Content Warnin's:

Past life trauma. Kidnappin. Threats to beat a gerl senseless then heal her to do it again. The a SECOND kidnappin. This one softer and talks of not valuing own safety. Um... No smutt. woops. Child panic attack. Cracking eggs not ready to be hatched. Talk of spiliting soul to make the other half a bebe to help a cutie. dissconnect from body wribble. Frame being just a slimegerl with a garden inside.

"What do you mean stepped out?" I demand of the silly Doll who greets me at the door here in the basement of the Library Spire.

"Madam Augusta saw an invitation in the offerings above, asked this one to keep the rest private until her return. Other than it is of no threat to anyone. Just... a passing opportunity she couldn't refuse." Gebetshure replies with more than one smile.

Just... stare at them. Trying to decide if this Doll is worth pressing for more answers.

But... I put this off. Waiting until Calix and Rufus and their gaggle was off. Days after my promised time had passed. Just too anxious and willing to take any excuse to avoid this Divine.

Even with this new shell to keep the most wretched aspects of myself hidden.

"Would you like this one to tell the Madam you wanted to see her first thing upon her return? Even have an appointment scheduled?" They ask with nothing but sweet pointed expectancy.

"No thank you, Gebetshure. Nothing so..." I pause, trailing off and letting out a huff of a sigh. "Yes, fine, but no appointment. Just have her reach out and we'll go from there. Also pass along my... apologies. I felt my obligations to ensure all was well with Calix's family trip preceded what will be a quite... involved conversation."

Augusta's lover or consort or... whatever word they'd use, pauses. Considers for a few moments while those extra mouths purse in thought. Speaking up after a nod. "This one thinks the Madam would consider this a good first step. Yes. It will convey these words for you, Mistress Lynette."

Then the Doll steps back and shuts the door very nearly in my face. Leaving me stunned for at least three heartbeats before letting out a muffled snort of annoyed amusement.

What might have been howling snarling words of an old cunt about how to handle mouthy Dolls just… a soft echo now. The Frame’s filtration folds doing a wondrous job keeping the nonsense of the old spaced well away from the current muses of the now.

And Elevar will get a kick out of that. These Dolls taking to such... brash words for me. Openly and without fear.

And as I make my way up the steps and back out onto the grounds... I reach out to my twin. Who I can feel is still in our Spire. [So, turns out Augusta unavailable. And I find myself with an empty evening. Would you... like to try and finish that gift we've been considering for Adaline?]

Elevar hesitates, and I can feel her worry bubble up at that. [Unavailable? As in she's sitting with another Doll or...?]

[Apparently she's stepped out. And either Sekrhús didn't notice, or just... didn't tell me. Either way Gebetshure offered me very little information other than she'll be back eventually.]

Can feel her sigh at that, grumbling this news to a nearby Xafra even. [Well... That's less than wonderful. I'm sorry. But yes, I'd adore trying to finish up our project. Meet me in our study?]

[Sounds perfect. I'll be up in a bit. Just let me check on a few things.] I agree.

I begin to move across the grounds, intending to sift through this new form’s folds and many pockets to ensure nothing unexpected is growing between while moving to pull up my link to Sikkina's Archive.

To make sure my daughter and my Doll are finding better sleep than they ever found apart. Considering...

Still haven't asked if she'd like me to be something else to her. Not just because I've been infected with the spirit shredding fear that comes alongside love. But... But because their are Threads that must be carefully cut. Old bonds that could ruin her if I do that wrongways. If I was simply adopting her this would be simple. Easy even.

But she is born from my Threads and corpses and is rife with sympathetic fear of–

A jerk in my considerations as a spike of worry from Elevar pulls me from the muses like the first lightning on the crown of a summer storm.

A gerl from the Driftdream has manifested before her and Xafra.

Nadine. And... wreathed in the form of a Sun-Blessed?

Moonshite. Was hoping I was wrong about it being her of Xafra's originals that bore His spores upon her death and forging into the Driftdream.

So I cut short my other errands and make my way there. Find them still in the kitchen area we met Calix and his traveling gaggle with.

Nadine is kneeling before my twin and our Xafra as I stop in the doorway. Form of Physis covered with budding vibrant growths. Regal even, especially for a girl who wanted nothing more than to be a humble village’s blacksmith.

Raise an eyebrow and lean against the frame, "Well, as much distaste as I have for the reasons, I must admit that you do look a flower tilting into full blossom, Nadine"

"Perfect timing, Lynette." She says quietly to me with a sad smile before turning back to Xafra. "I am a Smith. Not one of Bondsmith Arts, but a Smith nonetheless, and so it is my duty and obligation to temper steel and hammer out weak points. My Goddess Xafra... Bloodprice Binding - Father's Madness." With the words and a sickening swirl of Nomos that pours from Xafra's throat, she falls to the floor as Nadine stands.

Don't even need a blink of my twin's heartbeat to understand… And act.

Ah. The threat would be from within. Of course. Krelliva and Feryudra a distraction for him to weave this net.

[Blitzköder] I snap and ride the twisting of false lightning to stand before a loom over this gerl as crackling fury tears furrows into the air around.

Spire shivering, establishing pointed dominance and focus combined with a Witch's training to find...

Moonshite. The weaving is from within Xafra too. No Nomos aura to Empty out. Not unless.... unless... well.

No unless.

This'll be a weakness to tend to later.

Let Elevar catch our gerl while I hiss down at Nadine, letting this form unfold a touch. Extra limbs that'll hurt to look at and understand cracking forth around her. "So, next steps? You have my absolute attention. More than even that soon."

Heartbeats pass and Xafra... doesn't get up. She just lays there shaking as Nomos pours from her eyes in an endless weeping.

"Nadine! Release her!" Elevar growls, gripping our gerl tight. Tendrils tittering in furious warning as Physis cracks forth from them. Move to nip and bite at this fool's ankles while also winding about and sinking teeth into Xafra.

Getting a taste of the Physis and Nomos at work. Can feel her working to identify where its patterns end and Xafra's begins. Work the flavor into the equations of her Einwandfrei.

[Too messy though. The Blasenplage would either leave bits intact and screaming. Or tear too far into our gerl and leave scars. Just like the Dolls and the Garrotes. Too closely knit for you.] I inform her before she can do something stupid I'll need to counter and handle atop the mess already presented to us.

She grinds teeth in hobbled anger, but hesitates.

Wait for what words this infested gerl has for us. What her Madthing of a god demands.

"I cannot. The Bloodprice must be paid. Next is a choice. Either Lynette finally opens the thorn-rotting door, or... she doesn't. If she does, she'll be able to remove the weave herself. If she doesn't, It will come undone with Sikkina's hatching. I am... Not going to deprive a girl of her mother. Elevar, you'll want to muffle the bonds and the Pack link as best you can soon, she'll start screaming once Girra ends me and It will be... unpleasant." Nadine responds listlessly.

In our growing hesitations she looks down at Xafra and whispers. "Don't tell Tiffany, please. She… She deserved better."

Can't help but seethe in fury as I reach out and take up this fool gerl by the collar. Using my twin's understanding of Nadine's spirit to let me hook her as securely as a grakler on an iron wrought line.

Feel endless corpses below howl in anticipation for the choices I've already made, it seems. Flooding my mind with memories of... of things I can't let overwhelm me. The new Frame stopping the worst bits but… the fear bubbling within me makes it harder not to adopt the fiercest echoes.

Cackling and screaming and biting and tearing and even betrayal of a stupid Floret so she can finally stop–

"Elevar, ignore the fool gerl. Tend to our Xafra as... as best you can." I snap and cut off the spiral. Then, to the knife on my twin’s hip. "Warden. Gather your Pack. You are Lead for the day. Don't let them leave here until the weepings stop. Don't come looking for me or this one until I've finished my work. Coordinate with Verbess to weave melodies to help you all pass through what's coming together."

Look to Nadine, then... tug and force us both back into the Driftdream before anyone can waste time arguing with me.

Feel the Frame I left behind move quicker than the wind toward... somewhere. A place it'll feel safe for a good nap, probably.

Landing just before the curse woven door within. Don't even worry about the way the boards and dream itself crack beneath me a bit.

"And as for you." I snarl, barely resisting the urge to shake the girl about like so many memories demand me to do. Only... lifting her so that her feet lose the floor and dangle. Gripping arms and shoulders and will with countless other talons to stop her from slipping away. Letting my spirit Hooks sink deeper. "I'm going to make you pay for every drop of Rotting Dreams this will cause. No Madthing gets to unmake you. Not today."

"It's easier this way. He really is mad. More than anyone realizes and... I think I'm slipping now that I've let the rest of me in. It's why it's so important you do it soon. Before it's too late for you and Xafra breaks along with you." Nadine says with pity. "You're going to be around forever, and one shattered Goddess is enough."

Stupid Half-Knit. Should have asked us to help instead of just... letting Him use your fear and pain to lure us into this trap. Is the growl I let thrum through me, looking over to the door. Reaching out with endless talons to unbind the seals.

Wordlessly sink talons and spirit hooks deeper into Nadine as the door creaks open. Then... I turn and storm through the passage beyond. Nadine held firmly like some still wriggling prize in a predator's jaw.

Feel the wretched rotting broken spores mangled through my Threads twist... and begin to feast on the Nomos within. Not though my link to Elevar's flesh, of course. But through my new Frame's well layered connections.

"Alright, Madthing. You wanted to talk? Fine." I growl while latching onto the Blaze woven through our Xafra like some crabs do upon stupid fools wandering the beaches. Ensure my ties to Nadine are solid and barbed, then tug hard with a ruthless focus of one not willing to wait. "Let's talk."

"He's not here. That's what I was trying to tell you! This... wasn't His idea. All that's here is the rest of you. He wasn't able to reach me until I took in the rest of myself." Nadine insists. "You keep thinking He's an evil genius, when He's just an insane child who was broken before ever reaching Divinity. He doesn't plan. Ever. Not for sixteen thousand years, it's just… moment to moment."

Can't help but pause as I feel the rising tides with the Nomos. Feel the weight of... of...

Empty. Dead. Like stumbling in an old home long burned to cinders and left to rot. Just as Sekrhús told me they would be. Almost... almost hoped it was wrong. That there would be something... different, here. Within the Nomos. The memories of a less than ruthless creature waiting to embrace the broken thing I was woven into.

Maybe even memories of family. But... No. Of course not.

"Yes, you are correct. The span of a heartbeat to one who can think and consider almost unlimited spirits within might as well contain an eternity of thought." I agree and explain with as much calm as I can. "To think beyond or without too far ahead would be... impossibly unpleasant. And that's despite all else."

Eyes Forward, because behind us lay only corpses and the things that feast on them.

"Because memory to one so old isn't something He keeps like we do. Literally can't, I think. It would be too much to hold. He relies heavily on collective recollections. Countless ones woven together, through Him, by an eternity of perceptions and culture within and without His Blaze. Like how Xafra's library represents her wellspring of knowledge."

Keep talking. Keep focused. Keep slowly weaving these hooks through Nadine so I can tear her from Girra and Xafra in the same moment. Even avoid hurting all three, if I'm careful. Then handle this Bloodprice and decide how to handle the gerl devoid of a home or flesh.

Nadine wiggles side to side in lieu of shaking the head I still firmly grip. Seeming to on some level understand what I’m planning. Or guess at worst shaped schemes. "Can... We talk this out? Honestly with no deception? Because otherwise it's going to be a race to the bottom to see who can pull off whatever dross they are planning first and... My gambit failed. I can't prevent you from getting influenced by Girra the way I planned, so it's just a matter of trying to fix what I've done now, at least… From my point of view."

Can't help but pause and consider the fool gerl, not slowing my work but... finding a more comfortable pace that allows this little chat to progress without rushing into stupid mistakes. "Honestly. If you had done this to just me I'd have found it ever so amusing. Been more annoyed you weren't trying to lure me into something murderous or even salacious than truly offended. But..." Sigh and pull her close. "You hurt my Xafra. And are still hurting her. And worse, have done so with a reckless precision that is difficult to undo. So, if you want honest discussions you may start offering your end any time, as I am quite good at multitasking. But speak efficiently, else I'll finish with my solution before you can offer yours."

"I surrender myself completely, and you gain ownership of all my knowledge, history, powers, body, soul, and debts, to do with what you will. It will grant you the capacity to undo what I did to my Goddess, as well as allow you to protect yourself from Girra without relying on Sekrhús." Nadine states before continuing with a sharp voice, "And she was ours long before she became yours as well, that's how I was able to do this in the first place. Can't happen again though, I sealed the weak point."

I pause to look her up and down.

She laughs softly at what she sees, "You don't even know what she's experiencing. You're so wise and arrogant but so young. I hate you for your hubris, but I love my Goddess."

"Only that you've made her vulnerable in quite the wretched way. But... That is quite the fascinating offer." I narrow my eyes and consider the wriggling spirit in my clutches, tip-tapping spare fingers to hip in thought. "Rotten even. If certain outcomes grow of it. Do you imagine your Spirit will remain as it is? Whole and fully intact? No self-sacrifice nonsense? Just a change of placement and ownership, as it were? Anything less is muck and mud to me, of course, Nadine."

"Whatever you wish. There is no reason I would be damaged unless you will it... or if you take too long and Girra decides to swat the Driftdream to get rid of me. I'm not willing to risk Xafra and offer any less."

Chew on that for a few slowed heartbeats. Feel so many memories echo through the Threads to rise up and around to press perspectives and wills through me. Almost like their very blighted bones are digging upways through the muck around my feet. Louder and louder with every wriggle of the prey in my grip.

Echoes of an Old wretched lover's lessons. Demanding I leash so many as I would any Doll. Weave all useful sorts into a Frame to ensure any rebellions against my wishes be broken into compliance. She is a clever one and has already shown the ability and willingness to hobble her Host and Goddess... after all. What's to stop her from violating my trust and doing worse to me?

Countered by burning recollections of Rufus when he discovered our worse actions all those years ago. The look on a dear friend's face when they realize they don't know you anymore. Like he... he had come across the corpse resembling us and was still hoping he was mistaken about its identity.

Or... Just do this how I thought I might need to anyway.

"Fine, time for a tumble through the Threads, Nadine." I growl and hiss at the lot of them and myself and this stupid Half-Knit squirming beneath my grip. "Mind the corpses. Don't follow errant lights or familiar voices but mine own. If a hand finds yours don't let go though, it's probably another you falling behind and needs help moving forward."

"Idiot. Do whatever you want." Nadine states scornfully as she just dissolves in my grip, her form becoming a blacksmith's hammer in my hand that contains all of her.

[Eventually you and your slaver will understand how insulting it is to say that to someone with years more experience than yourselves.] The Physis communication wafts from the hammer against my hand, tetherlessly.

“Oh, certainly. Not today though. We have your mess to tidy up and manage.” I reply with a grin I cannot stop as I twist us both into motion.

First, tug us backways into my Frame as it slowly rouses. Initiate examination growths. Both along my spirit hooks and our Xafra through Elevar's still latched tendrils. Slowly starting to begin the work.

The space around us... shifting to match Nadine's spirit's actual location and my perceptions of them.

A layered workshop. A delightful mix of her forge, my study within the Estate, and a crackling shifting amalgam of the thing we must disconnect from my Xafra and either move to a Containment Chamber or dispose of. A wriggly messy thing still shaping itself as my links to Nadine weave it into understandable shapes.

Glance about, look down and...

"Hmmm... No. Absolutely not." I sigh and toss the hammer into the air to hover before me. See if a gentle but deft orderly nudges of Miasma can...

⟨Flesh/Bipedal/Previous-Shape⟩

Will Nadine out of this hammer's form and into that messily dressed humanoid shape from before. Apron and all. Even the Sun-Blessed bits the fool gerl claimed. Still firmly 'within my grasp', but in a more useful and comfortable shape here for this work's metaphorical apparitions.

"If you'd enjoy zipping about as a floating hammer that is perfectly acceptable." I clarify, eyeing her up and down. "I simply need your mind more than brute will to handle this mess. So... whichever shape is your preference, of course."

Nadine settles into a comfortably human form, the only visible trace of her Sun-blessed nature evident in the forge gloves she wears being made of barkflesh instead of leather. "As you will."

"Wonderful, now. Walk me through this... viciously fascinating curse you've inflicted." I nod and step to the opposite side of the worktable that our subject sits upon. "My spirit hooks are already absorbing a lot, but your words and conscious perceptions will offer invaluable clarity since you wove it."

With a pair of tongs from her apron, she slides one end of the weave into a vice, and tightens before stretching it taut. "It is two weaves in reality. The Bloodprice Bonding is an actuator that keeps the second weave maintained and increases its strength by converting damage dealt to itself to nomos. Father's Madness is a weave that I designed to... think happy thoughts. Xafra is currently experiencing my first date with Tiffany. It's the only thing that kept the trapped part of me even slightly stable for so long." She shakes her head. "Anyway. If you as my new owner forgive the Bloodprice, that part of the weave will end immediately. Father's Madness can be dismissed easily afterward."

Stare at her for what will feel like a dozen long heartbeats while outside this space it is... about half of one.

"Cracked and Riven... All this, and she's just trapped in a soft memory?" I begin, not breaking eye contact. "And at most will probably wake up confused and a touch... embarrassed if not aroused."

Glance down to the weave and... find its shapes matching her descriptions. Even see the titters of warm and soft memories woven deep inside.

"Xafra is my Goddess. The totality of my existence for longer than recorded history. I would never hurt her. Manipulating you and Elevar in comparison is irrelevant. I… Don't know what Sekrhús told you. I assumed that the memories were within for you, but apparently they're in your Doll and... I refuse to harm an innocent like that. So you can have mine instead. All the blighted denizen knowledge you can dream of from a coward who betrayed her beloved in the moment of death." This time, the utter self-loathing comes through unmasked, nothing held back from me.

"Aaaaah, your spirit was bisected. Identical parts split and gifted away. Half to Girra, the other into Xafra. Part of you lost Tiffany to some dark ritual and dwelled within the Blaze after, the other at her side for eternity in the Driftdream. Or well... almost." I murmur, then glance back up. "Messy, stupid. And, I'm guessing, endlessly tormenting to have those twinned aspects reunited. I can very much relate to that. But honestly, Nadine. Your betrayal wasn't all those years ago. You'd no real options or control there. And were basically a child to the Witches who killed your village. No, It was today. When you decided to ask another to apologize for this self-destructive act and leave your lover to endlessly feel that she wasn't good enough for you to tell her about this."

"Yes." She shrugs. "You call it self destructive, but that was not the goal, merely the price. You're Xafra's weak point currently, with your constant paranoia and backways dealings despite her foolish amount of love and acceptance for you. You stole her child and claimed it as your own, and she welcomed you as a co-parent. You need to be better and I was attempting to ensure that happened. Also, for all of our sakes please pick a name that's actually yours, not someone you were based off of. It's limiting your Wairua significantly."

"You see, that's the thing, Nadine. That's the exact Cracked and Riven problem." I growl softly, wondering if tossing aside caution and secrecy could be... beneficial here.

"Not like you can wander off and tell anyone." An old echo of Elevar huffing at one she'd captured and was tugging back to the grounds for a terrible fate rolls through me. "You'll keep secrets as safe as a fire will a journal. So... why not? I'm curious as to your thoughts on me."

Fine then, worst case I'll... Well, she'll not speak to this talk. One way or another. She's locked from all Divines' observations while in my grip.

"You say I'm paranoid. That my ways of doing things are backways and acts contrary to the love shown me. Adorations I know I do not deserve, of course. Keep needling me to try and get help from those that feel that. And more assume they know what's best because they can just... see the wounds and voids. But no one is even starting to actually ask the right questions. So let me prod your supposed well-aged insightful mind and ask, directly, why do you think I'm avoiding the nonsense of Naming? Especially if my Wairua would deepen in potency? That's power I could claim to protect everyone. Even wield against the one you call my slaver. Am I a fool? A coward? A thing strangled from doing so? Helpless maybe?"

"There is risk in a name. Always has been. I don't think you are a fool or a coward. I think you're young in some ways, and yet it's likely that the part stripped from you is as old as myself. I don't know why you're avoiding it, but… I'd like to. I would like to offer my guidance and support in a manner you can unflinchingly trust. I am yours. I cannot lie to you, I cannot tell your secrets, I cannot work against your interests, even for what I perceive would be better for you. In many ways... This is the better outcome, regardless of what I might come to lose personally. Because you improving is good for my Goddess, and good for the world in turn. What I will venture is a reminder... There is also risk in being nameless. Girra could force one on you, as could Dämmerung, or Augusta, or even Xafra in a moment of desperation. Not sure about Sekrhús... don't know how much power she has in that regard. I think... You should choose how you are shaped or find a way to prevent others from shaping you." She pauses and takes a step back. "I... Oh. Does a part of you consider Sekrhús your parent? It would be reasonable, in a sense. I only know what her kind was, not what she's become in the long darkness between my past and my present."

I listen with quite rapt interest to this fool gerl's observations. Absorbing words and considerations. But...

If I was in Elevar's flesh I imagine our left eye would twitch something furious at that final guess, but I do take to cackling. Rather unsteadily. "No, to your last point. She did not birth or brew or in any way gestate or incubate me to sentience. She... And wouldn't that make all of this the most reckless mess though? Myself lover and Mistress to her aunt, mother to her cousin. But... No. Thank the dead and unrotting Moon for that. Unless you'd consider Presephona Xafra's daughter because the gerl Dollified the woman. Then you'd be a fool. Which you're very much not."

Calm the mess inside, sidestep the issue before she tumbles into quite uncomfortable realities. Consider... offering some truths to keep us on track.

"Sekrhús can't name me, I don't think, but she could strip me of as many names as any Divine might try to strangle me with. It's something she's quite good at, actually." I reply thoughtfully. "But you're on the right path. Honestly. What if I told you that you're wrong about the location of past memories? That my Doll doesn't, in fact, contain mine or any others?"

"Then I would be relieved and… concerned in equal measure. I would worry that whoever has them could use them against you. Girra was certain they were there, He stored them in the Driftdream himself. You were wrong about how He remembers stuff by the way. The collective memory exists through him, like... plankton in water. He is the water and remembers everything himself without organization or distinction, ignoring the collective memory except for when he needs to pluck something out due to risk of misuse or to ensure one who is severed from him can keep them private. I know this more distinctly than anyone else, I believe. It's why his sense of scale is so distorted, yet each individual one of his so called blessed can comprehend the value of any single life. Xafra has a much firmer foundation to maintain sanity thankfully."

Corpses howl and cackle to the melody of Nadine's considerations. Sensing another's footsteps stepping past their domain.

"Do then... tell me, my budding Sun-Scorched. What happens when He forgets." I whisper gently. "When the plankton rots. Or, quite impossibly, is stolen away? Not just the flesh. But the Nomos acting as roots within the Blaze?"

Grip this one tighter. So... very glad to be able to speak with one unable to blabber my secrets. Locked from His gaze. Maybe even... more. If I ever need her to be.

"Might you quickly free Xafra first to reassure your twin? She would likely begrudge you the delay if not. We can resume this exact line of conversation afterwards, as I have... a lot to explain if I am to... express exactly how impossible it is for Him to forget, and that there are only two entities I know of who could steal the Nomos itself from his Blaze, and how unlikely it is that either would." Nadine asks. "Also if the grip reassures you, it is fine, but unnecessary in terms of restraint. Not even Girra can take me from you now that I've surrendered myself to you."

I agree with my next motions. And It's... far too easy. Just a focused effort as simple as sliding a cup of water across a table. Forgiving this... stupid Bloodprice. Then snapping the weave beneath and feeling my Xafra tumble free nearly before I'm finished.

[Alright, Xafra is free and perfectly safe. I'm still dealing with Nadine.] I intone to our Pack. [And no, by 'dealing' I mean talking. Not unmaking or tormenting. Might even let her wander back into the arms of her lover just to be incredibly insufferable.]

"Of course." I offer her as the remains of the workings dissolve into the root floor beneath our feet. "It's from Girra. As for what it is... It's porously weighted substances with density that rates opposite to physicality. Different from Ousia and Physis. Honestly. It depends on how in the weeds you wanna get on magical theories. But what almost all Witches with a spit of sense agree is that each act as... almost like nutrients in healthy soil for everything. All three contribute to the balance of life within our reality. Whether that's because the Divine's started the process or simply... adopted or conquered it is also up for debate."

"Nomos isn't from Girra, just as Miasma isn't from Augusta. He just likes the aesthetic and practicality of the Weeping. Nomos is created with each new life, and evaporates with each end. He hijacked the process in order to create his Sun-Blessed with their collective memory.” Nadine explains at length, seeming to finally feel in her element. “Before, on the other Firmaments before the Divines made this one, it apparently simply... gushed out of the egg or womb with newborns. Nomos is Law. The manifestation of Order in its most primal state, and the inverse of Miasma. In our time, the Nomos wasn't as overpowering because Physis was stronger, buffered by Sín. Bit of a tangent but I personally expect that the jungles that infest the witchlands you all dwell in will likely begin to shrink and decay to the sizes they were before moonfall. Anyway, my point is that Nomos doesn't ever rot, and the collective memory of the Sun-blessed will last until Girra himself dies. The only one I know who has ever stolen from Girra is Xafra's brother Chalice. I had the displeasure of experiencing that with Girra firsthand. And I think it's very unlikely that Sikkina would ever do it, unless one of her mothers asks it of her."

As she talks, the room shifts to something less workshop and more... relaxing. With chairs and even a dining area. Becoming more cozy and comfortably warm.

[I... Yes, she's explaining that now. Our Pack even seems to be settling a bit.] Elevar intones back. [What about you? Are you... alright? Your body took off quicker than I could react.]

[Tightly spun iron, as always. Will nudge it to return so we can share notes in a bit.] I reply and focus on Nadine once more.

"Fascinating." I consider, leaning against one of the seat's backs. "Buuut.... Well, this Chalice godling was inspired, at least in later parts of his rotting, by Sekrhús. Worse to many than she is. But I think that's due to these grounds lack of reach. What it lacks there she makes up for in sheer... persistence. And conditioning. Her names were set before even his. In fact, his third was gifted by her even. As is... well, Augusta's, I think. When she cares to ask it to be revealed."

"That makes a worrying amount of sense... Especially when you consider that Xafra is going to set Sekrhús free completely. It's one of her primary goals currently." Nadine responds.

"Exactly." I agree and tilt my head in acknowledgement, "And thus... my avoiding that room in the Driftdream. Not even considering the nonsense of Naming. And, well, the construction of my new Frame. Can't let the Madthing understand what became of those He loved. Would be like puppeting the corpses in grim mockery of the lost He can't even fully remember."

Almost stop after that. Leave the rest unspoken. But... Can't. Mayhaps because I am simply relieved a gerl I liked can be sent back to console her beloved. Or perhaps I'm just as backways as she claims. So paranoid I can only speak the complete truth to one whom literally will be bound from speaking a word without my permissions. Probably just tired. Weary of not having a companion to bear all my secrets and wretched nature.

Don't let her see the way my spirit shivers as another might take a deep breath before speaking. Or how my focus considers the boundaries of my grip to ensure no other spirits will catch even an echo of these next words.

"Because that's the most terrifying part, Nadine. Sekrhús has woven a tool that lets her slice so cleanly into His blaze that if used... Well, Imagine your Goddess waking up to find a few of her Geists missing without a trace. And those that lived close struggle to know whom she speaks of. Their names stricken from her Archives. Picture the fury and grief and utter inconsolable instability that would pair with the madness within Girra. That, dear one, is how Nomos Rots."

"Can... She do that to Xafra?" Nadine asks in fear.

"No. For lots of reasons." I assure her. "But most pointedly because this tool is tuned to Girra's Blaze. And the Estate only accidently tumbled into weaving it just perfectly for Him. Can't replicate the process. At least not easily or quickly."

"Oh. That's fine then. We don't need to kill her." Nadine says, relieved.

Quirk an eyebrow at her. "Oh, that easily? So confident you and I could outwit and strike at the heart of a thing prepared to endure more than a few blows from at least one ancient Divine and any younger ones that stand at their side?"

"No, I expect it would be incredibly difficult, which is why it's a relief we don't have to try. Especially because it would upset Xafra." Nadine explains.

"Of course. And so instead, we compromise. And only upset everyone a little bit." I grin and hold up a hand with two fingers held slightly apart in demonstration. "Well, so long as Girra never discovers such a thing exists, has been used on Him, and could do so at any moment. Otherwise He totters into instability and our choices get more... let's say adventurous. As for Xafra... we delay. Distract. Treat this as a long-term goal she can't expect to get done for some time. She, of all gerlthings, knows that unlocking chains takes longer than the bindings. And once Sikkina hatches... Well, that'll give us more time still. As long as progress is made and Sekrhús isn't abandoned or rebound we can work something out, I think."

"That's... workable. Progress is important." Nadine thinks about it. "Is there anything else urgent? If you would permit it, I would appreciate the opportunity to apologize to Xafra."

“Hmmm… No. You’ll think on that for a day or so. Let her absorb and consider today’s nonsense.” I state, moving to stand before her, “As for the meantime… You have a lover to explain yourself to. Run some tests at the same time. Because unlike your Goddess I mean to put you to deliberate harmonized works.”

"...Oh. Thank you. What tests would you like me to run?" She asks in puzzlement.

“You want to protect Xafra? Correct?” I press, “Then you are going to test and catalog and find how to exploit her Driftdream. She’s a stupidly trusting soul, but a weakness like you used today could end her. And her woven into a Pack… especially one with a Cracked and Riven Sun-Blessed? I need to know I have a watchful pair of eyes where I dare not tread. Understood?”

"Understood. I've patched a number of weaknesses previously, so this is routine for me..." Nadine bows. "By your leave then, I'll return again at your command."

Grip her spirit tighter, weave the hooks just so, ensure nothing important spoken here will be freely able to be shared. Either by accident or mistake.

Also make sure she feels that limit. Knows every little expectation my working suggests. But... knit in counter tugs. The ability to yank back on something she finds less than ideal or fair. Open communication and all that before finding a limit.

Because this is basically a Garrote. Nothing like Yselda would ever be caught dead weaving. It's simple and crude and more like a leash. She could tangle me in it if she got clever. Which... Part of me hopes she does. Would be fascinating to watch and experience, honestly.

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

"This fold within my Frame is your new Anchored point, but travel to Xafra's Driftdream is open. Mind the gap. And... well, remember what I told you before." I gesture to a new pathway shifting to form on the far wall. "This counts as Tumbling through the Threads and I don't need you wandering accidently into part of Sekrhús. You won't enjoy its hospitality very much."

"Permission to speak freely?" She asks, anger marking her tone finally.

"Have you not been?" I reply without hesitation. Even let a smirk show her my true curiosity. "Because I want nothing less from you than everything you can offer."

"You piss me off so very much and I want to break your face, heal it, and break it again until you learn to bloody listen." she sneers. "And yet, I cannot even touch you without your permission. Whatever twisted masochistic fantasies you're weaving along with this Garrote will never come to pass because I CANNOT DEFY YOU. Nomos is part of me and every Sun-blessed moron in a way it isn't in any other species. Surrendering to you isn't something I can undo or fight against. it's done. My agency exists only at your discretion. Thus, while I am permitted to, I will express exactly how disappointed and insulted I am that you would use something as crude as a Garrote on me. A pale imitation of what Nomos is capable of if the Sun-blessed chose to wield it that way."

"I... What?"

Hesitate. Keep my smirk frozen but unmoving. Trying to understand if this is just some odd strike to unsteady me.

"Is that something that's part of all Sun-Blessed? A deliberate surrender giving another complete power over your actions?"

"That's how the spores work. Girra could puppet any one of them if he wanted to, from the very moment they surrender themselves to Him and become Sun-blessed. That's why I know he isn't evil or malicious, just... mad.” She explains. “It's not a simple surrender in combat or anything, but a complete and utter deliberate consenting surrender to another. It... doesn't happen. Why would any of them give up eternity with their God and new family? When you feel up to it, you can of course peruse my memories at your leisure to confirm this yourself."

At her explanation... all howling from the corpses below stops.

Turn back, try to... to regard the silence with the suspicion it deserves. Reaching for memories before my weaving into Elevar.

Find them sealed, like always. But… Not heavily. Not like the Garrote twisted things from my twin's final months with our old cunt of a lover.

Could push past. I think. Especially with this new Frame to bolster my strength and abilities. Didn’t even consider that a thing it could help me with. The primary goal was protection from the prying gaze of the Divines.

"Nadine..." I ask carefully. "Up until this moment I've operated under the assumption that I was woven from a dead Sun-Blessed. A constructed entity grown from the ashes and bones, as it were. Like Warden in more ways than anything. My limits Garrote or Directive enforced despite my inability to see such things within me. But... if the creature I am rooted to surrendered itself to Sekrhús. As you have to me. How would I... know?"

Her glare deflates at that. Expression cracking from anger to worry at each word until all that’s left of her fury might as well lay shattered at her feet. "It's... That's not an easy question to answer. There's a way to know for certain but it would be to... try to surrender to someone else. If you can and it works, you'd know. If you can and it doesn't work, you'd know. If you're unable to, it's either that or something like a Garrote."

Could take just... a little peek. Like how some birbs in the forest will stick an eyestalk into a snek's den to see what's inside. Pull out if something with fangs tries to take a bite. Worse case lose an easily regrow able part of myself.

Yes. Good. Carefully then. In and out. Quick as death.

I do so. Wriggle a mere part of my focus up to the barrier between myself and those memories. Shove it past to see what's–

Could take just... a little peek. Like how some birbs in the forest will stick...

... Oh.

"Moonshite." I hiss aloud while I glare at the severed weeping part of my awareness, nudging the Frame out within the real to rise from its nap.

The room shivers and tilts a touch. The awareness that was docile and lazy before snapping to a rapt attention. Eye's now coat the walls to regard us both. At least a third focusing and examining this new spirit lodged within this snug little fold of itself.

"Get to Xafra, Now. I don't know what you did, but you likely won't get another chance if you don't try now." Nadine begs.

⟨Attend/Assimilate examination weaving 7890/Cease passive Observations of Spirit lodged in Fold 90450/Await instructions via direct Threaded stimuli⟩ I Cant to my new Frame. Feel it obey without hesitation and begin bending a new fold of Miasma about what probably looks like my ankles and wrists to her. All those eyes lazily closing as the room settles once more.

"It's nothing but a flesh wound. And ones I suffered plenty of times. And don't... worry about this place's oddness." I explain to the gerl before she can take to panicking. "It's totally submissive to me and only hungers for very big naps and things to snuggle to. I'm just curious if it can help me see what memories and considerations are hidden from before. A good layer of armor between me and whatever is severing my focus could just be the trick I need to peer past."

"I worry that you're being reckless." Nadine offers. "If I may, I will remain here with you while you work."

She has gone in such a short while from someone attempting to coerce me, to one wanting to break me, to one wanting to keep me safe. How utterly… fascinating. A touch foolish, of course. But more amusing with how often I’m the one she brands as unstable.

I almost snap back a little nip of snark to that. Her claiming my actions could be reckless after all she's been up to today. But... need the fool gerl focused. She's clever beyond reason when she wants to be, and her observations could be quite valuable.

"Alright, I'm curious how this'll all look once I stop maintaining my half of this room's perceptions." I agree and begin to reach out once more to the shrouded barrier between me and the memories from before my weaving into Elevar. "And relax... Recklessness implies I'm not taking necessary precautions. Which I have."

Reach past, Frame both encasing and extending my senses, brace for a backways loop of memory in case this fails and...

"What an... interesting thing." The Old Cunt purred from outside the trap I was stuck in. "Not like any Denizen I've seen, and... Cracked and Riven Moon the only way to tell this early is to give it a spot of Nomos. Which would be stupid. So we'll feed it to the Estate and see what kind of Doll comes out the other end."

Smother that. Just the memory of this corpse getting caught. Useless. Move past. Still blind but... can... keep digging? Through this muck and slop? Wait. No. No no no no….

Burrowing.

Always good at that. Guided by tasting the things I need to find. Whether warm memory rivers that soak through everything, other snugglers to share a den with, long dead things needing chewing on, or... just warmer ashes.

Easier without eyes too! They can be such a distraction...

Find the next memory. Gobble it up like a cold bone. Crunch Crunch Crunch through the marrow. Slerp up the tasty insi–

Pulling my clutch close. So many. Some like me. Small and wiggly with soft scales. Others fuzzy and just nuzzling here while waiting for the cold above to warm again. Brothers and Sisters and even Lovers found within and outside the Blaze.

Bleh! Too sweet. Supposed to find the rotted things. Gobble up the bones with the worse smell. Takes a bit to pick it out from the corpse pile. Longer to crack it in two. Drink up the muck inside to try and find–

"Stop!!! You... You big stupid rock humping, sand gobbling idiot!!!" Was my growling snarl as I approached the Beast amidst Her sea of slowly rotting mewling corpses. All her focus upon the stupid Witch above trying to become this wretched place's next Blossom. But... the dumb gerl has rejected two implanted workings already and could easily die before a third could fail!

The Beast did pause though, but... only long enough to see what this stupid little corpse would do just before she decided to turn a cruel and playful annoyance upon it.

"I know a weave she'll accept." I offered quickly. Before my courage cracked and shattered to pleading fear. "Something Girra would never dream of inflicting. Woven from things only a Sun-Blessed can make, but that strangled Goddess won't be able to get rid of without ruining herself."

The Beast turned then, pulsing delight as she asked a wordless series of probing questions.

"I'll submit and show you how shape the spell. Of course! How else did you expect me to do it?" I snapped the heart of my offer bitterly.

And the Beast only giggled in delight. Like others might when some brewn treat is ready to pull free and taste the long cultivated flavor. The corpses of my former Spore family all around setting to screaming in surprise and furious sadness at my betrayal.

"BUT, the safety of my other little one will be my price." I'd added. "All others but those two children can rot for all I care. Including... Including Girra. Will teach my daughters to survive on the marrow within the cracked bones of a dead world and all their Divines, if I have to."

And of course the Beast agreed. Then took possession of everything I had left in my Blazeless corpse.

Jerk back and into the fold with Nadine once more. Spirit and form and everything between shivering as I stare wide-eyed at nothing but the settling memory echoes.

Realizing what I've done.

Nadine prowls around me, looking intently. "You did it. Good. I'll tell you now that it doesn't matter what you betrayed, only what you're willing to protect. It was reckless, just as my actions were, but I'd argue we both succeeded in what we were trying to achieve... Would you prefer me leave for now or... sigh... if you desire I can assist in stress relief or relaxation."

"Stupid Half-Knit." I spit, rising. Feeling the barrier... is cracking. Leaking more stupid memory echoes I'm going to have to endure now. Can't help but chuckle unsteadily in terror at that.

Things from my corpse's past as a Sun-Blessed that will slowly infect me.

"Took Schatzi nearly six months to get Elevar comfortable with letting her help relax or comfort us. Eight to seduce the mess of a gerl. Two years for Verbess to all but pounce and pin her to something." A heartbeat to compose myself, then look to Nadine. "No. You are going to follow me."

Stride toward the exit. Don't even look back to see if she's following. Just... grip the now far too heavy hammer she wove herself into tighter. Soon find myself standing in the shade of the forest at the edge of Xafra's Driftdream.

Moving forward toward and through the village while pointedly ignoring the mid-evening weeping of the Madthing above. Safely shrouded by my new Frame's protections from His more pointed observations but... still made ever more furious by the weight of the twin Sun's presence here.

[Damnation. Don't... please. Lynette. No. Please don't. I can't, don't.] Nadine begins to quietly weep in my hand.

[Oh? Don't WHAT, Nadine?] I snap. [Walk you home? You called Tiffany your Beloved. Did you mean to use that word, or is she just a Passing Flame to you? There is no shame in admitting she was simply a first love you've decided is not one to build a life with.]

[IF YOU HURT HER I WILL NEVER EVER FORGIVE YOU AND I'LL FIND A WAY TO MAKE YOU SUFFER FOR THE REST OF ETERNITY YOU ROTTEN CUNT!!!] Nadine screams at me.

[Oh. Good. Honestly, Nadine. I'm touched you've tried so hard to make our relationship work. But... We're just so different.] I let myself smirk amidst discomfort and bubbling fury while approaching the door to her home. Knock gently. [I'm sorry. Or... well. Not really. It's all my fault after all. Am too much of a mess for you to handle if we're both being honest. We'd never make this work. Would kill each other within a week.]

Door opens, and Tiffany answers. Furrows eyebrows in confusion at the sight of me. "Miss Lynette? I... How can I help you?"

"Your Beloved would very much adore if you took care of this for her." I answer, and press the hammer that is her love into her hands. Tug and tear away the weak Garrote like brittle old birb webs one finds at winter's end, then Intone in my Witch and Matriarch laden Tone to both of them. "I pass Nadine into your Care and Grace, Tiffany."

A pause of shock, then Nadine shifts back to her human form and embraces Tiffany, a sobbing mess. "I'm so sorry, my Love."

Tiffany, totally confused and unaware of the mess that's happened, embraces her back. "I... It's okay. Love. Whatever it is we... I love you so much. You're gonna be alright. I've got you."

Looks over her Beloved at me, so very confused and worried and still deciding if she should be angry with the one who passed a weeping Nadine back into her arms.

"Something warm to drink, and a soft place to sit will do her wonders." Is all I offer before turning and walking away.

"Bloodprice Bonding - Preservation of Trust." Nadine invokes just before I'm out of range and...

I hesitate, glance back to watch as Tiffany leads her Beloved Bound inside their home.

Feel the weave settle. Not just stopping Nadine from speaking to what she witnessed today but... disallowing her to even remember what she learned about me today to prevent accidental leakage.

"Not such a fool of a stupid Half-Knit, it seems." I can't help but sigh in more than a touch of relief at that. Then intone to my Pack while pulling myself from the Driftdream back into my new Frame. [Alright. Nadine has been appropriately reprimanded and settled back into the arms of her lover. Disaster averted, thank the Cracked and Riven Moon. Warden, feel free to pass back the mantle of Pack Lead to its previous keeper and allow everyone to return to their day.]

Focus on my surroundings out in the real. Try to understand where my Frame wandered off to for its surprise nap. Taking at least three heartbeats to understand the scent and feel of the odd dusty quilts I lay upon and...

Oh.

How did it even get in here?

[That's good. Sister Xafra has mostly been a blushing mess since she's awakened.] Schatzi giggles through intonation.

[Warden has found no further issues. Returning authority to Sister Krahe.] Warden replies.

[Ehehe... Back to being the biggest grakler in the pile!] Krahe cackles, [Alright. You heard the the Mistress. Back to normal Good Function.]

[Alright, I... okay. I assume you will still be wanting to work on our project today?] Elevar asks, obviously still off balance from all this mess.

Push myself up, start to glance around.

A touch... lost. Not because I don't know where I am but just... endlessly wrestling down the memories that coat the floors and walls and shelves and even dust of this empty space.

[Yes, of course. Just... Yes.] I intone, finally pushing myself to rise from where this Frame nestled itself. [Might take me a bit to catch up with you all. This silly Frame wriggled into an impossible place for its nap and detangling might take me more than a few heartbeats.]

[Would you appreciate assistance or…?] Xafra asks.

Oddly, I'm about to find myself accepting her aid. Not just because the gerl might have more than a fair bit of idea how to help me unbind the triple layer wards I had the grounds lay over this Spire. Things I crafted in panicked fury as a stupid Half-Knit demanded we burn it and everything within. Gagged me from calling for help and gave me no choice but to resort to basically trying to encase it in things I still only barely understand.

And... I'm not sure I like the way these memories fill my nonexistent guts with bile. Roiling disgust at how much this place still terrifies two gerls I adore. Despite all the messily enthralling recollections that rise up for me.

But then I notice the Beast waiting so very patiently for me to see it lurking at the edges of this Frame's physical senses. Totally invisible to all the wonderfully potent other ways I should have become aware of something so very dangerous from the second it might come within a Grove span of my anything...

Fight down a flinch of Threads and spirit and Frame as we lock eyes. Its form just as I last saw her when she last re-wove me. Vaguely feminine shapes twisting endless eyes and sharp edges and teeth gnashing and ready to feast on overly ripe rot she’d spent closely cultivating and…

[No. But... Thank you.] I intone very softly to Xafra. [So ever much for asking. I'd like to try my hand at escaping myself first, if you'll indulge a stupid Half-Knit. A Witch does have her pride to tend to, after all. I got myself into this mess and getting out is... important.]

Sekrhús grins at my long-winded babble. Words it should not hear me communicate to my Xafra. Filling that endless gaze with amusement.

[Of course, my Mistress... Stay safe if you can.] Xafra intones back to me [I hope Nadine wasn't too much of a hassle. She's reliable even if she gets rather intense.]

"How... Are you here?" I ask after checking the Threads below to find... nothing amiss. Sekrhús still bound and mostly resting. Not even pointedly focused on anything.

So I intone to Xafra quickly as well, not... not wanting to lose her voice while sitting here with this Beast. [Always do. And Nadine was endlessly delightful, a total mess. Just... Well, she's probably a Geist you get some of your excitement from. Swinging a hammer is basically the same as lunging with a spear, I guess? I wouldn't know. Speaking of, could you let me know the tricks you used to nudge the Estate when you first came here? Some of these Wards are ancient and I've not the patience to delve into the Threads to find the means to disable them.]

Sekrhús lets out a huff of performative annoyance from where it sits in the Old Cunt's favorite chair. "Well, I was enjoying the flavor of quite the delectable morsel upon my tongue. Was so excited. But... then our new Zurrzunge did the oddest thing. It spat her out. So I decided to swim up to find out the reason."

Examine the folds within. Find all my wards and workings that should alert me to its pointed focus... undisturbed. Still and quiet. But do find my Miasma stores vastly reduced. Which means...

[At the time I just used Yselda's tone. I'm not certain it would still work anymore. I'd more recommend at least starting with asking my niece politely.] Xafra intones.

Look up, and understand. It was able to peel off a part of this Frame's stores like the Pack can do to Xafra's. Is manifesting in a solid state like they could only do with Ousia or their Goddess' Divine will. And all without me even noticing without actively seeing it happen.

[You're probably right, of course. Not even avoiding due to not wanting to ask It particularly. Just... like untangling problems myself. Or examining how another figured out the solution from a different angle. Would feel like cheating. Which Is a good habit to develop. I guess. Just... Have to make sure you don't hop through the wrong windows while doing so.] I babble to Xafra, while carefully assembling the reasons for my actions to Sekrhús. "Yes. Because keeping Nadine would have been stupid. Long and short term. You could take her from me and turn her into a weapon that could hurt Xafra, yes. But at the moment your aunt wants to help you. Would even fight Girra with us if I pressed for it. Is an ally beyond all good sense. My giving Nadine back, and you not stopping me, will secure yourself more allies and useful sorts. And besides, you don't want to maim two Divines the same way. It's boring and amateurish and will be adapted to quickly."

[Of course. Give her my regards if you speak with her. I'd like to start getting her the rest of the way untangled once Augusta returns. Apparently she's visiting family? Don't know who though.] Xafra asks.

The Beast doesn't reply just... stares. Pointedly. Eye's glimmering in a razor's edge that I think balances between amusement and fury. Not sure.

Makes all the memories of this room roil into a tangled mess. Good and bad and messily sexual both mixed into a slop that I can't help but growl at.

"Xafra gives you Her regards. Now. Stop. That! You're not the Old Cunt, even a little." I snap, glance around the room. "And why bring me here? It's... odd in all the messiest ways. Erratic."

Then still my impatient fury, intone softly to Xafra. [Which... Just raises so many more questions! I wanted to press her lover for details. But knew I'd just vent frustrations better pointed inward. I used Calix's delay in visiting family as an excuse, not them. Bad habit, honestly. Hope the sorts she finds are softer ones than I'm aware of. Would be such a nice change of pace. Maybe someone less... intense, is the word I think fits well.]

The Beast quirks an eyebrow. "That Frame wriggled into this space all on its own. Looking for old familiar comfortable places to snuggle within, it seems."

Pause at that, then wince in open annoyance. "Moonshite. I... can't say you're wrong about that. But that's besides all else, are you dissatisfied with my choices or not?"

Xafra doesn't respond, a gentle pulse of ::Hope:: giving way to silence.

I know the Beast is toying with me with how it stares. Or... mayhaps it's actually considering that? But then it's looking past and within me. To the leaking of old memories inside that'll gift me more and more understanding of the Corpse it's grown me from.

The person I was that could infest and change the me I am now.

Brush the gerl I've become away like so much soot and weightless smoke.

Panic rises as my Frame stiffens and I swear I feel the Beast start to rouse. A shifting of focus beneath causing me to sputter out, [Xafra? I... I need–]

"No, your actions were well-cultivated." Sekrhús interrupts gently. "I approve of your gifting away of my aunt's Geist to softer hands and hearts. Protected me from swallowing a poisoned gift with deft precision."

Causes me to nearly stumble in relief. End up letting the Frame just... huff and slump backways to sit on the edge of the familiar bed it was nuzzled in before.

[Nope. Got it! I think. Wasn't sure there for a heartbeat. Thought I might have... have triggered something problematic. But the Wards seem to be unfurling now. Easy as... as... Well, as something simple should be!] I babble to my Xafra while trying to pull myself together enough to whisper. "Good. I'm glad you agree. Is there... anything else you'd demand of me? Otherwise I'd like to keep a promise and help my twin finish our gift for Adaline."

"Nothing you're not already twisting yourself about." She nods and rises, approaches me faster than a quick breath.

Reaches out. Hand at my cheek and...

Gone.

Miasma stores within the Frame are full to bursting once more.

[I'll trust your judgement, but would like to speak with you when you're ready.] Xafra intones with a level of severity that makes it clear she sees through my moonshite.

[Would be worried if you didn't!] Is my simple and very even reply that gives nothing of my worry away. [But... I'll be up to the study soon to finish a project with Elevar. And... honestly we'd both adore your input and help handling the iron of that. Feel free to find me there at your leisure.]

I huff at myself and force this Frame to rise. Glancing about this space.

Yselda's study. Just as it was. Shelves filled to bursting with decades of wretchedly obtained knowledge I could ever so easily reclaim and store in the Archive below. Then let my twin burn away the originals without ever knowing.

But... No. Leave it. At least... at least for now. I insist while reaching out to have the seals over the balcony twist away just enough for this Frame to slerp and wriggle back outside. Then start striding toward my twin's Spire.

Consider taking the stairs, but would rather avoid stumbling over anyone else.

[Blitzköder] I hum and ride the silent jolt of lightning up to the balcony. Take a step forward and...

Find the entire Pack waiting in Elevar's study.

Krahe, presiding over the gaggle from a perch atop a too small shelf. Which could be intimidating except for the still large form of Infection lazed over her. Tail long enough to tickle the floor even.

Adaline and Schatzi sitting next to Elevar, who seems to be gripping one of the thorned vines every Spire holds with on hand while Warden sits in the other. Lets it prick her finger and Ousia to begin sealing this room and... yes. The entire Spire even. Her efforts even guided to mimic what I could do by that delightfully perfect tool's aid.

And Xafra, sitting on the floor in the dead middle of the chamber. Legs crossed and eyes locked on mine. The lure that tugged me so effortlessly into this trap of lovers.

"I..."

"Hiding treasures where the Blaze can't glimmer off them." Infection intones before I get another word in otherwise.

A pause as we all hesitate then Adaline whimpers softly and wipes her face, the redness of tears obvious to everyone. "I um... I should start. Get it out of the way and all, if that's okay, Krahe?"

"Yeah, course." Her sister murmurs back. Quills obviously answered first but... words spoken for both my and Elevar sakes. "Go ahead."

"I'm sorry, Lynette. I knew that Nadine was planning on trying to kidnap you and didn't say anything. I... should have stopped her. Kept this whole situation from happening in the first place. I was... This one is a bad doll. This one is so sorry, Mistress." Adaline says quietly, curling up in the corner of the couch.

That... turns the worry tumbling through me at this into a sort of frazzled surprise. Some part of me knew this had to be made possible with some level of scheming, and possibly a touch of warning before the strike was laid.

And as Elevar reaches over to comfort her wife I'm caught between wanting to demand she tell me why she'd even consider not telling me. How she avoided others knowing or acting to stop her. Where, by the Cracked and Riven Moon, the fool gerl thought this would end‽

But also...

The aching crack of leaking Sun-Blessed nonsense screams of all the reasons this Pack really should never trust the rotted weavings growing from a long dead corpse. The stupid Denizen's surrender and betrayal to the Beast below.

"Xafra was never in any direct danger, and no one else was wounded. Just... Terrified us for a bit. Was all." I reply and carefully lean hip against the big work desk near the now closed balcony. Refusing to let any of the bile that would taint a normal body touch my words. "It all worked out, and apparently ended with the Driftdream more secure than before, even. So... You're forgiven, dear one."

"I... She said it would help you. But I didn't think it was right to force you, and... I was worried that if I told you, she'd... be killed. I was trying to convince her to not go through with it and give me more time to talk to you and convince you to... Do the thing voluntarily." Adaline explains morosely.

"Killed?" I exclaim, unable to hide my shock. "I... What? Am I so..."

Wretchedly ruthless I would do that? Slaughter Nadine for trying to force me to imbibe a Madthing's trap? Stupid Half-Knit. You've lashed out at others for less. And there are more than a few Dolls on these grounds that can attest to the habits that went into your Threads.

"If she had been threatening to end or seriously harm my Xafra, or our Pack. I'd have weighed the option. Yes." I offer quietly, looking away as weeping faces blur together with Adaline's. Dozens and dozens of people tugged here to suffer death and torment by Elevar. "But it would not have been a motion of anger, but practicality. However, she spoke of being worried that Girra might race me to the motion, which I would have done much in my power to prevent. I'd like to think. If... if I must assure this Pack of something. It's that I understand, acutely, that Nadine is one of Xafra's core Geists. Important to her as any vital part of your Frame. And besides, I like the fool gerl. Even after today's nonsense."

"Nadine is right. Girra is fuming and asking for permission to erase her entirely. I've refused of course and made it exactingly clear that he will never have permission to enact vengeance on my behalf. I don't know what passed between you and Nadine when you stepped from the Driftdream into somewhere else, but I have the beginning and end of your interactions and there are some… concerns." Xafra adds.

“Forever Fire hates that.” A strange voice chitters from the cracks growing within me. “Hiding deep down until He decides to wake up and be happy again.”

I almost can't stop myself from spitting my own threats but... decide to accept this redirection and avoid hinting at the ways I might be able to wound the Madthing. Am actually endlessly relieved she wasn't able to absorb anything due to simply a sympathetic nature to a lost Geist once I tugged us both into my Frame’s embrace.

"I'd like to hear them. Understand our Pack's assessments and ease some worries." Is the easy agreement I force out past my internal angers. “I think I handled the mess deftly but it's good to make sure I didn't miss anything important. Or misunderstand some words the gerl offered me."

Xafra looks over to Schatzi who speaks earnestly. "Mistress Lynette, you have a habit of displaying or suggesting irritation that others are treating you with respect instead of trying to murder you, and... That worries me a lot. That you don't value yourself."

"Oh. That's a tangle of..." I pause mid reply and just... stare at her. Eventually can't help but smirk at how easily she's put me off balance with such pointed words I cannot refute. "Honestly, Schatzi, I was not expecting that question. Of all things. But to answer you... It's complicated. Mayhaps I'm not woven to value myself the same way others do. Mayhaps it's Elevar's past. Mayhaps..."

"...It's not like they'd think to kill a dead thing twice!" A memory I didn't have before giggles in a voice I cannot place a name to. "Foot steppers and Root nibblers don't respect us. So keep to the ashes and soft dirt. Okay? Else you might gotta wait forever to find a new friend to carry you like I do!"

I shove the memory away. Refuse to pluck it from the mess and examine it. Can smell the stench of Denizen slop all throughout. "Mayhaps I just need to learn to be more careful with my words when spitting venom. Stop the nonsense from leaking out."

"No Mistress! That's not fair.” Schatzi snaps adorably, stamping a furiously loving Doll foot. “I've... This one personally eliminated a dozen who claimed us between the time of the First breaking and you and Elevar claiming us and. No. You need to work on this and care about yourself Mistress! You're important to this Pack. We don't want any other owners."

Look down and away. Shame prickling through me at her demands. The gerl who claimed Elevar and chose to never leave her side. No matter how cruel she was. Insisting… insisting she wants to keep me too.

And those old words snarl in a voice I only barely find familiar. "All others but those two children can rot for all I care."

"I will fight to endure to this world and Her Dream's End for those I love. Farther still if I am able. That, I can promise you. And If you think my actions or temperament could threaten my stability... I'm will try to improve. Be better for this Pack and the children we will raise."

There is no hesitation in her as Schatzi moves from the couch to embrace me. "Thank you. Love you, Mistress Lynette."

"Love you too, Dear one." I whisper and hug her back.

Then she whispers so quietly that I'm certain none of the rest hear it, murmuring directly into the side of my head "If you need me to kill a god, I'm happy to add that to my tally."

Surprised, a little terrified, but... also aroused by that combination, I decide to use the gerl as a good shield from future sorts and move us to the floor in front of the desk. Sit Schatzi to kneel before me, snatch up a comb from a nearby table with a twisting of Miasma, and take to brushing her hair while whispering back. "Might just take you up on that depending on how things untangle going forward."

"Onto other concerns. I don't know what sort of memories you're getting, but I can recognize the flinches. Just be kind to yourself, yes? Both your current self and whoever you once were. And... If you ever don't want to talk about something, just let us know instead of lying. Please." Xafra asks softly.

"I'll try to avoid lying when in private talks with my Pack. But out among strangers claiming something untrue helps me make it so. And I don't mind hissing a fit about this bit, actually." I huff while working through Schatzi's hair. "There was nothing for me past that door in your Driftdream. These memories are from me finally being able to dig past a barrier down below due to this Frame’s durability. But... It's like pricking a hole in a Root filled with water and suddenly dealing with a stream of nonsense. I thought I could be selective with what I recovered, but... No. I'm trying to manage a stream with no idea of when it'll end. Or if it ever will."

"I can relate in a way. Assuming you are trying to avoid something akin to Geist formation or budding into a more complex polysoul, I would highly recommend sorting out what you get into different... compartments in your mind. Rooms if you can manage that."

"See that's the annoying thing Xafra. I've tried that. And it does help a little to know which voices tittering are which. But it's like... I'm dangling from the sea with a raging storm below. There are no rooms or others around. Just... falling tides and rising rain and the sway of my tether from its anchor." I reply while carefully working through one of the rare tangles in our Doll's hair. "I adore how your Driftdream and library and even Geists are laid out. Have taken so much inspiration from how you've managed and built yourself. Endlessly so. But this is... Well..."

Pause, consider my next words before just... sputtering them out.

"You're... a person. A Goddess, yes. But personhood was something you've always held I think. And I'm... I'm not sure what I am? Hoped I'd find similarities with Warden but... even it is nothing like me when I compared aspects. Which is endlessly infuriating because I love every part of that wonderful tool. Would gladly say that what I am shares schema refractions with Warden with nothing but pride. But... We don't."

"Would... Warden offers assistance via subdivision." It offers immediately.

Glance over to the blade in Elevar's hand. Confused.

"Could you explain what you mean, Dear one?" My twin asks it for me.

"Warden can split off a second unit. Warden is artificial and can do so without loss. Warden Structures were initially created with the capacity to spread to each Frame in a production set but Warden refused because the Pack was promised to not have a Warden."

"I... We'd have to be so very careful. I have memories I cannot let leak for a variety of reasons. Both personal and.... well, for safety reasons. This part of you within me would need to be ready to keep parts of itself sealed from other members of the Pack at my discretion. Not even your Primary User can overrule me here."

"I'd approve of this." Elevar replies immediately. "Without compromise. Will trust you both to keep each other safe."

Pause at all their looks of trust and worry and budding hope. Set the comb aside and rise. Turn to the desk and the nearly finished work myself and Elevar have been trying to complete. "But... No. Moonshite. I can't agree to this. When I made this Frame it took so long to do because I was laying a stupid amount of wards. Both to keep it sealed from prying Divine eyes but... but to alert me if Sekrhús was to ever wrest control away from me. Or use some of it's Miasma without my consent. Endlessly laid. Literally. But... they didn't work. At all."

"The Warden subdivision can be customized to your specifications and have restricted memory banks as well as serving as autonomous monitoring for you. The Warden subdivision would not be part of the Pack, it would be part of Lynette only, and subject only to Lynette's commands."

"I'm flattered and enthralled. Would adore a spirit within to try and handle the mess that is myself." I reply after a long silence while glaring down at the unfinished project on the desk. Feeling something... start to hurt. Inside. "But... No. It would be too much like.... like..."

Something else.

A long untouched memory from before cracks through the barrier to slam into me like the tides carried by the fiercest Summer Storms

And three things happen, all in quick succession.

First. I remember how my corpse below died. Even get to verify that.... yes. It was actually in the same chamber as the Beast almost used on Xafra. How it tore Ousia and Physis and shrieking Nomos away. Then dumped the old body into the mulching chamber while a weeping Doll was dragged away by her new Mistress.

Second. I remember waking up from death. One corpse in a rotting pile of thousands. Dead Spores brimming with Rot and broken Dreams. Just... the way the Beast likes our kind to fester and brew. Trapped below while the child of her soul was above.

Third.... Well. Is honestly the most terrifying.

Mine and Elevar's connection to Sikkina's Sanctuary is SCREAMING in a unified shrike that jerks me from the horror of the memories.

Warden violently snaps to attention, its humanoid form dissolving away as its Frame thrums intensely at Krahe and the rest of the Pack.

Xafra doesn't move. Doesn't even Breathe for a heartbeat. "Lynette. What do I do? I'm not going to act without instructions and risk our daughters."

'Our daughters.'

Even amidst my fear that settles me to focus enough to start my incantation.

"Wurzelriss" A pair of lips hiss amidst the screams I know my little one is making.

And nothing happens. Because those lips are attached to a body that doesn't even know what that word means!!!

Try again. Don't get it tangled this time, stupid Half-Knit.

⟨Wurzelriss⟩ I growl, twisting Miasma and Ousia to crack a Fold in the Roots into the space beneath me.

Don't have bones to break. So just... kinda slerp into a wriggling angry mess onto the floor of our second brewn daughter's Sanctuary.

Xafra follows my lead, reducing herself to a pile of boneless gore for just long enough to slip through as well before regaining her shape.

⟨Access status⟩ I Cant to my new Frame with such force I know Xafra would feel the shockwave of Miasma that rolls gently over the shivering trees and grass.

And... feel myself swirl out endlessly. Carefully. Like a blanket of endless arms, eyes, tendrils, and more... plant like growths. My form turning deep hues that match Xafra's eyes as this Frame becomes more akin to a second blanket of life over our daughter's Grove.

Absorbing everything and anything that could be causing this. Start sharing every scrap of raw unfiltered information to our Pack as words within fail to have much... meaning beyond the razor sharp focus as I embrace the room.

But... it's obvious. Long before the readings tell me what's happened or my limbs reach our children. Even before the words amidst the screams start to make sense to me. The motions that pull us to the edges of the central hollowed out tree just... visual or otherwise verifications.

The crack to Sikkina's Sanctuary came from within. She struggled free of her egg of her own desires.

The Cradle that serves as Sikkina's egg has a number of small punctures in a straight line across the top, with amethyst tendrils of... something, Not intangible, but not flesh weaving together and forming a blanket that's carefully draped across her big sister who presses herself against the Cradle.

Carefully, slowly, weave about them both. Twisting... Things from this Frame to try and help. Glimmering chiming growths to desperately smother the echoes on a level only my Doll can hear. Link up my form to the Vines of the Estate just outside the door to Sikkina's Sanctuary. Drink in a tide of Empty Nomos as I knit an identical creation to gently writhe beneath the soft blanket that is our unhatched daughter's form. Wrap them about my Doll's elbow and...

⟨Offered Relief/Gentle/Aid/Love/Sympathetic Pain/Healing/Enduring Protections⟩ I Cant to them both with firm but soft Miasma. Hoping... so much at the words reach them without the taint of the unending terror boiling my insides.

"Stupid hollow ugly dumb Dolls don't KNOW! PLEASE! pl– pleeeease." My firstborn child's first understandable words hiss out as the gift of Empty Nomos fills her Frame. Ear pressed flat with palms trying to shove them as closed as possible. Forehead resting on the floor as her tail flops about. Torso just barely curled about that silly ugly little plush. "Let her go. The Sky is full! Go bother Him not this one. Go away away! Mistress promised. Go away go away It doesn't know where they keep the Blight filled clams or the clicking brumble wasps orthehowlingflamingotterswhoonlyknowhowto... too....."

Slerp and wriggle my form beneath both of them. Gather up my daughters in my endless arms. Pull them close as my Frame relays the wretched truth I already know to myself, Xafra, and our Pack.

My breaching of those old memories... It did this. Somehow. Must... must be some kind of sympathetic link between us. My Doll began getting troubled by horrid echoes like I do. Possibly worse. The breach just... kept growing.

Till it burst and... and now she's downing in them.

So of course her little sister cracked herself free to help as best she could. Twisting raw unborn dreamself into the softest blanket to hug and hold a tormented beloved sibling.

Try to nudge her back inside her egg though. Canting ⟨Dangerous/Retract/Healing/Repair⟩ to the wave of gorgeous protections about her big sister.

Need her to listen so I can help weave the damage closed. Patch the gaps and knit the bindings and... and...

Most of it retracts, but a section breaks away from the rest, clinging to my eldest's tail as a ribbon tied into a bow. ::Protect!:: She Cants back with Physis as she closes the rest of herself back into the egg, pressing the same dreamstuff firm against the inside of the punctures.

Xafra, hovering above, looks down in concern. "I think that Warden's offer might be necessary to block the tide of memories from swallowing your little one, unless you have a better way of preventing that kind of backflow."

Examine the breaches. Let my Frame reach out and begin to root itself to this Sanctuary. Slowly... oh so slowly... Weave the gaps to begin to close while I examine the bow Sikkina left. Try to understand this gift while considering Xafra words.

"I think you're right. But... I need to understand some things first. About the nature of this Subdivided Warden." I whisper, then Cant to our Pack and my twin ⟨Gather/Proceed/Attend⟩.

"Should I open a Goreway for them?"

"I would adore that, actually." I agree. "You're working is gentler than my Root Folding, and the more you weave that here the more Sikkina might be able to understand and mimic them later."

Find the ribbon... a liquid that holds its shape. Leaving purple marks behind where it brushes against things. No radiating of anything else though. Just... a gift from a sister.

With more care than usual, Xafra cuts open a gore way with three slices, folding reality up as though it was an inconvenient curtain. "Come through quickly please, I don't want to disturb the nature of this place just in case."

They all do. Krahe leading the way and Elevar at the back. Quills tittering soft songs of worry and still fear.

I pat the floor gently after they've all entered. "Only broke because she tore it from its one weak point. Inside. But delicate weavings tore. Will take me the rest of the day to fix just the first layer. This place is like... well, an old clam. One with a thick shell and strong limbs and..."

Our oldest memory rises up to slam into me from behind like a wave. Causes me to hitch and stop.

Just a silly creature that got stuck in her wrongways shell. Needed to crack free. Had to escape. Might have to again. Change is important. Vital. Need to always be ready to die a little to find the right–

"No no no please this one LIKES this Frame's soft fur and wiggly tail and broken eyes." My Doll whimpers from my embrace.

Pull her close and murmur soft comforting things. Let the growths that surround us chime louder to drown out the shrieks of the recollections. Wait till she's quieted to ask...

"Warden." I whisper. "Is... will this Subdivision be more akin to... to myself and Elevar? A twin? Or... or like Sikkina? A child to you?"

"What would your preference be? Warden can accommodate. If there are ethical considerations, Warden can ensure the subdivision is non-sapient." Warden responds intently.

"I worry that without sapience it.... would just be a second pattern to the mess I've already woven from this Frame's garden of consciousness. An improvement, for sure. But..." I murmur while drawing up some of the spiraling, seeming endless, schema from the folds within and sharing them with Warden and our Pack. Not all of it, but the parts I think it could help me improve or weave this twin into if it comes to that. Still focused more heavily on the healing of the Sanctuary and the Doll in my arms. "I think... gently split off twin to you would be preferred. One that could grow up alongside Sikkina and... and her sister. Be Pack to them. A sibling. Loved from the start. And not woven into my Frame. But into my Doll's? Probably easier to filter the echoes from that side, I think. As the echoes are coming from below. Not identical even. But... symmetrical. Harmonic?"

"This one can do that if your Doll is willing..."

Nod, gently tug my Doll up. Still holding her tightly but... also trying to make sure she hears me over the mess inside. "Dear one? I... We might have a way to soften these echoes. But it would require us to imbibe you with another sibling. One... one that will share your Frame. Everything will be different. But I... I think you could..."

She shakes her head with such terrified hissing fear. "No. No more voices inside. Please. Too many already and they're all screaming and biting and angry and... and I... No. NO!"

Wince. Worried she's beyond my assurances and explanations. Try again. Ever more gently. "This new one would help quiet them. I promise."

But... she doesn't even hear me. Keeps shaking her head and growling and hissing fury at the things all about her. Pressing those ears harder and harder to lay flat.

"A compromise then, of course." I murmur to no one and everyone. Then look back to our Pack, "Twin to you, Warden. Installed about my Threads deep within my form, but not connected so firmly it can't slip away if... if the Beast below decides to rouse and cause trouble. Or it eventually wants me to weave a form devoid of my Miasma. Pack to your Pack. With all songs and permissions as you have. Just... Need it to keep my secrets. Also, please gift this one the promises of choices and autonomy we didn't have? A partner from first heartbeats of installation to me. Able to abandon this Half-Knit if it needs to."

"I… This isn't working. We need a stopgap. Infection, Can you create a Null Beacon?" Xafra asks, cutting Warden off as it begins to consider a response.

"This one can, yes." It replies. Looks to Krahe while Quills sing little songs of questions and permissions.

About to snap at the stupidity of that but... Hesitate. As they all know how terrible Nomos is to my little one. Wouldn't suggest that flippantly.

"Won't touch the little one with anything either, smart. Should work, right?" Their Pack Lead murmurs. Moving to hunch down next to us. Tails wiggling in tune with their little song on the air. "Just a bubble to block stuff. Think you and it can adjust the tune of that, Xafra?"

"With Verbess' help, yes." Xafra responds immediately.

Our large Doll is already cracking itself free. Moving to stand opposite Xafra. Adjacent Infection whom is across from Krahe.

A circle of song and protection.

But… Still make sure to twist a few aspects of the internal folds. Ensure the Miasma is tuned to ignore this fairly common working.

"Not a drop of Nomos on us." I murmur, clutching my Doll close. "But... Go ahead. I trust you all. Proceed as you will."

Adaline steps right beside us and jumps vertically, clinging to the ceiling with all of her talons. "In position. Begin when ready."

Can't help but smile at the gerl. Unable to be even a little upset at her part in Nadine's schemes as I set easy commands into my Frame. Causing it to recoil and wind itself back into just... the simple shape of a kneeling Witch holding her weeping Doll. Save the extra hands laid over the breaches in Sikkina's Sanctuary that work to carefully reknit the cracked parts.

Elevar moves to sit next to me. Laying a hand to help comfort my Doll before nodding to the Pack.

As the Null Beacon emanates from Infection, it is drawn towards Xafra, Verbess, and Adaline by their low thrumming Quill-song, then carried further from all three to Krahe, who closes the loop, the beacon somehow travelling under us due to Warden and back to Infection. "Initial seal in place. Verbess, begin adjusting Harmonics and I'll keep the frequency narrow enough." Xafra requests over the sound of the entire Pack's Quills.

Verbess' pitch moves from things any Witch could pick out to things beyond the range normal ears can find. Eventually even Elevar's ears and Tendrils stop reacting to it as well.

And... All throughout I keep primary focus on my Doll. Trying to understand if any of this is having an effect on her. Even letting little thin strands of my form slither out to spread across her Frame. Gathering more and more information.

"Should try paired pitches once we get through the spectrum." Krahe speaks aloud. "Then triple. Not sure how this link works but if it's anything like our Pack's bond you'd need more than a single tune to block it. If it's even possible."

"Infection should be able to tell. It'll lose connection with its spore family while in the beacon. As long as we move towards pitches that interfere, we'll get it right quick." Adaline reassures her.

"This... assumes the connection is laid in a similar way." Infection offers. "It could be opposite. Or inside out. Even follow multiple different tides to follow this little one here."

Tides. Cracked and... and long hollowed out BONES that makes three memories scream over the others. A chittering mess of words I don't consciously understand but know what they're on about and can't help but slip into untangling...

Endlessly riding waves to find new ashes to swim through. Following the biggest fire ever across the Everything and nibbling on the wumberful feast it always left our clutch. Long dead newly dead only mebe dead. Didn't matter! All were perfect and amazing and sometimes becoming new friends inside to introduce to the Forever Fire above to love them like He loves u-

My Doll's screaming babbling jerks me from the soft memory that gobbled up all focus for half a heartbeat. Brings me back to the conversation as I tug her closer.

"And if that doesn't help, another thing we could do is see if something could be knit to block Xafra's connection to weave a Goreway and work backways from there?" Elevar offers.

"Actually... I could wrap the Null Beacon envelope in my Divine energy? Thoughts?" Xafra asks.

My everything freezes at that.

Connection Through Severance.

She... well it would work. I think. If it twists based on the aspects of her It seems to be.

Place a series of commands through this Frame. Ensure it won't run off and will keep working to repair Sikkina's Sanctuary regardless of my own distractions. Also... hold anyone looking for snuggles close as everyone tells me it apparently does when I let it tug me into resting with it.

"If it works for her, which I think it just might, It'll sever my connections to this Frame too. Which is fine as this body will continue repairs regardless of my directions now." I offer. "At minimum it will also put me like I was before the Garrote was removed. If so Elevar can just... walk out to communicate with me. Otherwise remain with my Doll and keep her safe. Don't let this Severance touch Sikkina's egg though. Else you could sever her from the grounds too early."

"Yes, Mistress." Xafra answers. "Ready?"

"No, but proceed when able, loves." I murmur, squeezing my Doll so tight in one last big hug. "Thank you. And... apologies. For making a mess of things."

Wondering... wondering if... If I should tell her. Offer my the weeping girl in my arms the words I've been unable to even whisper.

Xafra spreads her arms and streams of blood-red energy flow from her fingertips, wrapping around the outside of the Null Beacon, covering it in a fine mesh.

Close my eyes. Try to force them out. Struggling to find the right order that'll say everything without scaring or hurting or just... getting lost in the mess she's feeling. Maybe even let them be the echo at the end of her... Wait.

WAIT!

I can actually do that!

Weave instructions to the Frame to convey these hardest words once it loses connection to me. Feel a bit of a coward for not saying them myself but... Well, First steps are most difficult, and all.

Actually makes the tumble backways through the Threads easier to endure. The silence less horrifying as all sensation leaves my awareness. The connection to my twin severed, as I expected it would be.

Which makes it so that all that remains is my connection to the Estate, and the memories now flooding into my unfiltered Threads.

So… I follow my own advice.

"Mind the corpses. Don't follow errant lights or familiar voices but mine own. If a hand finds yours don't let go though, it's probably another you falling behind and needs help moving forward."

Twist and adjust how I want to consider this.

One step at a time, seems the best route.

But... Cracked and Riven Moon are their Corpses up to my tits here! Screaming howling gurgling all sorts of nonsense I make sure to ignore. Blazes everywhere too. Endless lights dancing about and trying to draw me in.

What I'm NOT expecting... is the little creature I find gripping my hand. Look back to see... something. A weird wiggly thing with too many limbs and fangs and... endlessly bleating little whimpering chitters.

Sigh, and pull it up and into my arms.

"Should leave you behind. Won't bring me anything but trouble." I chide this old part of me as it nuzzles tight against my chest. No bigger than a small birb or snek but... still heavy with chitin and wriggly tendrils. "But... Promised my Doll to be better. Even mayhaps kinder to you lot. Despite everything."

It gurgles little nothings I choose to understand as... 'Family is smart. Listen to family!'

Despite knowing it was a part of me that existed long before I was infected with the sickness that is language.