too long, he agreed in silence, preciously grasping Savis' letter to him in hand as his limbs carried him to the intended meeting place. A friend's letter, he reminded himself, giddy with joy and warmed by the thought. There was still someone he hadn't wronged in one way or another, or so he hoped. If Savis knew of what he'd done in the time they'd not seen or heard from the other, would she despise him too?

Would you meet me on the Trail of Waterfalls? Let's say on the 9th?

Perhaps, he thought, that it would be best if he withheld some truth from her. He doubted Savis of all people would be bothered by his... abnormality, but he didn't quite feel like driving yet another person from his side just yet. What could he do, however, against her curious magicks? From their first and only encounter, he had already gotten a vague idea of what the mage was capable of. And surely, in the time they hadn't seen one another, she must've improved. But Haneht had a feeling he'd only just scratched the surface, of what she could do and the concept of her existence. After their encounter, when Haneht had some time to ponder over the most random of things (which was, quite frankly, nearly every tick of his waking moment) and had heard of the rumours of a nuit (he knew what that was now) in the city, he'd taken it upon himself to find a little more about his peculiar new friend.

It turned out that Savis was very much alive, he found. Just, not quite typically. And that had been enough, he decided, rather preferring to know more from the woman herself. There could be no better person to explain it.

Another reason that held him back from fully indulging himself, was that knowing one could exist beyond Dira's embrace was, for lack of a better word, torturous. If one could live on past their deaths, preserved in mind and soul in another shell, then... He reeled himself back before he lost his mind, just as the Trail of Waterfalls came into view, along with the silhouette of a woman existing as both friend and stranger. Dressed in the very outfit he recalled seeing the ethereal mage approach him in, and yet the face he was looking at now did not match that of the memory of his undead friend.

Or was his mind already gone?

I hope to see you there.

His strides ceased, feet held to the ground by disbelief, bewilderment and hesitation. He had not thought things through, when he wrote to the only person he could think of, his last effort to find some sort of reassurance that he was not as alone as he truly was. A silly, desperate boy had written it in the dead of the night, when sleep evaded him much like his understanding of himself, never truly expecting any good to come of it even when he secretly, very quietly, harbored the smallest fragment of hope. That Savis might write back and regard him fondly in spite of having only encountered him once.

Your friend,

There she was, perched serenly on a bench just a few steps away, brilliantly wise eyes and their endless pools of secrets all hidden from him. What would he see when they opened? What would she see, were it really his friend?

He willed his legs to work again, only to stumble when his foot caught on a small stone and exchange his elegant approach for a clumsy shuffle as be regained his balance. "...Savis?"

[Savis Maren]

You're a fool. the Nuit thought as she delved deeper into the nothingness. Deep within her mind, the Nuit doubted. Who was to say that Haneht would show up? Or that he even received her letter? Two seasons apart with barely a day of association. Yes, the child had sent for her, but who was to say that the desire to correspond persisted? She'd received that letter far too late, and doubt manifested as violent blue lightning that surged throughout her psyche. The Nuit felt herself falter into that doubt, and a surging lightning storm overtook the colors of her consciousness before the clumsy, broken utterance of the Nuit's name brought her from the privacy of thought.

Silver eyes flew open and cast their intense, eerie gaze on the Eypharian. Immediately, she allowed her eyes to hover along the breadth of him. She caught the small scar on his chin, a new addition from their previous encounter. Then, she took the rest of him in. Black gums and yellow-tinged teeth flashed in a grotesque smile as the undead rose from her feet. She stepped forward, drew closer to the lovely Eypharian lad and found in his visage the picture of doubt. The very same doubt that materialized within her own mind seemed mirrored in the uncertain and clearly frightened young man. Savis Maren felt reassurance overtake her doubts and took one of Haneht's hands in both of her own in an easy greeting.

Savis' posture was tall and square, a false confidence wearing upon her as she realized that her disposition might prove the containment of both of their roiling emotions. This encounter was tense, and it breathed from both Haneht and herself, particularly when the Nuit drew close enough to feel the vestiges of aura about her. Savis Maren didn't know the finer points of what the Eypharian felt, but it was written on his features.

"Sweet Haneht, let your doubts fall by the wayside. My face might be different, but this is the same Nuit you've known for nearly half a year. Please," she beseeched the young man before she turned around and motioned for him to join her.

"Would you walk with me? If you've ever been to this Trail, you'll know the calming effect the cascading falls have. I can see it on your face... you've suffered in the time we've been apart. Perhaps, that suffering was merited, though, because it brought you back to me."

Savis Maren spoke in an eloquent and lovely voice, so very different from the cracking mumbled tone she took when her voice was in disarray. Savis Maren was restored to proper form, unmarred by magical interference and clearly, she exuded a strength that was perhaps even contagious. Time rendered the Nuit able to drown out her doubts, and seeing Haneht in a far worse state than she herself was in had the unfortunate effect of calming her.

How perverse, to find reassurance in the fall of another, she reflected as she began their path along the Trail of Waterfalls. If Haneht followed, the Nuit made light of their insecurities, motioning towards the scenery instead. Savis Maren chose the Trail as their meeting place for a reason. The beauty of the Trail in conjunction with its narrow paths ensured a modicum of privacy between them, and it simply wouldn't do for their reunion to be interrupted by the foolishness of others.

[Haneht]

9th, Winter 518AV

It truly was Savis. Met with relief, Haneht took another step forward eagerly before hesitation intervened once more. He watched her as she did him, only, rather than first taking in the visage of her new shell, he watched for her body language and expression. The lingering of her gaze on what he knew to be the recent scar, the doubt in her eyes fading away as she familiarised herself with him once more. When she smiled, so did he, even if the dark-licorice of her gums and yellowed teeth surprised him mildly. In the dark of the night, under the cover of fog, Savis' apparent undeath hadn't been as obvious as it was now when stood under daylight.

Hand taken in hers, comfort washed and relieved him of some of the tenseness that had been building in flesh and spirit. Her touch, though cold, invoked a warmth that spread to the rest of him and lingered in his bones. "I know. I... took the liberty of looking up on you a little. Your kind, I mean. Just a smidge - I wanted you to tell me the rest yourself." his smile morphed into a sheepish grin. "You're a nuit. Given a second chance at life. You move from one form to another to survive, but I know it's still you inside." he assured, though it was more of a verbal assurance directed at himself than Savis. That the nuit truly was here, to see him, speak to him. Though the hand that held his was different, belonging to a woman much older than that of their first encounter, the air about the nuit and her mannerisms hadn't changed. The way she spoke, carried herself, handled him so gently. Even before she motioned for him, Haneht had already fallen into place beside her, hanging on to every word.

Spoken in such a velvet, fluent manner, Haneht was unguarded against the sudden acknowledgement of his recent misadventures. Left momentarily speechless, a dry laugh escaped him once he gathered his thoughts.

"I am calm," he claimed a little too smoothly, childishly pouting as he discreetly scrambld to keep his face straight and his thoughts and emotions contained. Loud thinker, the voice of Leth's priestess echoed and teased from the abysses of his mind. Savis was an aurist, he reminded himself. Composure was a must, though he suspected there was little use in hiding how he felt. "Though I suppose you're right. Rehearsals have been grueling, and it's been months since anything or anyone remotely interesting came about. Little things." Such was the way it should be. One quarter-truth after another. Rebuild his castle, layer by layer. Settling himself into routine once more, the Eypharian's voice gradually found its way back to him, saturating the atmosphere with silly blabbering. "Autumn was incredibly bleak. I trained and explored the outdoors, mostly. The bars and taverns got a little too familiar - needed a fresh change of scene, you know? And the weather cleared up, so I figured it would be a good time to know the rest of Lhavit." Pointedly avoiding his Summer-gone-south, he focused himself on the pettier issues of his career and lack of social activity. If he looked away and kept moving forwards, surely all that would be gradually lost along the way. "I'd been hoping to run into you too. We exchanged the barest of words in our first encounter, and parted so abruptly that night. I would've liked to know you more," lamenting their lack of interaction, the brunet was relieved to find that his companion didn't prod any further. He wondered, what sort of storm had made it's run through the rest of her Summer and Autumn, but was rather reluctant to ask, lest he was confronted once more or ruined the pleasantness of their walk together.

[Savis Maren]

"I know. I... took the liberty of looking up on you a little. Your kind, I mean."

The words, and what followed next surprised Savis tremendously. With the exception of Madeira, few seemed to truly care what Savis was, and less seemed to accept her if they ever found out. The undead could attribute Madeira Craven's unconditional acceptance to the fact that she lingered in the company of ghosts. Their ethereal forms, while starkly different from the corporeal shells that Savis bore, were of a different order of being than something Haneht was privy to on the regular. His efforts spoke of initiative, his writing to her perhaps a sign of loneliness or a compassionate effort to reach out to another. The nuit didn't dare breach too far into that line of thought, deciding to have faith in the eypharian and his reasons for coming to her. Savis knew that if she continued to question and debate the legitimacy of Haneht's altruism, she'd convince herself of whatever darkness she wanted to find.

Instead, Savis led him onward. The Trail of Waterfalls was a long, blessed path. Lush grasses brushes against the nuit's ankles and the dull scents of flora (for Savis' non-essential sense was far weaker than one might be used to) catching her attention in the conscious efforts she made to smell them. Breath was unnecessary but taken in that effort, and she frustrated herself with the result. It wasn't until she broke her line of thought, expressed her words aloud that she considered Haneht again. His words were laden with a tad of ice when he retorted, the pout set upon his visage bringing the barest flicker of laughter from her before she listened intently to the eypharian as he contradicted his defense.

It seemed that the child was capable of letting down his sword. It was nice, even, to listen to the woes of another. It spoke to the Nuit, who very well understood the notion of uninteresting individuals and the mundane trappings of every day life. Savis Maren, for all the love she bore for her pursuits of magic, also knew the monotony of falling into a routine. Exploring the outdoors and the life beyond the four walls of her apartment had led her, after all, to that fateful day in the Silk Palace. It led her to her experiences in the Quartz Cave and to the wretched decline of her once-prized automaton, Sil. The wooden golem lost its magic and with it, Savis Maren lost part of herself.

"I know exactly what you mean. Maybe even more than you know," she began. Laughter bubbled from the Nuit's stomach, rising along her abdomen before it parted her lips in its ease. Unlike her wretched smile or her sorry attempts at compassion through her look and touch, her laugh spoke to the nuit's sincerity more than anything else could. It escaped her lips freely, reverberating from her throat. The laughter helped her cope, for the scars of that horrible Summer lingered beneath the flesh. If she wasn't careful, they'd bare their teeth, and take Savis into their cold, evil embrace. She blinked, not out of need or instinct, but with intention, closing herself off to the world before looking to Haneht with a new gaze.

"I never knew the pleasures of the bar scene, to tell the truth. You're a young lad, Haneht, but you've already outlived my living body by several years, I'm sure. My experience with this city's been outside of its splendor of food and drink. I wish I could say I've explored a great deal of it, but in truth, I've spent entirely too much time cooped up in my home. Then... later on, in another's home," she added. It was a sorry tale to tell. At least, if one skipped the interesting bits. The nuit couldn't help herself. So close to a being she found so endearing, she'd wound her djed forth, encapsulating his aura and drawing it forth into her awareness. The link between herself and him wasn't kept with her eyes, but rather, she reined in the billowing, heavy smoke of his aura. The visage about him was marred with a sour blue hue, the laments of a soul very much like Savis' own laid bare to her scrutiny.

Savis understood Haneht, she felt. She could see the need to build a wall, particularly between himself and a being he seemed to want to impress. To be the sort of person that this eypharian boy saw in such esteem... Truly, it warmed her heart.

"And that's why you wrote to me, then? Well, if you'd like to, my boy, feel free to ask. You've been judicious with your words. An admirable quality, but clearly... there's more beneath the surface. Questions, answers. I'd like to know more about your woes, too. Your aspirations. Your character. You're the only one who's ever given me one of these," he told him, withdrawing his letter from her coat pocket. The smile broadened upon her visage before she let it wither away. The blonde corpse woman found comfort, a strange luxury that she craved more and more of.

"Perhaps we'll flip a coin to see who spills their guts first?" she said, one silver eye closing in a horrible bastardisation of a wink before she added, "We could find a bench, if you'd like. Somewhere where the Falls are close enough to hear, but far enough not to impede our chat."

[Haneht]

9th, Winter 518AV

Haneht plucked at the lint on his blouse as Savis took in his confession, absent-minded and simultaneously anxious to know if he might've done something wrong. Left her secrets in the dark, for her to reveal of her own accords. He'd only done a bit of light reading, equipped himself with what he thought was general knowledge. The books on Nuit had been accessible to all, and so was the grapevine.

A small thing to worry about, perhaps. But these days, boundaries had gotten so hard to define. He barely recognised the ones beyond his own. As they strode along the trail in silence, with Haneht following with unusual obedience, he moved from nervously picking lint off his garments to wringing the bracelet on his wrist, the one he so dearly treasured. She'd said nothing of it. What did that mean?

Forget it. The boy let the scenic beauty of his environment occupy him instead. He took the side where the sun was shining down on, preferring to bask in Syna's warmth and light as well as provide some small bit of shade with his build, knowing his friend's' shell was more sensitive towards the elements in her undeath. The iridescent falls that shimmered in the sunlight and misted the trail with a light ceiling of stray droplets and vapour was indeed a wonder to behold. A little paradise hidden inside a mountainous escape of its own, and it made Haneht wonder why he hadn't explored more of the city in his two years here. Or had he perhaps just never truly committed himself to enjoying such moments?

Distracted by his own drifting mind and conflicting thoughts yet once more, he'd failed to notice the first time how Savis' voice was much different from before. The velvet quality it had taken on was a vast improvement from when they'd first and last spoken, no longer gravelly or strained. No longer as removed too, it seemed, and it felt as though she truly were happy to see him. "That so?" Knowing that she too bored easily brightened him a little, though the lengthy blink she made before speaking did not escape the sharpness of his golden gaze. Savis, naturally, was hiding things of her own behind her wizened, cool demeanour. It aroused his curiosity, as secrets always did, but for some reason he kept his questiond to himself and turned his eyes away. The dullness of stagnation that they both feared... Did they both have similar reasons? "I never did either, before leaving Eyktol. Though I was raised in a similar environment. Ahnatep is the city of indulgence. Everyone loves to have fun. Drink, dance, play. I was more used to the grandeur of parties. My people are very good at those," the brunet reminisced fondly. If only he could've shown Savis the true meaning of making merry. Lhavitians did wonderfully well when it came to celebrating, but he couldn't help but still believe that his people were still the best at it. For all their flaunting and arrogance, he had to admit, with great pride, that Eypharians were truly the best in enjoying themselves. "Even Sivah appears sometimes." And such an honour it was whenever he graced such events. Gods knew how hard his father had tried to bring the Summer King to one of the many they'd hosted.

The weight of her words lingered in his ears. A tempting invitation to dig further, deeper. In time, he promised himself. Asking so much of her might end up frightening his newfound friend off. Or, Haneht could try a more subtle approach. "Oh? Have you found yourself a lover?" Three elbows nudged at her playfully with his teasing, emphasised by a playful waggle of his brows. His cheeky grin faded ever so slightly once his undead friend got straight to the point. "I was mildly bored, yes, but... I wanted to see you again." Lips pressing and thinning against each other, he flashed a muted smile at the ground as he confessed, "I didn't think you'd actually write back, though."

And though his next words were said in such a light, jestful manner, Haneht did indeed worry that such was to be the outcome of their meeting. "If you knew, I think you might be sorely disappointed." A laugh, dry and unnatural, followed, and he briefly glanced to the ground in silent contemplation before peering at her coyly from beneath his lashes. "But I'll show you mine if you show me yours."

[Savis Maren]

Anxiety has the strange effect on mortals, it seems. They begin to twitch and fidget. Do their minds harbour the same sort of finicky uncertainty as their hands? Surely, they'd have to, otherwise the unconscious mind wouldn't move the body in such ways, she mused, looking over Haneht with her silver eyes that seemed to only discover more and more as the time passed on. The eypharian boy then lowered his fingertips from his blouse to pick at the golden bracelet. She'd seen it before, but the Nuit didn't see a grand reason to mention it specifically. Vanity and beauty was in the eye of the beholder, and the Nuit's eyes showed both her condition of undeath and the precious noble metal she preferred most of all.

Silver. Reflective, fluid and prized all too little for the beauty it harbors. Though, with the eypharian countenance Haneht bears, I can see why he'd prefer gold, she reflected. It seemed that the young man's self-consciousness showed, and he ceased his manipulation of the golden bracelet as they continued down the Trail's path. Beauty hovered in every which direction, cascading falls roaring with the ferocity of countless droplets. It wasn't until she arrived here that the Nuit considered the potential of water, its pull from the peaks towards Semele's earth an astounding and surely lethal show of force. The cascade reflected Syna's light, an iridescence that flickered miniature rainbows along the Nuit's line of sight as she and the Eypharian boy spoke.

More and more, it seemed that the guards came down, and Haneht at last began to talk about a past she knew nothing about. Eyktol. The land of the Eypharians, perhaps? Ahnatep, the city of indulgence? Savis Maren never found pleasure in indulgence. Her gullet never demanded sustenance. Her flesh was foul and unliving. She craved the beauty that the eyes could see, and the light of knowledge which seemed to hover as a beacon, calling to her very soul. She'd indulged in some of the city's culture, but ever more did she crave. As she listened to Haneht and his prideful boasting of the parties within Ahnatep, a pleasant laughter escaped the nuit's lips. She nodded at his words, listening as he spoke of Sivah, an unfamiliar being to the nuit. By the way he spoke, it was some sort of deity. Gods held the nuit's interest in fleeting circles, with their worship seen as a distraction at best and dangerous folly at its worst.

If the nuit could blush, she'd certainly do so when the eypharian's three elbows nudged into her side. She coiled back, catching her balance in an easy step forward as the cheeky grin began to subside. Was Savis too insensitive? Was her directness a trouble for the child? Savis Maren failed in her navigation of social cues. She didn't understand the nuanaces of interaction, so stuck in her books and her musings. The nuit understood emotion, intent, and the way that aura revealed them to her. She understood the hearts of men and the foul, evil nature that they hid beneath physical beauty. Of course, Haneht seemed immune to those things, and she found his company pleasant even when he seemed to distance himself from her answers.

"Oh, you know. Just a few," she managed, attempting to suffuse sarcasm into a heart laugh before she listened to him in earnest and the smile cast back towards him. "I was so surprised when I went back to the Solar Winds and saw the letter waiting there! It was my first one and I'll keep it always. The only writing I've taken to nowadays is copious notetaking, the occasional copying at the library. All in efforts related to the hundrum efforts of an aspiring sorcerer." The nuit reached for one of Haneht's hands, pulling him forth to join her when the path split into a fork. Two bridges led in their opposing directions, but on the left there was a lovely and empty bench overlooking the falls.

Savis Maren took her seat first, raising her knees high on the bench in a comfortable position. Her tiny frame didn't bode well with the length of the seat, and she took her posture in order to rest her back against the surface. The falls continued their eternal passage, and Savis Maren considered her words carefully before she leaned back and allowed her eyes to fall shut. She silenced her thoughts, serenity flowing into the recesses of her mind before she said,

"Fine. I'll go first, you cowardly child," an easy chide in her tone before she winked at the Eypharian, then returned her gaze to the falls.

"We can start with our aspirations. I don't sleep, so I can't call them dreams, but one day, I hope to be known. Fortune is a means to an end, and one I prize as well, but being known and understood are the foremost ambitions that I bear in the depths of my soul. In this city of eternal light and incredible Towers, I hope to paint my name into the heavens. But, it's more than that, my dear boy. All of this unlife of mine, I've been a servant. A slave to a cold, dead master. An insignificant apprentice in a stronghold of powerful mages. A wandering specter in the lands of Sylira. Being invisible for so long... it's my hope to step forth from the darkness and never step into it again."

[Haneht]

9th, Winter 518AV

She saw him, nagged his mind. Savis could see everything, with her piercing silver eyes and astounding intuition. He could almost see a third eye sitting in the middle of her forehead, bearing down at him with similar intensity. And perhaps she did have one, invisible to the naked, untrained eyes. How far did her sight reach? How much of him could she read? The memory of his encounter with the Priestess of Leth's temple was summoned to the forefront of his mind. "You're reading me," He smiled, eyes flickering with a cauldron of mixed emotions. Awe, irritation, conflict, shame. Savis' unpolished social ettiquette was starting to gain his awareness, with occasional slips that revealed the brusqueness and lack of tact in her approaches. "I hope it's not Leth's Gift."

He knew how to do it too, though in a more traditional manner as compared to Savis' use of Auristics. From one's body language to the slighest waver of voice, Haneht had been trained to read such signs and use them for his own benefit. And to avoid the same being done to him, was also groomed to hide his mind from the prying eyes of others. Politics always was a messy affair. In spite of the fool that Haneht played, that he was in some ways, unintelligent could hardly be applied to him. Yet now, his mind was failing him. His eyes, his ears, straining and yet unable to provide him with much. Savis was an unreadable book - an old, mystic tome of secrets. Too stiff to read and understand, even when he sensed the loneliness and aches that lingered in her spirit. "I suppose I ought to study Magick too, if I'm to keep up with you. Auristics, Shielding. Maybe a little Reimancy - fire dancing seems fun." Savis bridged the forking of their path with an arm, and he rejoined her on the left, led towards an isolated, front-row seat to the trail's famed waterfalls.

A little pregnant pause fell upon them once they were seated. His undead companion nestled herself with her knees raised, tucking herself into a comfortable position that Haneht was not so fortunate to take himself. Instead, he simply leaned back into the bench, legs stretched and numerous hands settled either in his lap or at his sides. "Elders first," Haneht returned Savis' affectionate teasing with a cheeky grin.

She was incredibly straightfoward, having immediately dived into her aspirations and the roots of them. The brunet found himself debating how much he ought to divulge, how much he could. Most instances where he spoke of his past had been touch-and-go, skimming only the surface and denying anything that went much deeper into the abyss. "I think they call it a daydream." He offered encouragingly. While invisibility was something he didn't ever think he'd be able to relate to, Savis' former lack of freedom and choice greatly resonated with his own. "I'm an aspiring dancer," began the Eypharian as Savis concluded her own sharing. "My sisters brought me to my first Semhu performance as a child, and I was bewitched. Wanted to sing and dance, when I could barely look another in the eye beyond the family compound. They had me tried, found I was inclined towards it, and I've trained ever since. Had the shyness beaten out of me quickly enough. I used to dream of becoming a Semhu actor, but..." Trailing off, he gazed distantly away. He'd given it up when he left Ahnatep, no longer able to pursue it when it had become a painful reminder and a source of notable conflict. Even today, in his prime, he did not dance with the same passion he once did. The joy he felt was at times hollow, even when adrenaline heated his blood and tickled at his core. There were days where he questioned if he truly did love it, or if it had been his upbringing that had conditioned him into wanting to dance. Days where he felt as though he might hang his shoes for good. But what else could he do? It was all he was good at, all he had known. "I tired of it. Too archaic for my tastes. I dance for the Ethereal now. I'm not the best there, though. Not yet. But I reckon someday I will be amongst them." Haneht allowed himself to face her once more, a small smile turning his eyes into waning crescents that glinted with gold. "Then we could both be legends."

[Savis Maren]

Savis Maren shook her head as she watched the smile slide upon Haneht's visage. Then, the eypharian boy asked her a question, relating to Leth's gift. She knew nothing of what the Moon god bestowed onto his blessed, but she did know that what she did wasn't that. Savis Maren was certainly no social butterfly. She was direct with her questioning, and spoke plainly in a world full of silver-tongued politicians. Savis did not aspire like they did, with their minds in the clouds and their squabbles between one another so strange and foreign to her. The politics on Sahova were similar, but the undead based their machinations on merit and prowess: the tongue held less power there in her experience.

"I have to, Haneht. How else am I expected to truly know you? I'm an Aurist, dear boy. Not a devotee of Leth." she elaborated. The use of Auristics was, to the Nuit, bounty of knowledge waiting to be taken advantage of. To stare at the uncloaked soul of a person, to understand some of what they were... intuition could fill in the blanks, and pre-formed knowledge created a platform upon which the Nuit created her craft. Savis Maren hummed in thought before she listened to Haneht's aspirations. Auristics and Shielding were magicks known to the Nuit, but the term 'Reimancy' was just one she'd heard in passing. Her two trips to the Dawn Tower section of Bharani Library gave her a supposition of what Reimancy was. Elemental manipulation and creation seemed so contrary to the Nuit and the knowledge she possessed of djed.

Djed is a mystery even to the most learned practitioners. It's hardly a surprise that there are powers beyond the realm of my comprehension possible with the study of magic, she reassured herself before plunging into the depths of her aspirations before at last letting Haneht speak. Savis found it so easy to talk to Haneht, her expression and her aspirations pouring from her lips unfiltered and unprompted, specifically for the young eypharian to hear and him alone. At least, at this moment. Some, such as Madeira Craven, knew some of her hopes, but this boy would know of them without being able to directly assist in their realization.

At least... not yet, she mused, wondering in the depths of thought what she could make of Haneht Re Ahnatep. The Nuit listened to the boy's sharing, nodding in understanding as he explained his reasons for wanting to be an accomplished dancer. She offered an encouraging smile as he spoke, her arms folded in front of her as he expressed his desire to be the best.

Savis Maren understood such ambitions. She wanted to be unsurpassed as well. She wished to entrench herself in the arcane and emerge a master of the powers of djed. A lofty aspiration, but she had so many other dreams for herself as well.

"I'll be a legend. It's an inevitability," she reasoned, a playful wink, so contrary to her normally expressionless countenance, prefacing the rest of her thought. "Even if it takes decades, I'll remain sharp and only grow wiser and more adept while my peers grow old and decrepit. Though, I hope it won't come to that..." she added, a chuckle in her voice before she turned to face the eypharian. Savis Maren folded her legs underneath her, her body facing entirely in Haneht's direction as she told him,

"If you have these aspirations to learn magic, why compete with me? Auristics is known rather well to me... And Shielding? I can't say I have a teaching grasp on the subject matter, but I've taken a lot of notes on it. I could teach you..." she trailed off. The Nuit was uncertain. She wanted to help the eypharian, but did she want to teach him to read her? Surely, if he saw her as she could see him...

Stop, she insisted, letting her gaze, which fell towards the bench in her musings, rise up to meet Haneht's in earnest.

[Haneht]

9th, Winter 518AV

"You'll know what I want you to." Said the boy, unsmiling and uncharacteristically firm. It went unsaid, that for reasons that even he couldn't begin to explain that there was a great deal of himself that he did not want Savis to know of. Then his lips pulled back, playful and coquettish as though the display of force earlier hadn't occured. Cocking his head to the side, he found his gaze straying once more, to the sky, then the glistening falls and back to Savis. Searching for a map of sorts, a compass, constellations in broad daylight that might guide him through the uncharted waters he was inevitably steering towards. To know who he truly was... How much was at risk? How much was he to share? Was there a way he could keep both his wall and Savis?

You can't have everything, Haneht. Decide.

"But for starters," He finally offered after a bout of silence, "I'm the only son after three sisters. I married two of them off before I left." He glanced towards his bracelet, sat innocently on his uppermost left wrist and weighing infinitely more on his soul than it did his physical body. An ornament that brought him as much sorrow as it did joy. Rose petal lips pressed against each other firmly, pursing as he entertained a brief, but very risky idea. Something that might get his well-meaning but invasive companion to respect his boundaries a little more.

Gliding a thumb across the shiny gold surface, he returned his waning attention to the prideful mage, pleased by the conviction in her voice, the certainty that she would succeed. He believed it too. Believed in her. A tongue poked out, wet his lips and dissappeared just as quickly. "Savis Maren, Mistress of the Arts. Painter extraordinaire, peerless mage. Immortalised beyond just physicality. How I'd love to witness your rise." Praised the Eypharian in exagerrated encouragement, a light laugh rumbling deep in his chest in conjunction with Savis'. As the nuit repositioned her body, angled it towards the six-armed youth, he too turned a little more on his side to face her, arms casually resting atop the backrest of the bench. Shrugging, amber pools met hers in earnest, and Haneht vaguely wondered if Savis could see her own reflection in his gaze like he did hers. Eyes made for surprisingly good mirrors at times. He would know.

A sigh escaped him.

"I'd be honoured to learn from you. But I don't want to compete, Sav. Not with you at least. I just..." Want to protect myself. Want to hide and have my flaws be unseen, want to be perfect. "Want you to stop reading me like that. There are better ways to go about knowing someone. Like asking. Spending time with them. Coax it out of them gently, wait for them to decide when to tell you." The bracelet slid over his wrist, faint red markings erupting as it was pulled off in an almost painstakingly slow manner. Almost as though Haneht was being deliberate in marring his flesh, even if it was only temporarily. "If you force it, there'll be... collateral damage." The bracelet came off, and Haneht held it up before them both, admiring the way it glinted when he lifted it into the light.

"You said I was suffering. I'm sure you must've noticed whatever else it is that seems to bleeding off me," gaze flickering over to the nuit dispassionately, he flashed his pristinely white teeth in a disturbing smile and dusted the bracelet gently. "The third died six years ago. " Fingers clenched down on the memento, digging sharply into his palm. "And I held her through it."