Child of Mara

Fae

Will it be too late? Will Mar's children forget their goal? No, they are steadfast. Mar's split mind remembers even if it cannot explain. Even the land knows it won't stay, refusing to be part of En. Soon. Soon it will be time, a mortal life is the shortest of time to wait. Will they remember when they are born? It doesn't matter, Mother-Mind and Father-Mind will remind them. And when they remember, they will finally be free.

"Mar, wake up, we're almost there." Tae's shifts Mar on his back and Mar blinks their eyes open. "Look, there's the Great Forest."

He kneels and Mar slides off his back. They were too sleepy to walk from the kind Azirs' home this morning, but now they rub their eyes and take Tae's hand. "I see it!"

Fiddle holds his sky-blue hand up to block the sun. "I admit I'm more excited than I thought to see that emerald sea again. Hmmm, wind's going west fairly strong, I think I can manage to get us there. How 'bout it?"

Mar quickly snatches Fiddle hand with their other one with a grin. "Yes! Let's fly again!"

The corner of Tae's mouth twitches up at Mar's enthusiasm. They would push Fiddle to fly all day if the man wasn't surprisingly stern about his limits.

Fiddle flings his head back, closes his eyes, and takes a deep breath. "Here we go!"

The three dissolve into wind, catching the current and zipping towards the impossibly large stretch of green. They soar over the edges of the trees, but then the wind shifts, flipping them about in a dizzying loop until they are ruffling leaves and crash land in a painful pile on the mossy earth, three spears pointed down at them.

"Ah, Makers, I got so excited I forgot about the air guards," Fiddle moans, untangling himself from Tae and rubbing his bruised elbow. "No need for hostility, good druids, it's only Fiddle and friends."

Mar rolls into a sitting position and looks about while Tae brushes himself off. The Dyve holding the spears are scary and stern. One, with hair like fire and dark branching tattoos reaching along her cheekbones, huffs, "Damn it, Fiddle, you forget every time and give us a heart attack. Why can't you ever tell us ahead of time that you're going to be dropping in? Do you know how many alarms you set off?"

Fiddle gives a sweeping bow. "I do apologize. But now that you know it's me, would you mind giving me some directions? Your fantastic little maneuver up there got me quite turned around."

Even though the spears go up, Tae still holds Mar's arm, heart pounding.

The red-headed Dyve woman turns to her companions. "I'll take care of this idiot, you two go let the High Druid know what happened."

Guards disappearing quickly in the trees, the woman turns back to Fiddle. "You're not even going to say hello?"

Fiddle peers closer at the woman and then his face lights up. "Ifa! Makers, I didn't recognize you! The tattoos are new. You're a proper druid now? Good for you."

Ifa smiles, standing straighter. "That's right, so you'd better watch your step Mister Third Apprentice." She laughs and add, "You here to visit Aria?"

"Of course I'll see my sister, but actually I came to talk to Hyacinth."

Instantly, Ifa shifts back to threatening, her relaxed body tightening and her piercing green eyes pinning Mar and Tae to the forest floor. "Who are they?"

Fiddle seems unaffected by the change. He walks behind Mar and Tae, throwing his arms over their shoulders. "This is Tae and Mar. They're friends, not enemies, you have my word on that. It's Mar here that need to speak with a fae. It doesn't have to be Hyacinth, but I thought since I knew—"