Life's Weaving Web [End]

[Greenie]

Marigold couldn't help but despair over her brother. Indivar had been such a sweet brother for most of her life and, well, even if he'd always leaned towards being overly dependent and incapable of maturity, it hadn't made him a bad person. Something, though, had caused him to snap, and even though it had been months since... it happened... she still had no idea what it was. She'd noticed him becoming dispassionate with life, yes, but figured it was just one of his phases; rarely was her beloved brother actually happy. He had always tended to strive for barely content.

What had changed on that fateful day, that one specific trip to the market? Had she said something wrong to make him feel more unhappy, more self-conscious? Had Lilac said something hurtful before they'd left, or worse, their other brothers? Had Mother, as usual, been lax in her parenting?

So many possibilities but no answers, and "Indivar," as he was now, was hardly forthcoming with his previous being's feelings. As if that hard, cold-hearted creature gave a damn about his body's past. "Oh, Indivar.... I failed you, Indivar.." The mix sighed under her breath, and paused in her pacing to fling herself onto a bench and stare moodily up at the sky.

[The Jenn]

The city's public parks were an excellent venue for people-watching. Rasha could settle in one place, behave as though he was merely resting drowsily, and observe the city's population through half-lidded gold eyes as they passed the stone wall of the fountain. He wore a small black mask in a common enough masquerade style to conceal the elaborate golden markings on his face and his wings were drawn up comfortably over his torso, arms tucked beneath them. His lack of a rank remained concealed until he needed to move, and even then people normally assumed that he was a darker Suit and didn't notice.

In the course of his people-watching, he made note of many individuals. There was the muttering Corvie who couldn't seem to figure out whether he wanted to approach the girl out walking her Ace or let her pass unbothered. There was a rather fascinating Solandria mix who seemed to be doing his best not to die of heatstroke while carrying a heavy pack on his back.

And then there was this colorful girl, pacing and muttering to herself. He identified the Josiggy in her markings easily, but couldn't quite tell whether the purple was Torquehelm, Corvie, or Villa. She appeared to be quite agitated in her movements. Eventually she flung herself down onto a bench near the fountain he rested against, saying something about...

...Indivar?

He knew that name. Whether or not it was the same person... he knew the name.

"Excuse me, young lady, but is this Indivar perhaps ungainly?" he asked her mind in a wispy voice, wings fluffing against his front. His eyes watched her closely. Rude intrusion or not, he couldn't quite help himself. He'd never yet found evidence of the names that he knew, or the souls that he's inherited. "Graceless in some way?"

[Greenie]

[[Sorry for dropping the ball on this one, Jenn! Life totally overran my posting ambition for a while there..]]

Marigold simply sat there, feeling as though she was drowning in her horrible thoughts, when a sudden voice out of nowhere made her nearly jump out of her skin.. and fall off the bench. She flailed and scrambled for purchase on the plastic-coated bench, failed to get any, and hit the grass with a short but very feminine shriek. Her heart pounding, she froze in place, her eyes darting around for who had spoken. No one was close... a lady walking an Ace, a Corvie following them a ways off... a heavy-set Solandrian walking away.

Too startled to even look over at the fountain, she slowly pushed herself to her feet and stared down at her paws, quickly reliving what the.. voice.. had said. Was Indivar ungainly? it had asked. Was he graceless?

There were voices in her head asking her if Indivar was a clutz.

She was losing it.

Marigold closed her eyes and forced herself to take a deep breath, then hopped back into the bench and focused on not falling off again. If she was going off the deep end, she was going to do it without bruises.

[The Jenn]

And he'd just startled the poor girl quite terribly, hadn't he? What with her already so jumpy... that hadn't been his intent, but in retrospect, had been most likely unavoidable. He simply did not wish to draw undue attention to himself, and so speaking at a distance often proved the simplest means of contacting others.

Did she even need to see him and know that he spoke? Perhaps not. He glanced at the water in the fountain as he sent his next communication.

"My sincerest apologies, miss. I did not intend to startle you and apologize for my part in your descent. I simply noted your mention of the name 'Indivar' and could not remain unaffected. That name holds some small significance for me. I beg that you answer my question. I shall repeat it for your benefit. Is the Indivar you know at all uncoordinted?"

Unable to pretend disinterest, he looked back up from the lightly splashing water until he found her face.

[Greenie]

Marigold stared up at the sky, baffled with her sudden apparent lack of sanity. She'd never heard voices in her head before. She'd never even had a nervous breakdown! Mama called her "sturdy" most of the time, and her siblings tended to complain because she never took the time to even whine. So why now, of all times? Clearly thinking about Indivar had caused this... maybe she was more stressed than she'd thought.

She sighed as the voice ran through her mind again. Well, whatever, at least it wasn't telling her to go off killing innocent women and children or something horrible. It was just asking questions. Might as well humor her subconscious and answer, right? Maybe she'd feel better afterwords. "He used to be," Mari started, then shrugged to herself. "He's not... not anymore. Not since the... the well." She paused and swallowed visibly. "Now he's more elegant than Papa."

[The Jenn]

Rasha considered the possible meanings of 'the well' and wasn't quite sure he caught the girl's drift. Then again, some modern changes of language still eluded him. This might be one of those instances. Obviously there had been a change, though, possibly due to the actions of his previous host. The feline had certainly got around.

"This seems to have been a mildly upsetting transition. I apologize for digging at an uncomfortable memory. Regardless, I thank you for answering the question. Your answer brings up several more, but none that I'm able to articulate at this time. They need a while to form, I think. Hopefully I did not disrupt your day too severely. What is your name, that I might remember you for future questioning if the need arises? There are still many aspects of my prior life for which I lack an answer."

[Greenie]

Marigold paused, her thoughts visible on her expression as she replayed the voice's words in her head. If this was her subconscious, it had one heck of a horrible memory - like she didn't know what her own name was! She could imagine, oh, making up some new name for herself or something silly, but not asking her for her name.

"You don't even know my name?" She asked, almost disdainfully. "Somehow I figured when I finally flipped my lid, I'd be more creative than that," She muttered, and rubbed at her eyes. She seemed to dismiss the rest of his words almost entirely, mostly because they made little sense to her. Prior lives were far beyond her understanding, or particular interest; if her craziness wanted to convince her she'd lived several past lives, it was going to have to try harder than that.

[The Jenn]

Remaining silent for several moments, Rasha considered where they may have had a breakdown in communication. Most likely his method of speech again. Mmm. Telepathy really wasn't very common among this generation, was it? Perhaps Clubs were using it less.

"I believe you may be under some illusion that my voice is coming from within your own psyche. I assure you that it is not. I am my own separate, autonomous being, and in no way affiliated with your mind beyond communication. I am sitting to your left, next to the fountain. My sincerest apologies. I had hoped that an introduction would not be necessary. This was perhaps overly rude of me. My name is Rasha. You might note my mask. I am a Torquehelm."

To further illustrate his point, he raised one wing slightly when she looked in his direction. No need to cause further confusion.