CW:

AWNYA POV!!! Talk of being killed. Getting ready to talk to an abuser. Um... wow. Wowowowow. Lyra's first worbs with a certain woman since Arc TWO! WOW!!!

Can’t help but hiss like I haven’t sense… I dunno. Maybe ever.

This horrid and weird inside out forest started to crack back to the stark white sea-shell shapes a few turns back. Opening all sorts of little slips of passages we could easily trip down and get lost through. Almost as bad as it was when I was here near a decade ago.

“Beloved?” Tretion asks, tightening her grip on my hand as to make sure if this place sends us tumbling she and I will fall together.

“Just… We got Fae ahead.” I growl and steady my pace from our near run to a fast angry strut. Then look back to lock eyes with Raska. “No burning them. At least… not yet. I need to get some answers from ‘em.”

Raska quirks an eyebrow as her Spark blazes in curiosity.

“I know them. Didn’t… Didn’t think to find them a part of all this.” I explain.

“Should we really spare them the breath?” Our Everflame asks.

“They could know the fastest path to Lyra.” My Watcher murmurs softly.

Can’t help but want to pin her to these stupid walls and kiss her for that. For… for just… trusting me. Not questioning this tilt from finding our Beloved to question these two. But I settle for a good squeeze of her hand and increase our pace.

Find the two wandering the paths in an almost… meek and careful way. Ears and feathers and all else perked up like they expect the same kinda dangers we do.

Don’t even try for my song of stealth.

“Awnya!?!” Melivias calls as I roll forward.

Despite her easily being a head taller I end up with my face really close to her’s as I growl. “All I want to know before you tell me where to find her is… is why. Why you’re a part of this?”

My old teacher and basically second parent’s expression twists into a thing of such pain. “She… She’s gone to find the Heart of this place. Help it shake off the barbs of this wretched song they tried to weave about it and her.”

She… She’s already pulled free? And… Wait. She called this song wretched. Which…

“And your parts in this was…?” My Watcher presses past my silence.

Glance over to see Uldra’s eyes locked on Tretion. Full of surprise and some fear but… mostly a type of cracking somethings at seeing her alive and well.

“We…” The red scaled Fae murmurs. “To help deal with any Blights that might spark up from Lyra. But… but more personally to make sure they didn’t mess this up. To try and make sure Melivias got to speak with you and her without worry of the others trying to do… well… exactly something like they tried.”

“Wonderful. Did a great job of that. Now, how do we get to her?” I spit and take a step back. Glare about the still shifting passages.

“The path is in the painful songs.” The scaled one stands and offers, eyes locked on Tretion. “Hard to spot beneath it all but… easy to follow once you find it.”

Take a second to listen, sift through all the weird little melodies tittering through this place and…

“Good. Perfect.” I snap and turn to walk around them.

Already set to leave these two as I find the base harmony of this place.

“Little Sparrow, I… wait. Please.” Melivias calls out, taking a step after me.

I want to keep walking. Know I probably should but… Instead glance back and raise an eyebrow in question.

“I’m sorry. You were right. About her. Lyra.” The Fae lets out in a huff of words. “She deserved better from our kind.”

That sparks all the pain and worry and barely starting to wither bad stuff bubbling inside to lash out in a song woven snarl. “Is that why you sat around and let them hunt her? Both ten years ago and now? Didn’t find and warn me of the trap they laid in my dad’s home? No. You knew what kind of help they were offering. Knew what they would do if she didn’t start singing the songs they wanted. Unweaving and a slow songless death, or trapped alone in another Rift bound by one of Uldra’s little monsters. Did you know about this too? This… this horrid rotten Dreamer Blighted scheme?”

A long pause passes as my furious song of anger fades, my old Hawk’s face a pale pained thing. Mouth half open and only letting out wordless muddling nothings.

“We tried to stop them.” Uldra offers, but quietly. “First in their search when they discovered she was alive and bearing Furthonois’ old mantle, then… then especially when they found this Rorliras here. When one of the bloodied Fae from the Deep Forests brought them to the heart and started teaching them the songs. Every step. Endlessly.”

“Just… sounds of little songs of refute isn’t trying to stop them.” I hiss. “So glad to hear that as you sit in here singing sad songs instead of trying to help her.”

“We… Awnya…” Melivias stammers, feathers all a ruffled mess before drooping. “We did more than that. Were about to do more but they trapped us in a little grove here. To be unwoven when this place would become the new Fae Wood.”

I go stiff at that, anger falling to dead ash. “What.”

They… my teacher? One of the best Tillers of the Fae? Just… They were gonna force them to die here? Kill them?

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

“Said Lyra’s curses upon us were an infection that needed to be purged. Mulched.” Uldra explains, face still stricken, then turns to my Watcher. “Tretion? Awnya said that… that you were…”

“I died. Yes. Soon after we escaped your Twilight Court.” Tretion replies, cautiously taking in all this. “Awnya and another reversed that. But… after we believed that Lyra was gone. Only stumbled into her in recent months.”

Uldra swallows, looks down to stare at Tretion’s and my joined hands and the way these head tendrils still tilt toward me.

“I… I’m glad. And I’m so sorry.” She whisper, voice a pretty broken and pained thing. “For all of it. Before and now and... and for how long it was before you-”

Tretion nods, moves to tug me along before she can finish. “You’ll understand I’ve little time to consider that. We need to find our Beloved Bound.”

Uldra nods. “It sounds like she’s already found the Heart and helped it start to shake all this off. Go. We can get out now.”

“Awnya I…” Melivias murmurs such… pleading in her voice and eyes.

“I’ll… come find you. Later. Maybe quite a bit later but… I’ll let you hear my songs again, Old Hawk.” I reply and tear my eyes away to follow our trail.

But Raska hesitates.

“One question.” Our Everflame states evenly. “Other than Lyra you… seen anyone else about?”

Pause and let my ears perk up at that… very clever question.

Haven’t seen Thendra since she stepped away to… to handle all other Fae about.

“Not since they left us in that Grove, no. Just Lyra.” Uldra answers.

I let out a sigh and nod. “Good. Get out as fast as you can. There are more dangerous sorts around than bloodied Fae.”

Without looking back I know they want to ask an eternity of questions, but they keep those notes unsung as we turn to continue. Move through half a dozen more more shell-like passages, turn a corner and…

Find the big cunt waiting.

Leaning against a split in the passages with her arms crossed and back to us. Only turns those Jade eyes to glance back as we freeze.

“My Lyra waits just ahead.” She purrs.

“Yeah, perfect.” I snarl, reaching back to snatch up Raska’s wrist and pull us all past Thendra before anything like a conversation can happen.

The big cunt doesn’t say anything, but… I still catch how her expression is nothing but smug and horrid and… And screams how this is all still part of her plans. How she could have come here and gotten Lyra without us even knowing.

Turn down another path. Don’t even feel the Reaver at our back, despite my mind and heart knowing that she’s following close. Just like back in the Fae Wood.

Always wondered if it was the Bloodied Fae I was sensing or… or her Reavers.

Then I see and feel and hear how everything seems to tilt inward toward a chamber ahead. The mentioned Heart of this place.

We gotta get our girl and little ones away. Get them safe and away from her. But…

Increase my pace.

Isn’t that her scheme too? Everything she wants? For them to be with us in the manor and… for us to help them grow up? Even when Tretion told her without a missed note that we’re keeping these little ones away from her she just… Without anything behind those eyes telling us that she’ll wait for them to ‘drift’.

And then I see Lyra, and my fear becomes tinted with relief.

She’s… a mess. Stripped to bare scarred flesh and splattered with a bit of fresh eck of some kind or another. Sea-Bed of a soul and little ones within even more vibrant than the first day we met them. Soul tendrils out and about and coiling like a den of vipers roused at endless attacks on their treetop burrow. Even think I’m catching glimmers of a shadow of that Fuzzy Fae Spirit with how it’s probably all riled up at everything.

But… alive, and looking our way with a shy pained smile already.

“S– sss– so– sorry.” She whispers.

The little ones in Tretion and my soul coo and yip in delight at the sense of her, then dart out faster than a quick breath. Slamming into their mother’s soul with reckless joy and abandon. Setting our girl to teeter and nearly fall from the impact.

Barely a whisper behind, Tretion and I cross the space to wrap her in our everything. Raska coming close with a steady arm about Lyra where she can.

Our returns the embrace with more force than the three of us and all our little ones combined it feels. Struggling to mumble that same apology over and over.

“Are you hurt?” Tretion murmurs past. Head tendrils are barely able to do anything but nuzzle and grip at Lyra’s hair and head and shoulders.

Our girl huffs out a breath and shakes her head.

“Dreamer’s Tits.” I sigh in the obvious relief I know she's feeling from my soul. Then whisper. “Good work. And… and I’m so sorry. About this. No idea what went wrong but…”

“St– stupid.” She mumbles softly, only barely relaxing into our embrace. “D– did… stupid th– things.”

“I very much doubt that.” Our Watcher murmurs, kneeling and adjusting to meet Lyra’s gaze. “But… we need to leave. Get home.”

Lyra nods. But… Eyes and Amwella and everything filling with such… such fear as she easily senses the soul behind us. Already putting together why that big cunt is at our back. How… how we needed her help.

“You… We didn’t know anyone else who could get us here quick enough.” I try to explain. “And she… we made Oaths. She gets nothing from us, will even keep all our old agreements and such and…”

Our beloved nods again. Pulling all her Jellyfish close as those violet eyes close.

Takes a deep breath.

“Beloved…” Tretion whisper so softly, hand moving to cup Lyra’s cheek. “You don’t need to gift her your words. Awnya or the Heart you seemed to have befriended can lead us home.”

A shake of our beloved’s head sends a pained jolt through my chest.

And a second, worse than the first when she whispers, eyes drifting open. “Promised.”

“No.” Tretion nearly growls. “You do not owe her anything.”

“W– w– want. T– t– to.” Lyra whispers, eyes still locked on the floor. “S– say g– g– goodbye.”

Tretion’s eyes and tendrils wiggle in worry at that.

When… What promise is she talking about? Exactly?

“Big cunt isn’t owed that either.” Raska growls.

Lyra swallows, opens her mouth to reply but… no words come out. And I can’t help but feel like she could keep us here for a few eternities trying to find the things to untangle the mess in her chest.

Instead she just lets her eyes flit up to Tretion and mine, “K– k– keep promises t– to you. J– just… pl– pl- pllll plee.... please.”

Don’t need to look over at my Beloved or feel her tendrils writhe in terror at that. But… also love and trust. Our girl’s a mess. Just… not in a way that’ll see her walk back into that abusive cunt’s care. Not while she has better things waiting for her and these little ones in our arms.

“Okay.” I reply. “I don’t like this but… okay. I get why you need this.”

“And I’m not going to release my grip on you till we’re back home. Maybe even a few eternities past that even.” Tretion adds firmly.

Lyra bites her lip so hard it bleeds at that. Drags us back into the tightest hug in all the Dream. Only Pulls back after a few eternities have passed.

Only lets her eyes drift past us after both her hands rest firmly in ours.

Only gathers up the courage to step forward and past when Raska lays a hand on her shoulder.

The big cunt has been waiting by one of the twisting exits this entire time. Not moving. Not… even sure if she’s breathing. Honestly.

Jade eyes locked on our Beloved.

Waiting for Lyra to speak.

But… she doesn’t. Soul doesn’t writhe about like it does when she’s struggling to find the right words or get them out. Our girl just trembles as she stares at the cunt who hurt her for years and years while I didn’t even know she was alive or–

“Why ask if you know the answer?” The big cunt purrs as if answering a question.

Wait. Wh– what?

I jerk a bit to glance between them, torn between spitting at Thendra to go away if she’s gonna toy with our girl but… Lyra huffs as seems to sway in annoyance and thought while looking away. Then glances up like she’s giving a reply.

Oh.

Memories from all those months ago flash back to snap through me like a bolt of lightning. Of… of me being tied up and Thendra sending Lyra off to kill Furthonois. It… didn’t seem important as I chased her down and brought our girl back and locked us all up safe. Or after as we helped her heal. But…

How were Lyra and Thendra communicating when our girl didn’t have a tongue?

“There is no safety in this Dream, my Lyra.” The big cunt purrs her answer our Beloved's unspoken question.