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[longwillows]

reach out?

the smell of fresh water in dry desert air. the feeling of cautious curiosity. a place as dangerous as it is resplendent.

c

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[longwillows]

[What Aventurine shows her is horrifying. Not so much the gore and viscera—Kalmiya has a strong stomach for that kind of thing—but what it all represents, what she feels as she's given this memory. From One, from Aventurine himself (and sometimes from her vantage point, she can't tell which is which in the harmony of unworthiness.)

Her end of the connection is quiet for a time, though not silent. The distant white noise of a rustling forest fills the space as she turns all this information over in her head, does her best to sort the emotional from the practical.

The most important thing, unquestionably, is this: those dreams are not of Sleep's making. They are One's. That is why One perhaps thought he could act in his own right for the briefest of moments as he danced with Kalmiya, why Sleep regarded her as a trespasser, why she was so angered by Kalmiya's ingratitude. Sleep did not invite them to this place. She is the head of the household, who ultimately allowed invitations extended by someone under her roof without her permission.

Something primal rumbles in Kalmiya's forest of thought. She was right to be angry with One. But she was right to reach out to him too. One and the new Vessels—they need each other if they want this to end.

Hearing Aventurine acknowledge so candidly his difficulty in coping right now makes her heart ache, as well. If you still need me, he says, as if his own emptiness is of no concern.

Rustling. Rumbling. Crickets. Eventually she responds, softer.]

she's weaker during the day
i can feel it
something happened. i hope it's that we brought him closer.

regardless
my favorite thing to do with emptiness is fill it
so if you're still willing to help me with that, i think i can help you with it too

[sorte]

[ Aventurine's end is still and silent for the moment, like a windless plateau. then, a breeze pitters across, rolling the grass as if time has started marching on once more. ]

Something is off here, though, don't you think?

If he's just a vessel, even the favored one, how would he have so much power as to bring about the day from a simple shift yet still be terrified of Sleep and her power? Whatever shift may have happened was extremely small, but this impact is significant.

[ wherever he is, he sighs in relief. Not that he thought she would refuse, but... Kalmiya knows how to handle him properly, for lack of a better set of words. She makes him feel like he doesn't have to be so on guard because she's busy already keeping watch. ]

I'd very much like that.