[pfsb] investigations and explorations

[blue_ajah]

Two days after Moiraine brought Wei Wuxian's talismans back to Twin Peaks, after she has taken the time necessary to review all of her notes as well as the histories she has been collecting, she calls Dale Cooper, who is still in Olympia, now, rather than Seattle.

All things considered, the conversation could have gone much, much worse.

She is well aware that they are going to have a much longer discussion after he returns in a few weeks, but he had agreed not to ask her to wait. She, in turn, had agreed, as before, not to go to Glastonbury Grove alone, or at night. She also agrees not to approach the pool closer than necessary to place the talismans, or to test it with her own weaving - not at present, anyway.

Hawk had been her next call.

A few days later, after he has had time to consider and to consult with the Bookhouse Boys, Hawk knocks on her apartment door and agrees to her request.

* * * * * * *
When Moiraine returns to Milliways, she leaves a sealed note with Bar, addressed to Wei Wuxian.

Master Wei--

I made the trial of your talismans according to your instructions. When I activated the one at the northernmost point, glowing red energy swept inward from the circle in a wave focused on the pool at its center.

The pool absorbed it all. It vanished into the depths without a ripple, and without a trace.

Nothing else has happened. Yet.

--Moiraine Sedai

That task completed, she settles at her preferred table with tea and begins sketching something in a notebook.

Comments

[herald_ingress]

"That sounds daunting," Ingress says, trying to laugh. She fails.

"Should I be worried about this?"

[blue_ajah]

Something about the Aes Sedai's tone gentles.

"I do not think so. It is enough, sometimes, to be aware of the possibilities, and to be prepared. You have been touched by such things before, Ingress; it is no surprise that you might be again. But whatever may come, others are with you."

Including her Companion, Megwyn; her friends and family; and Moiraine herself, perhaps.

[herald_ingress]

"I know this to be true. While I may have been touched by such things before, it's much different when you're an adult who contemplates and second guesses instead of a child who has faith that everything will be perfectly well."

[blue_ajah]

"That is not entirely what I meant, but you are not wrong," the Aes Sedai says.

"But tell me of what you have been doing while here, in your recent return and time spent? Perhaps there is something there to be discerned, as well, that may provide insight."

[herald_ingress]

"Oddly enough, I've ventured away more than I can remember. I've taken two friends from here to excursions in the Underside and London Above. I've laughed a lot. It's, I don't know. It's been different. Much different. For all my visiting, I haven't spent a lot of time in the House of Arch."

[blue_ajah]

"New friends, or familiar ones?" she asks.

"In either case, it is perhaps only to be expected. The House of Arch is your home, but it is the home of your girlhood."

[herald_ingress]

"New friends," she says, grinning widely.

"Nothing romantic," she adds quickly, because everyone who knew her as a kid knows about her Terrible Milliways Teenage Love Affair. "But I'm having a grand time."

Well, nothing romantic except maybe for a kiss to a temple, but that hardly even counts.

"It's only, I've worked so hard all this time to be a Herald. And now I am a Herald, and it is hard work. I knew it would be. I expected it. I'm not even complaining. It's just been such a relief to come here and not be a Herald for a little while."

[blue_ajah]

"Sometimes, a respite is welcome, and does not mean one is any less devoted to the cause that they serve," Moiraine tells her.

"Even if it were to be a romantic affair."

[herald_ingress]

She laughs, a little nervously. Hey, how about a change of subject?

"It's true. When I go back to Valdemar now, I'm happy to be there, happy to be with Megwyn again. Not that I wasn't happy before, but, oh, there's a saying, isn't there? Absence makes the heart grow fonder. That must be it."

[blue_ajah]

She misses nothing of Ingress's sudden nervousness or the shift in topic, but does not mention it. Instead, she merely takes mental note, and nods in response.

"I am glad that you have found belonging there, in addition to your home and companions - of other sorts - here."

[herald_ingress]

"It's really a lucky thing. I have to remind myself that not all of the Heralds - gods, not even most of them - have childhood homes like mine. Even if they had physical homes, or even castles or grand palaces, some of them didn't seem to have people who cared about them like I did."

[blue_ajah]

"And now they have their Companions, and each other," she observes.

[herald_ingress]

"That's right, absolutely. We do. You know, I sometimes wonder what things would have been like had Megwyn never found Milliways. It gives me shudders, to be honest."

[blue_ajah]

"Do not dwell on it overmuch," the Aes Sedai advises, kindly. "Considering the paths that might-have-been in addition to what is and what might be can put one under a great deal of strain."

She sounds deeply, deeply certain of this for some reason.

[herald_ingress]

“I’m sure you’re right,” she says, and she takes a sip of tea.

During this pause she realizes, as is often the case when you grow up and meet friends of your family on your own, that she knows little about Moiraine and her actual life.

“Would it be rude of me to ask you - for my entire life, I’ve known you as an ally and friend, someone to go to should anything happen here. But I don’t even know if you have a family.”

Tom’s not so great with mentioning those details, and Door- well, she’s quiet more often than not on the topic of Moiraine.

[blue_ajah]

"I do not see it as rude," Moiraine assures her.

"I am no longer close with those in my family of birth, which was House Damodred, in Cairhien. I have discovered more of a family of choice through here, as it happens."

[herald_ingress]

“That certainly sounds familiar,” she replies.

“Do you have a partner or a spouse? Or children?”

[blue_ajah]

"I am not married, and I have no children," the Aes Sedai says.

She does not mention her previous marriage to Dream, nor does she speak of visions from days past, that had involved Thom Merrilin.

"I have taken up residence in Twin Peaks, however."

Does Ingress know Dale Cooper? She is not sure, and waits to see.

[herald_ingress]

Ingress does not know Dale Cooper, nor is she familiar with Twin Peaks. Her cheeks feel hot again from asking Moiraine such seemingly impertinent questions, but she’s genuinely curious.

“Oh, you’ve moved worlds, too? I’m not sure where Twin Peaks is, but I hope you love your new home.”

[blue_ajah]

"It has its peculiarities," she admits, "but I am pleased to be there all the same."

[herald_ingress]

“I’m not sure anything can be more peculiar than either Companions, the nature of London Below, or Wizarding world holiday tents,” she jokes. “But if so, please do tell.”

[blue_ajah]

"I am not sure I would say any of it is more peculiar."

Moiraine seems amused by that thought.

"Although those who are fond of the coffee there might claim it to be distinctive beyond the usual."

She curves her fingers around her teacup, as if to protect it.

"Even necromancy is not peculiar to that world alone, after all."

[herald_ingress]

She almost says, in her usual enthusiasm, “Two of my new friends are necromancers!” but then she recalls that Tom and Door have mentioned that Moiraine has a stricter view on what is good and what is evil, and that’s fine! It’s just an important thing to remember.

“I’ve found that necromancy exists many places,” she says carefully. “It exists in some form or other, for good and ill, in all three of the worlds I’ve been a part of.”

[blue_ajah]

The Aes Sedai inclines her head to Ingress.

"There is sometimes a difference between what is evil and what is forbidden," she observes.

[herald_ingress]

“I’m not sure necromancy is always either evil or forbidden in the contexts I understand. Sometimes it’s simply a tool, and like any magic - or anything humans do - it can be used for terrible things. But that isn’t necessarily the default.”

Ingress is a brave young woman. Tom would have given a much different response.