Now I can't help but wonder how she'll look under the scrutiny of Aranwen's piercing golden eyes.

*whisperings*

"... Is she always that intense?" 

"No, but she's had several bad experiences with magic users in recent years. Just don't make any sudden movements."

Shiv and Cedric nearly got themselves into an apology loop

As far as puppy eyes go, Aranwen's willpower has been fortified by a sticky-fingered peach attempting to employ the same tactic in the past

Now where'd she last leave that spray bottle...

"Sara" didn't exist prior to their journey, so, yes, it is true that she was 'met' along the way.

Best kind of truths to share without lying, especially over alcohol

So given it was one or two days from then... That puts the scheduling for that at... About 16 days...

A nice even number... Fits on an octagon... 

Start of the first day... 15 days remain...? 

Maybe. We will have to see 

PS speaking of Left Eye, in random writings, I keep finding myself wanting to refer to the Left Eye also as the 'Dreaming Eye', even if that is inaccurate 

Like I keep seeing my hypothetical khr'dun call one eye Wakeful and the other Dreaming. But I just couldn't put a finger on why...

What's the timing like on the phases of the moon in present timeline, you think?  

Knowing that some portion of the evening will be retelling of the past in the Bent Copper, and that she is like as not to get lost in the past, Aranwen will very likely be visiting a few different locales in the evening, including the Long Gamble.

At least in the beginning; she does plan to join Ch'dau, Garion and Evin a bit later.

Addendum - whoo, that's one heck of a rough journey for Einar. Looking forward to seeing more of him. I'm very curious now...

I missed the ride, Eol!

Sorry about that, I should have made clear what was happening before I got to writing with Sara

Addendum - Whoo, that is one heck of a dream sequence... hoping Cedric shakes off the nightmares

Sara stared at the metal knife on Mhera's counter. Once again, she reached for it. The closer her hand came to it, the worse the shaking got. Her lips twisted, teeth grinding as she clenched her hand in frustration. She could tell it had gotten worse. Why?

That other night replayed in her mind's eye. What would have happened if it was a true attack, and Aranwen had needed to support Ch'dau with a blade - any blade? If she had struck from the bladeless stance, and wrest the sword from an attacker, what then? What could she do with a blade when she wavered with uncertainty and regret? Sara sighed, but before she could think on it further, movement caught her eye. As her golden eyes glanced through the window, they met with the curious, yet scared, eyes of another. They quickly slipped out of sight from the window, and Sara sighed once more.

"Too bad it's not simply someone here to admire your features," Mhera observed, "Sam could just cuff 'em over the head and be done with it," she paused a moment as she regarded Sara, "If you didn't yerself, first."

Sara shook her head, "It seems as if I'm scaring away some of our customers lately," She sighed.

Mhera shrugged her shoulders, "'appens. It's a quiet town, usually, so talk of a fight spreads like wildfire from house to house. And your Samuel certainly looks the part-"

"He only defended himself," Sara protested.

"I know; it ain't me you need to tell that," Mhera chuckled, "You two are far from the first to venture all the way here, to Meadowbrook, in search of peace and quiet. But rumours tend to have some hint of truth underneath the undesired tale put together over it, and the thought that you, of all people, are far more capable of battle than you look... that draws curiosity."

"I am not capable of battle," Sara replied, averted her gaze from Mhera.

Mhera nodded slowly, "But you were, weren't you?"

Sara's gaze fell towards the knife once more. There, she could see both blades she had lost. The first lost because she had to catch something even more precious than it, before it slipped from her fingers. The second lost because there was no path to victory, only the path walled in by her inability to read duplicity. Her eyes flared with hatred as her heart beat faster. Would that she could have just cut him down, before he made his move. Make safe the path.

She felt a small hand at her shoulder, and Sara blinked, turning to see Mhera with concern in her eyes, "Forget I asked," Mhera said, gently, "If you need, go ahead and head home early," She offered, "Pushing yourself to learn while your mind is elsewhere is a good way to put together a wrong mixture in the future."

Sara nodded, "Thank you," She replied.

Later on, when Ch'dau offered her to accompany him to Calestra, she eagerly accepted, to his surprise.

She was magically aged when Spiderlily reimagined her. Spiderlily needed her with her mind sharpened and her power strengthened. It might sound good, but it is not without its problems. You'll get to see said problems later.

That's the nature of many fae stories. Appearances are deceiving. What seems like a beneficial thing is not always. 

I am the fae

Just kidding  

Spiderlily and young Morgana have been on my mind recently, but I might get a glimmer of a 'present' piece for them...

Or maybe another Sae+Ara one. Hard to say. My dreams are chaotic at times, sometimes difficult to focus

You know where to look to see the how (at least after I get more of it written), but yes, by Spiderlily's care, Morgana never lost her sense of self. If Spiderlily wanted that to happen though, it absolutely could have...

There are some similarities with the Borg Queen in further thought. 

And not just because one of A'nia's translations is queen  

Thankfully, assimilation is not an obsession of the A'nia in general

For an individual fae, their name holds particular meaning to them. In a realm of chaos and dreams, names provide stability to form and mind. The A'nia, in particular, hold very literal names. Songstorm looks like a storm elemental with music surrounding her; Starflower looks like she is made of starlight.

Mirror Sprites are sprites that assume the name of a mortal, and use that to steal and embody their reflection.

If, on a mortal's name day, they give up their name and accept one offered by an A'nia, they become irrevocably connected to that fae. What happens to them then is up to the A'nia who named them. Some might not do anything, simply taking idle watch over the mortal's antics in their and other domains. Others might reimagine the mortal, turning them into a fae themselves to join in the revelry of the other a'rna in their domain.

For a mortal to survive a'niorna unchanged, they must not lose their sense of self...

Ocyari steals all the cookies. And she uncovers all the secrets while listening to things she shouldn't be listening to. While munching cookies. 

Kithran nabs shinies, Ocyari nabs pastries. 

"If you can steal a cookie, you can steal jewels."

"Not from Aranwen" 

"Just watch me."

"Don't say I didn't warn you"

*few moments later* grumblegrumble"golden eyes"grumble

"Told you" 

Mind is wandering to a hypothetical 'what if' of Aranwen as a Kazari. Two runts rather than one, one silver, one golden, initially rivals in the sense of trying to outdo the other but growing into a bond where they are willing to fight tooth and claw for the other. Even if it leads to both of them being beat up by the twins or other cubs

I can't help but get glimmers of sights at Capasha and other places with the looks into the pasts for both Ch'dau and Kithran. You say it gets away from you but I think it's amazing and fun when that happens

Just imagine Ch'dau sharing some details with Aranwen

"That was how you trained? My goodness. That is a degree of intensity I am not sure I'd have survived were I in the same place, at the same age."

"Hmph, you say so, but to hear you talk of the training you've done, you've done so for more turns than I've lived."

"Perhaps it isn't so different... Just different paths to get there."

Saeriel and Aranwen, visiting with and helping out Tara and Kithran

Saeriel and Tara resonating with each other to the degree where Sae could have helped Tara and offer emotional support and healing...

But that didn't happen

I do have to say that Saina's mother looks decidedly less overtly creepy than the RWBY character Much more normal looking, even if she has very expensive taste in clothes

Unfortunately searching for spiderweb patterned dress of course brings up Halloween themed clothing where the web is obnoxiously obvious; the pattern on the dress here is much more subtle and elegant, in my mind...

The problem with searching for references that don't exist and I don't have space/material/time to sew one up and take a picture of

383 E.R, Yaanasul

It had been a couple years since their graduation, so to speak, but Aranwen and Saeriel had only begun to become acquainted with their patrol route around Mealamain. They couldn't help but feel more tense around the western side of their patrol, given it bordered other kingdoms, but neither of them could deny that it was certainly never uninteresting. Most recently, they answered a call for help to fend off some predators that were attacking a merchant convoy. As the convoy moved on, Saeriel and Aranwen stayed behind a moment.

Saeriel sighed, watching where the remaining wildcats had fled back into the forest as she sheathed her blade, "I would rather we didn't have to do that," she observed, "They're just seeking food, after all."

"It can't really be helped," Aranwen replied, checking her vambrace where she had interjected it against an oncoming bite, and frowning at the damage to the leather straps, "Horses would be quite a catch for predators like those."

"Still, I do wonder if a member of Adaron's clergy could have resolved this without it coming to that," Saeriel murmured, indicating the slain cat on the road.

"Maybe. But we're not priestesses, Sae. We can only do what we can," Aranwen reassured Saeriel, reaching over to hold her hand.

Saeriel nodded, a gentle smile returning to her face, "Yes... you're right, Ara."

"Now then, shall we make certain that the convoy has made its stop at Yaanasul?" Aranwen asked.

"Yes. It'll be a nice place for us to rest too, this evening," Saeriel smiled, "We've been on the forest paths a long time."

Aranwen and Saeriel followed the path of the convoy to Yaanasul, a quiet little town in the forest. After checking in with the town guard, they walked onto the paths. Saeriel's gaze tilted upward at the sunset flickering through the tree canopy above, painting the leaves deep colours, and she smiled.

"Wonder if we can find a spot where we can see the stars," Saeriel murmured curiously.

Aranwen chuckled, wrapping an arm around Saeriel, "I thought the idea tonight was to get a good rest indoors this time," she smiled, her golden eyes sparkling with mischief, "Though, how much rest might depend on how much you want," she whispered.

Saeriel blushed lightly, leaning beside Aranwen, "That... does sound lovely."

Together, they approached the inn, but Saeriel suddenly stopped, pulling Aranwen back from the door. Aranwen looked at Saeriel with a raised brow, her head tilted in concern as she saw Saeriel rubbing her forehead, "What's wrong?"

"I'm getting... a bad feeling," Saeriel replied, her voice quiet and barely audible in the evening breeze whistling through the trees, "Like there's a chill..."

Aranwen frowned, "I don't feel anything, Sae, though you've always been more sensitive to the coming of winter. Do you see anything?"

Saeriel shook her head as her violet eyes refocused on Aranwen's golden eyes, "I didn't see anything. It was as if there was going to be a vision or something, but it was just black for a moment."

Aranwen looked back to the inn, before nodding to herself and taking a step back, "Let's camp nearby instead, then."

"We could see if there's another place to stay," Saeriel offered.

Aranwen shook her head, smiling softly at Saeriel, "I trust your feelings. Besides, maybe we will find a spot we can see the stars..."

* * *

Inside, at one of the tables, a sandy-haired little girl lay on the lap of her mother, stirring now and then and twitching in her peaceful slumber. Her mother was a noble looking woman with sharp features, long blond hair that curled about her face and framed it well with a violet jeweled circlet. She wore a red silken dress, embroidered with white threads in patterns reminiscent of a beautiful spider's web. Her gaze lingered on the door to the outside, even as she listened to the man opposite her with one hand gently combing through the sleeping girl's hair.

"- are you listening?" The man she had been in conversation with asked.

The woman turned to him and nodded, "Yes, I am," she replied, "And I think you may find that for how far I've travelled, the wares in my carriage are well worth..."

... The mercantile negotiations continued well into the evening.

I seem to have an affinity towards developing horror-themes, and I suspect I have done the same to others at other occasions for different systems/stories/concepts

I also imagine it kind of shiny, but I started with a white mask in the picture and am not fully adept at implementing shiny-ness into the picture. Kind of like an obsidian or onyx shiny though is what I imagine

I fiddled around with a picture I found just googling masks and this is about what I imagine whenever I say 'Morgana's Mask', except not always with a red jewel in the forehead

Now I've got the movie in my head and just replace the Phantom with Morgana in that scene and aaaaaaaaa

Why so silent, dear attendees? Did you think that I had left you for good? She looks directly at Kithran and Aranwen, Have you missed me?

In any case, I can just imagine that, if she's present there, people just overall avoiding her and giving her a wide berth... and then Kithran and Aranwen like '... why did we think this was a good idea?! She doesn't recognize us does she!?'

Ch'dau bodyguard seems like the best setup to go with there, or skulking about on the roof ready to dive in when Ara and Kith get in trouble...

*insert link to the masquerade song in Phantom of the Opera*

Masquerade! Paper faces on parade
Masquerade! Hide your face so the world will never find you
Masquerade! Every face a different shade
Masquerade! Look around - there's Her mask behind you
Masquerade! Grinning yellows, spinning reds
Masquerade! Take your fill - let the spectacle astound you
Masquerade! Burning glances, turning heads
Masquerade! Stop and stare at the sea of smiles around you
Masquerade! Seething shadows breathing lies
Masquerade! You can fool any friend who ever knew you
Masquerade! Leering satyrs, peering eyes
Masquerade! Run and hide - but Her face will still pursue you...

I might have modified the lyrics a biiiit....