Chapter 37: Sisters II (Patreon)

The shopping district was busier than it had any right to be as Rowan went about fulfilling her promise to Tehri. The scene caught Rowan completely off guard. Gone were the lifeless drones of the day before; they had been replaced by a swarm of busy bodies. The stark differences with everyone's behaviour was actually a little disconcerting. Even so, Rowan was glad to see the heightened spirits.

Rowan and Seres held Tehri's right and left hands respectively as they navigated the market square to ensure they didn't get separated. There was a lot going on in the plaza with merchants hawking their wares and the myriad townsfolk turning it into a place of mercantile flux. Not once, not twice, but five times were the three of them nearly separated, mostly due to the sheer chaos of it all, but also because of an unfortunate moment with a horse doing its business right in front of them.

With how packed the plaza was, there was almost no escape from the path of the dung and the flow of traffic was pushing them forwards. Rather than skirt around the sickly green obstacle before them, Rowan sped up slightly and hopped over the offending mass with Tehri and Seres being carried by her momentum. The bizarre and seemingly out of place maneuver managed to draw in a few distracted eyes, including those of the people immediately behind them, as made clear by the somewhat muted squelch and visceral swearing that followed.

At that moment, the girls came to a silent agreement that it was time to get out of there. The central market was just far too busy to do anything productive, let alone fun. Even trying to get away from the writhing mass of people was a total nightmare. Eventually, however, they managed to break free and their tails were only moments behind.

Now that they were in the less chaotic side streets, they were finally able to relax and move at their own pace. Rowan struggled to believe that any serious trading ever happened when the market got to be like that and the idea that it was potentially a regular occurrence was terrifying. That thought was pushed aside by Tehri tugging on Rowan's hand. So much for taking things slowly.

After that, they spent a significant time window shopping, as they tried to figure out what everyone liked. The relaxed nature of it all also gave Rowan the chance to give Tehri some preliminary advice on her own Awakening. It wasn’t perfect, Rowan was still inexpensive in and of herself, after all, but it was better than Tehri going in blind like Rowan had seen a little too often back in the caves.

Rowan also went off a couple of times by herself, leaving Tehri and Seres with Lochlan and Liadra, so that she could buy a few small presents for the two of them in secret, along with an Alyran Raindrop for herself. Gods, how she missed that soft, delectable orb of colour and fruity goodness.

After she devoured her treat, Rowan made her way back to a highly suspect pair. Tehri and Seres were both glancing over at her and giggling as she turned the corner to the street they were waiting in. Rowan gave them a questioning look as she approached.

"Is something wrong?" she asked.

"Nope!" Seres laughed back.

"Well okay then."

*****

Over the course of their time in the commercial district, the three girls found themselves mostly purchasing clothes to restock Tehri's nonexistent wardrobe, along with a few trinkets. Rowan also made sure to buy her some new art supplies. It took a while to find the right kind, as Rowan was no expert and Tehri was having a hard time communicating what she needed through Seres and she wasn't yet strong enough to use her own words.

Apart from that, however, they just stuck to window shopping. To do much more might have been overwhelming to the point of ruining the moment. Fortunately, they managed to find the right balance to the slice of life that they were seeking.

Unfortunately, the eternal march of time would eventually catch up to them as Tehri's stomach spoke the universal language of "Feed me!" They quickly shifted their focus towards accomplishing that request. As the centre of the commercial district was still on the busy side and none of them were in the mood to trek back to the inn for lunch, they sought out a small tea house from Rowan’s childhood memories.

They were almost halfway there when Tehri stopped them. She was tugging on Rowan's hands and pointing towards an alleyway. As fear crept up Rowan’s spine, she heard it, an almost imperceptible crying amidst the shadows. Seres, on the other hand, still hadn't realised what was going as she continued walking forwards. Rowan was torn between them as Tehri rushed off towards the alley. It happened before she could even respond; Tehri was also acting at an Awakened level, after all.

Rowan’s only real choice in that moment was to call after Seres whilst keeping her eyes on Tehri who slowed down the moment she reached the alley. Rowan saw her tiptoe inside, past a few crates and into the shadows. Fear started to gnaw at Rowan's stomach as she waited, each second punctuated by that soft crying.

And then Tehri was there, cradling a small, four-legged animal with a mantle of stars; it was a baby Tamarin Fox.

"She's hurt," Tehri croaked weakly.

"Ahhh," Rowan fumbled. She'd been caught completely off-guard by the discovery; Tamarin Foxes were practically mythical given how elusive and rare they supposedly were. Instead, Seres took the initiative of wrapping the small fox in a cloak to keep her warm.

She needs milk, Tehri signed once her hands were free, can we bring her with us? Please? We can't leave her alone, or she'll die.

Rowan could feel the emotion in the request as she felt her own flare in response. That alone was enough to understand the meaning behind it and Seres' translation just confirmed it.

"Of course," Rowan replied softly, nodding her approval. The poor kit looked like she was on the brink of starvation. Rowan dreaded to think what had brought her to Næmyris and left her in this condition.

With the answer given, Tehri took the fox back from Seres and they quickly made their way to the tea house. Rowan asked for warm milk the moment they entered the building, leaving a poor waiter fumbling around to fulfill the request while another led them to a table. Before long, the fox had her first meal in what might have been days, whilst everyone else waited for their food to be served.

The little kit continued to gather her strength bit by bit as Tehri fed her. Rowan knew exactly what she was doing; it had come instinctively to her. Just as compassion had given Tehri her voice back, compassion was helping the fox heal just a wee bit.

Once the kit had drunk her fill, she promptly fell asleep in Tehri's arms. A few minutes later, the food arrived. It was a simple mean, though admittedly not a simple as the kit's one, consisting of lightly toasted sandwiches and a hearty autumnal soup. For Tehri, however, it was significantly more complex as she tried to navigate it around the fox without waking her up.

They continued to chat as they ate and once they were all finished eating, the conversation transitioned into initial lessons for Rowan on sign language from  Tehri and Seres. It was a strange concept at first, speaking with one's hands. That is, right up until Rowan realised that she already articulated a fair bit with her hands already; signing was just the next logical step. Thus, she was, with some difficulty, taught how to weave language into gesture. After an hour or so, she was starting to get a firm grasp of the basics.

Alas they couldn't just sit around all day, not when they still needed to bring it to its sombre end.

*****

The three girls meandered to Eclipse Memorial, dropping off their shopping and purchasing some flowers on the way. Before long, they were stepping outside of the town and into the memorial site that now dominated the sight of the attack all those years ago. It was similar to a standard graveyard, but at the same time, it was much more. The monuments were all made of brilliant white stone of varying kinds. In the centre of the memorial was a grand obelisk made of gilded marble. With little else to direct them, they followed the flowing paths to the heart.

Almost every grave that they passed on their way was well cared for, each one given their melancholic due. It was a beautiful yet depressing thing to see whilst being a painful reminder of all the lives that had been lost. The weight of that loss was only amplified when they reached the central obelisk. Every inch of stone had been engraved with the names of those that had died and those that had been taken. Rowan read every last one of them. Halfway down the second side, she felt a lead weight tug on her heart. Three names blazed before her.

Hlii’hæra Talyren Naliir

Rowan’efrii Alyris Naliir

Tehri’aana Feiandra Naliir

Just seeing one of them would have been enough to get her heart bleeding, but all three carried the force of an entire caravan tumbling down the side of a mountain. Tehri saw it too and the pain they shared could be felt in the way they leaned into each other’s arms, the moment joined by a small fox who had likely suffered a similar fate. They had survived, but those words were a monument to the cost of it all. Furthermore, it presented them with the finality of truth. Even with Rowan seeing her mother’s last moments, this set it in stone for all to see.

That didn’t mean that she was ready to say goodbye. Not yet. For that, they needed to find her final resting place. Fortunately, they weren’t the only visitors around, so they opted to ask around before looking by themselves. The first few weren’t much help. If anything they seemed mildly annoyed that they had been disturbed. Eventually, however, they found their way thanks to an elderly couple who were going around cleaning the less cared for graves.

Seres took hold of the kit from Tehri and held back as they approached the monument. It was far from what Rowan was expecting; it lacked the larger than life panache that she associated with her mother, or more accurately, her nature as a bard and performer. Instead, the small, eleven-sided pillar spoke more of a graceful elegance that was only enhanced by the golden filigree that was woven into the fabric of the stonework. Rowan and Tehri read the words on the front facing side together.

From this life to the next, we see this monument to Hlii’hæra Talyren Naliir, beloved wife, mother, and the heart of our community. She will be sorely missed and never forgotten. May her soul forever know love and peace on the other side and may her family be strong in the years to come.

Here lies a memory of song.

Rowan’s cheeks were wet with tears before she had even finished the first sentence and they only flowed stronger with every other word that followed. Even so, she was confused by the last line. Then she heard it.

Hush now little one

the day is won

Sleep now little one

The sun is gone

Mama's here

to wash away your fear

Mama's here

to wipe away your tears

Author's Note: Happy Twosday everyone. Getting back into the rhythm of writing is hard and I'm sorry for any readers that I've disappointed these past few months. It's been tough, I'm not gonna lie but I appreciate each and everyone of you that is still here, especially my patrons, beta readers and everyone on the discord server. You've all helped me get through this rough patch and I hope I can make it up to you.