Syntra
Baba Yaga
'There is no monster in front of me,' Verity said, and ah, could that be true? The princess seemed to separate her from her own actions, and that... well, to be honest, that had never occurred to the pirate. Wouldn't that be running away from her responsibilities, after all? Sanitizing that which could never truly be cleansed, nor should it? Except that, now that Iskra thought of it, that was exactly what she was doing with Verity! (Yes, she may have soiled her own ideals, and doing so had been her choice, but that wasn't all she was. Oh no, no, no. Reducing her to that would have been like looking at a mosaic, so, so colorful, and only focusing on a single dark fleck-- like seeing trees, indeed, and not realizing that they formed a forest. ...so, now that she could admit that, didn't Iskra deserve the same brand of consideration? The same willingness to acknowledge the good along with the bad? The Holy Vessel had had her believe she was but a worm at her feet, undeserving of basic decency, though that alone should have clued her in on the fact that, no, the opposite was true. The woman had been a false prophet, with lies spilling from her mouth every time she'd opened it! ...Iskra, you see, was a person, too. A person with a capacity for making mistakes, true, but also with the ability to correct them, and realizing that... well, it would probably take her a few days to process it all, to be frank. For now, though? For now, the pirate would bask in the sense of relief it brought, pure and unfiltered.)
"Thank you," she whispered, before wiping the wetness from her eyes. "Thank you, Verity. I... I think I needed to hear this, even if I wasn't aware of it. Do you know that feeling when, suddenly, everything falls into place? I wasn't trying to make it happen, but it did, and now I wonder whether this moment... well, whether it wasn't the entire point. All of it, I mean. Maybe our first attempt had to fail so catastrophically-- perhaps, without it, we wouldn't have been where we are now. And," shyly, Iskra averted her gaze, "I happen to like where we are now. Very much." Ah, yes, thorny was the path to victory, but that made it worthy of walking! Was the joy of persevering not all the greater if your feet were bleeding, or covered in blisters? Such was the wisdom they'd hammered into their soldiers' heads all those years ago, and Iskra couldn't find it in herself to disagree. "I don't know. I suppose that, in the end, it made us grow closer? It is hard to explain, but my heart, at least, feels that way. I do, too."
The guardian's words, then, were almost an afterthought-- something not that important next to her relationship with Verity transforming before her very eyes, like a caterpillar turning into a chrysalis. (What would it evolve in, huh? Iskra dared not guess what shapes would adorn that particular butterfly's wings, but somehow, that only made it... well, more exciting. Worthier to wait for, really.) "Thank you as well, my lady. Now, Verity, shall we head home? I believe that we have much to discuss."
***
Inure was waiting for them, as always, and once the duo boarded? They sailed off into the star-dotted darkness, like so many times before. (Still, something was fundamentally different, Iskra felt. In a way, it could perhaps be compared to the aftermath of an earthquake-- with earth itself torn asunder, everything else had moved in accordance, and... No, that isn't right, the pirate decided. An earthquake is destructive is nature, while what happened to us wasn't. In fact, it had been the very opposite of that! Maybe it was like a seed growing, then? Because, in order for that to occur, it first had to break its shell.)
Either way, Iskra was in no rush to get anywhere, really. 'The next trial shall find you,' the guardian had said, so looking for it would have been counterproductive, right? Well, that, and perhaps she was also entirely content just enjoying Verity's presence, now that the last barriers separating them had fallen. (Among all the joys this universe had to offer, the pirate still hadn't discovered anything that would trump the peace that could be found in Verity's lap-- in resting her head there, and allowing her to play with her hair. Ah, time itself seemed to stop whenever she did that! ...her fingers were softer than rose petals, truly, and from time to time, Iskra couldn't help but imagine them, uh, elsewhere.)
It was one of the slow days, and as usual, the two spent it in the library-- Iskra had decided to read to Verity from her favorite book, in part because she wished to know what she thought of a particular section. Just, what nuggets of wisdom would she manage to extract from it? Something similar to the ones she'd received, or a different message entirely? It seemed, however, that she would not be able to unearth that answer today.
"Captain!" Eran barged inside, not even bothering to knock. "Oh, hi, Verity," she offered the princess her sweetest, most genuine smile. "Hope you're doing well, friend. Have you scored already, hmm? Not to spoil anything, but I think your prey is just about ready to give in. Don't give up now! I bet a lot of money in your favor." Then, as if she suddenly remembered why she had come in the first place, the woman's expression fell. "Captain, listen, you're not gonna believe what's fucking happening now. It's outrageous! I was shopping for some ingredients, and one of the reputable stores we're getting them from started offering space turtle flesh. No, really. They're an endangered species, for fuck's sake! But nooo, those damn poachers would just die without stuffing their pockets with gold, apparently. So I was thinking, what if we taught them a lesson? Since we're committing good deeds now and shit."
"Thank you," she whispered, before wiping the wetness from her eyes. "Thank you, Verity. I... I think I needed to hear this, even if I wasn't aware of it. Do you know that feeling when, suddenly, everything falls into place? I wasn't trying to make it happen, but it did, and now I wonder whether this moment... well, whether it wasn't the entire point. All of it, I mean. Maybe our first attempt had to fail so catastrophically-- perhaps, without it, we wouldn't have been where we are now. And," shyly, Iskra averted her gaze, "I happen to like where we are now. Very much." Ah, yes, thorny was the path to victory, but that made it worthy of walking! Was the joy of persevering not all the greater if your feet were bleeding, or covered in blisters? Such was the wisdom they'd hammered into their soldiers' heads all those years ago, and Iskra couldn't find it in herself to disagree. "I don't know. I suppose that, in the end, it made us grow closer? It is hard to explain, but my heart, at least, feels that way. I do, too."
The guardian's words, then, were almost an afterthought-- something not that important next to her relationship with Verity transforming before her very eyes, like a caterpillar turning into a chrysalis. (What would it evolve in, huh? Iskra dared not guess what shapes would adorn that particular butterfly's wings, but somehow, that only made it... well, more exciting. Worthier to wait for, really.) "Thank you as well, my lady. Now, Verity, shall we head home? I believe that we have much to discuss."
***
Inure was waiting for them, as always, and once the duo boarded? They sailed off into the star-dotted darkness, like so many times before. (Still, something was fundamentally different, Iskra felt. In a way, it could perhaps be compared to the aftermath of an earthquake-- with earth itself torn asunder, everything else had moved in accordance, and... No, that isn't right, the pirate decided. An earthquake is destructive is nature, while what happened to us wasn't. In fact, it had been the very opposite of that! Maybe it was like a seed growing, then? Because, in order for that to occur, it first had to break its shell.)
Either way, Iskra was in no rush to get anywhere, really. 'The next trial shall find you,' the guardian had said, so looking for it would have been counterproductive, right? Well, that, and perhaps she was also entirely content just enjoying Verity's presence, now that the last barriers separating them had fallen. (Among all the joys this universe had to offer, the pirate still hadn't discovered anything that would trump the peace that could be found in Verity's lap-- in resting her head there, and allowing her to play with her hair. Ah, time itself seemed to stop whenever she did that! ...her fingers were softer than rose petals, truly, and from time to time, Iskra couldn't help but imagine them, uh, elsewhere.)
It was one of the slow days, and as usual, the two spent it in the library-- Iskra had decided to read to Verity from her favorite book, in part because she wished to know what she thought of a particular section. Just, what nuggets of wisdom would she manage to extract from it? Something similar to the ones she'd received, or a different message entirely? It seemed, however, that she would not be able to unearth that answer today.
"Captain!" Eran barged inside, not even bothering to knock. "Oh, hi, Verity," she offered the princess her sweetest, most genuine smile. "Hope you're doing well, friend. Have you scored already, hmm? Not to spoil anything, but I think your prey is just about ready to give in. Don't give up now! I bet a lot of money in your favor." Then, as if she suddenly remembered why she had come in the first place, the woman's expression fell. "Captain, listen, you're not gonna believe what's fucking happening now. It's outrageous! I was shopping for some ingredients, and one of the reputable stores we're getting them from started offering space turtle flesh. No, really. They're an endangered species, for fuck's sake! But nooo, those damn poachers would just die without stuffing their pockets with gold, apparently. So I was thinking, what if we taught them a lesson? Since we're committing good deeds now and shit."