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--- sessions:worldbuilding:2019-12-8 [2020/01/08 00:51] – shyriath
+++ sessions:worldbuilding:2019-12-8 [2023/09/18 15:05] (current) – external edit 127.0.0.1
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 "Shyriath can command rocks to do his bidding," An-uxhwi observed. "Could a sufficiently powerful witch with similar powers uproot whole mountains?"
-It was a minor point of interest, of course. The greater, far more interesting question to pursue was: ''What can we do to prevent this future?'' An-uxhwi intended to ask it, but it was best to ask only one question at a time. Besides, the conversation would naturally flow that way. That was, after all, why there were talking about this subject in the first place.}}
+It was a minor point of interest, of course. The greater, far more interesting question to pursue was: //What can we do to prevent this future?// An-uxhwi intended to ask it, but it was best to ask only one question at a time. Besides, the conversation would naturally flow that way. That was, after all, why there were talking about this subject in the first place.}}
 {{wst>shyriath|"No," replied Shyriath, "not one. Even if the power was there, trying to use it that way would kill them. //Many// witches with that power, all working together - maybe, but a very big maybe. Even then, it would exhaust them quickly to move it more than a fraction of an inch. They'd have more luck tearing it into boulders and rocks and throwing those."
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 She'd promised herself, at the beginning, that she would not go to the Citadel. She'd already known what might happen if she did. A cure, and the possibility of a long life, more likely awaited her there than anywhere else, and a possible end to the danger to the world - but what of the cost?
-But here, now, she felt a need to reconsider the decision. How ''did'' the end of the world compare to the end of the Citadel? If she could save millions of lives at the cost of mere thousands, might that not be the correct choice?
+But here, now, she felt a need to reconsider the decision. How //did// the end of the world compare to the end of the Citadel? If she could save millions of lives at the cost of mere thousands, might that not be the correct choice?
 One thing was for certain: to make that choice made the prospect of a cure utterly moot. Having to live long enough to make it, and to watch the consequences unfold - possibly even ensure that they unfolded - would be penance enough without having to dwell on it for another twenty or thirty cycles afterward.
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 {{wst>shyriath|There was a long pause, though not quite a silence, because it was possible to make out the faint and blanket-muffled sound of someone trying not to sob. Finally, in a thick voice, Evrith managed, "You lost two of your parents when you were younger. If you had known how to save them - at the cost of your life - would you have? Even knowing their sorrow?"}}
+{{wst>pinkgothic|The question stirred something in An-uxhwi, although perhaps not quite what had been intended. That said, it successfully distracted him from that she hadn't at all answered his question, at least for the time being.
+Mild confusion and reluctance tugged at his posture. "...perhaps," he said, softly. "Although I don't see how I could have; given the torrent was strong enough to tear my mother to her death, had I tried, presumably we would simply all have perished."
+There was no petulance or annoyance in his voice, not as though he were trying to assert himself against some alternate universe's fate, instead simply the confusion of one who had little emotional access to the point Evrith was making.
+He surely cared about his family, both present and past, but the desert was known to be a harsh mistress - one grieved and one moved on, carrying the spirits and wishes of the dearest departed into the future.
+He sighed softly, at wit's end how to console someone who seemed hell-bent on contradicting her own advice. Perhaps it would simply have to run its course. Quietly, he draped his arms and wings over Evrith, to the degree the geometry and her willingness to tolerate it allowed.}}
+{{wst>shyriath|Not the level of commitment she'd been searching for; but then, Evrith didn't know whether any answer would have helped. Even if An-uxhwi had given a clear 'yes' or 'no', then... what? Would it have excused what she'd failed to do, or confirmed the failure?
+What he would have done, really, didn't matter. //She// had failed, because there had been a time when she hadn't done her best. They were dead because of //her//.
+Everyone else might die because of her.
+The feel of arms and wings surprised her, short-circuiting her downward spiral. She lifted her head out the blankets enough to give him a brief, uncertain look. //What was he-?//
+A brief look of anguished surprise crossed her face, and then she pressed her muzzle into his neck, silently weeping.}}
+{{wst>pinkgothic|The fervour of her response surprised An-uxhwi a little - he had expected her, at best, to passively accept that she was being petted by a xtauh, at worst to push him away with more strength than necessary. Instead, he found his arms gently looping around her neck, shifting his body to let her rest her muzzle a little more comfortably.
+His right forepaw traced down the back of her neck with a gentle touch, a bit uncertain in its pacing, in part out of the unexpected usefulness of his own gesture, in part because he was still perplexed about her state and unwillingness to listen to the very reason she herself espoused.
+The 'hypocrisy' - assuming one wished to call it that - didn't matter, not directly, but the more her thoughts were opaque to him, the less he could do anything about her state, and he did not want her to be sad. In that, the current embrace was a mixed blessing, and he simply held her, hoping that this support was one that would give her a little peace.}}
+{{wst>shyriath|Perhaps it was just the fact of being hugged. Evrith hadn't been hugged in... well, certainly her brother had never hugged her. Regardless, it made her feel better, and gradually pushed her sense of futility back down and out of sight.
+In its place came a certain amount of embarrassment. She slowly pulled her face away from An-uxhwi, and muttered, "Sorry. I'm just, er... this happens to me, sometimes."}}
+{{wst>pinkgothic|An-uxhwi's gaze slipped down to meet her eyes with curiosity and a friendly encouragement. He seemed to think about the strange apology for a while, without hiding that he thought it somewhat strange in the process.
+Then, softly, each word cautiously advancing: "Is it that different from a wound? I would think you need not apologise for bleeding from it. Perhaps, at some point, we may find the means to mend it. Much of our journey may be on foot - but perhaps some of it is also in our minds, and perhaps that will be just as difficult, for both of us, and just as important that we walk it together."
+He seemed firm with whatever emotion was driving him, but it did not seem to be any traditional form of love. It didn't quite seem to be blind reverence, either, with how much he was willing to argue with her.
+Perhaps he really had decided that she was his quest - that he would support her, regardless how it manifested. He kept his arms around her neck, loosely, cautious smile friendly. Vexing. More like an unruly disciple than a lover, certainly, with emotions occasionally orthogonal to her own. But definitely close, and likely trivial to pull closer, if she ever dared.}}
+{{wst>shyriath|No matter how Evrith had tried, she'd never quite grasped the full reasons behind An-uxhwi's devotion. Surely they went beyond simple gratitude, though she understood well enough that love, as she would think of it, was not involved either.
+Regardless, it was humbling.
+It was also (she felt unable to deny) something she almost certainly did not deserve, but it was becoming increasingly clear that she was going to receive it regardless, and probably would until one of them died - unless she dismissed him far more emphatically than she was willing to do.
+"I... would like that," she replied, slowly. And she meant it: it was very nearly the most comforting prospect she'd considered in the last three cycles.
+And perhaps... once her own mission had ended, and if she was still alive... perhaps then she could consider the futures possible with him.}}