“It’s okay, Tehri.”
“What's happening?”
Rowan could hear the fear and confusion in her sister's quivering tone.
“You’re Awakening.”
“Huh?”
“It feels like your soul is bursting, doesn't it? As if your emotions are bleeding out of your pores?”
Tehri nodded against Rowan's shoulder in response. “It's like a fire.”
“I know. I'm going to help you through this, okay?”
Another nod. Rowan softened her voice to a whisper.
“Everything is going to feel super intense right now. Your senses have surpassed their limits, and your mind is struggling to keep up. They'll return to normal as your fear starts to fade.
“On top of your elevated senses, you're also going to be experiencing a bunch of other things depending on what emotions you're feeling. Each one will have a different effect. I dinnae ken them all, but I can teach you the more common ones. You may experience some of them differently, but the abilities will always be fundamentally the same.
“First things first, you're going to feel stronger and more physically able regardless of what emotions you are feeling as long as they are strong enough. Anticipation will help you react better. Excitement will give you boundless energy. Compassion will let you share another person's pain and suffering. Courage helps you deal with pain whilst giving you the strength to keep going. Sadness makes everything quiet.”
Rowan continued to list out all the emotions she had properly identified or read about, along with the various abilities she was still unsure about, such as reduced friction or energy transference. The more she talked, the less Tehri cried and the quieter her sniffling became.
“Why does everything feel so vibrant?” Tehri asked. Her voice sounded much stronger now, though Rowan knew it was just a side effect of her Awakening.
“What do you mean?”
Rowan had an idea of what Tehri was referring to, but it could also be a part of how she expressed fear as an Artist.
“Like there’s more to the world than before. But not like before. Before, it was intense. This time it’s so colourful and full of…”
“Wonder,” Rowan said, finishing Tehri’s sentence. “You must be feeling wonder from everything you’re experiencing, and this is the result.”
“So you can feel it too?”
“I can. Though I didnae realise what it was until my performance last night. There wasnae much to wonder about in the caves, and I’ve been focused on other things since then.”
“What happens now?”
“The same as before, only now you’re an Ardent. I’ll be writing up some notes based on my own experiences, which I’ll give to you before I go. Until then, we’ll just have fun making up for lost time. Do you still paint?”
Tehri half shook her head. “Kind of. Hana and Byrden couldn’t afford much in the way of painting supplies, so I’ve been more focused on other creative endeavours like gardening. I do want to do more painting, though.”
“Well, maybe we can get you some fresh supplies on the way back home then? We could also work on the garden if you’d like?”
This time, Tehri nodded fully. “I would!”
*****
They were almost at the gardening store on the edge of the Arbor District when Tehri stopped them. “Do you feel that?” she asked.
“Feel what?” Rowan replied, her senses sharpening and her anticipation rising.
“I’m not sure,” Tehri answered. “It feels like starlight.”
Right on cue, Rowan heard a weak little cry coming from one of the side alleys. Tehri was off before Rowan could stop her. Even with her increased reaction speed, she hadn’t been anticipating Tehri to move with the speed of an Ardent. When she found Tehri a moment later, she was cradling a small, four-legged animal with a mantle of stars.
“She’s hurt,” Tehri croaked.
“Is that?” Rowan started to ask before reneging on her question. The animal’s celestial coat had already given her the answer she was looking for. It was a Tamarin Fox. She had only ever seen them mentioned in books. Most people thought they were, at best, a charming tidbit of mythology that never actually existed, or at worst, they had gone extinct for one reason or another, but there was no denying the reality before her eyes.
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
The fox was tiny in Tehri’s hands, and her matted coat lacked any of the lustre it was supposed to have. She cried weakly. Her breath faltered.
“We have to help her,” Tehri insisted.
Rowan agreed. She gave Tehri her coat so that she had something to wrap the fox with. “How about we take her home? We can do our shopping tomorrow.”
“Yes.”
*****
There was an adorable awkwardness to the way the Tamarin Fox approached the small dish of sweetened milk that Tehri had prepared after they returned home. Rather than lap it up like they had expected, the fox instead rolled her face in the dish, looking for something to latch onto.
“We might want to get her a bottle,” Rowan remarked. “She’s probably too young to feed herself effectively from a dish.”
Hana nodded before asking, “Where did you find her?”
“On our way back, near the Arbor District,” Rowan answered.
Seres frowned. “I still can hardly believe you actually found a Tamarin Fox. The only other person I know who has reported actually seeing one is my uncle, and I thought he was lying.”
“Why would he do that?”
“To add some flair to the story he was telling? I don’t know. I was really young at the time.”
“That’s fair. What are you going to name her, Tehri?”
“Huh?”
“She’s going to need a name if you plan on looking after her.”
“I can?”
Rowan smiled at her sister. “Of course, silly. Assuming Hana and Byrden nae object, that is. You are the one that found her, after all.”
“I’m not sure.”
“About the name or looking after her?”
“The name,” Tehri admitted.
“I was going to say. Hana, Byrden, and Kamran will surely help with the latter.”
*****
After feeding and bathing the Tamarin Fox, they returned to the Crimson Drakiir for one last night. Hana and Byrden had talked extensively with Gyren about their grievances and living in the Naliir household, but it still wasn’t ready for them to move in. They would need to make a concerted effort together in the morning to get the rest of the first floor into a habitable state, be it cleaning, redecorating, repurposing, or building furniture. The sisters’ rooms and the two primary guest bedrooms were going to be fairly simple, but Tyris’ old bedroom and the master bedroom were another matter entirely.
Rowan chose to ignore the issue until the next morning. There was no point dwelling on it when she didn’t need to, and either way, she was more focused on the inevitability of Seres asking about Tehri’s Awakening. Rather than wait, Rowan broached the subject as they got ready for bed in a mirror image of their previous conversation on the matter.
“You can see it, can’t you?” Rowan asked.
“See what?” Seres replied.
“How Tehri’s changed.”
“I can, but I thought I’d wait until Hana and Byrden knew before talking about it. I assume there’s a reason you haven’t told them yet.”
Rowan shook her head pensively. “Not especially, no. It’s not really my place to say, and I thought Tehri would tell them regardless.”
“You might want to talk about that with her,” Seres suggested. “She might not think to tell them, and it’s the kind of thing they should know.”
“I’m not sure. I dinnae want her to feel like she’s now defined by her nature as an Ardent.”
“She doesn’t have to be if she doesn’t want to be, but her family should know.”
“I guess. I’ll talk to her tomorrow.”
“Good. Nice work helping her with her Awakening, by the way. She seems to be adjusting nicely.”
“Thank you?”
“Just accept the compliment, silly.”
“Okay?”
Rowan wasn’t quite sure how to react. She knew what Seres was saying but it felt like her mind had gone on a tangent. After a moment or two of pause, she followed up on her confusion with, “I should really get some sleep.”
*****
Rowan found Tehri utilising the power of writing to tell everyone that she never wanted to speak ever again.
“What’s the matter?” Rowan asked.
“Tehri’s complaining that her throat feels like it’s on fire,” Byrden replied. “We’re going to take her to see Doctor Bræn just in case, but I think she just spoke a bit too much yesterday when she wasn’t ready for it.”
“Sounds like a plan. Do you mind if I come too? Tehri and I were going to buy some art and gardening supplies, so we may as well go together.”
“We’d be honoured to have you join us,” Hana smiled.
“You needn’t feel honoured,” Rowan laughed. “We’re family. Can I borrow Tehri for a second before we leave? I have something I need to discuss with her.”
“Are you sure you won’t need one of us to help translate for you?”
Rowan shook her head. “That won’t be necessary. Not while she has something to write with, at least.”
“Okay then.”
With Hana and Byrden’s blessing, Rowan took Tehri to the side to bring up telling them about her Awakening. Tehri answered on the sheet of paper she had with her.
“I forgot.”
“To tell them?”
Tehri nodded and wrote another note. “I was going to, but I got distracted by Tel’Riel, and then I forgot I hadn’t told them yet.”
“Is Tel’Riel the name you chose for your wee fox cub?”
Tehri nodded again, and Rowan smiled.
“It’s a cute name. You chose well. Shall we get back to the others? I’m sure you’re dying for Doctor Bræn to confirm that you just spoke too much yesterday. You didn’t notice it then because of adrenaline and your emotions giving your voice the strength it currently lacks, but when you fell asleep, and your emotions relaxed, everything caught up with you.”
*****
Doctor Bræn confirmed Rowan’s suspicions despite lacking some of the context. He also noted that even with her exhausted and aching voice, Tehri had come a long way in less than twenty-four hours, even going so far as to joke that she was like a mini Rowan, despite being a fair few inches taller than her older sister.
Following Tehri’s impromptu appointment, they did their shopping and made their way home. Everyone who didn’t go shopping with them was already deep into their work by the time they arrived, and Rowan didn’t hesitate to join them. The house would be ready for them even if it was the last thing she did.