evening's stars still don't shine

Seren

In the gathering dusk the last vestiges of a once blazing sunset died a slow death beneath the waves of the sea. As the warmth of another glorious day faded a wind picked up and blew restlessly in over the shore, whipping waves into froth as it went. It was cold, pregnant with moisture from some autumnal storm brewing far out beyond the horizon. Though the sky was clear still, and the stars kindling bright in the twilight, the scent of salt and brine and distant rain whispered of things to come. Perhaps tonight, perhaps in an age... but come it would.

On its rocky outcropping the lighthouse stood tall and eternal, unflappable in the face of the changing seasons. Someone had set up an easel and canvas nearby, but the cloth remained untouched and the jars of paint so neatly lined up had not even been opened. A dragon lay curled up around the items, half asleep but with one eye cracked open. To watch for intruders, and guard the slender figure of a girl who had strayed off onto the rocks. The pale cloth of her dress rippled and tangled into her legs where she roamed, and she walked with her arms wrapped about herself. Lamenting the lack of a shawl, and the fading light that stole away the warmth and threatened to drive her off in search of warmer clothes.

She didn't want to leave just yet. The light was not entirely gone - she could linger a while longer. What she waited for, she dared not give voice to even in the recess of her own mind. But she was waiting all the same. Anxiously, restlessly.

I love you as certain dark things are to be loved
In secret, between the shadow and the soul

see what you find there with grace in your heart and flowers in your hair

The girl wasn't meant to be out right now. The stars were out and above her and that meant she wasn't where she was meant to be. She had been heading home. Really. Except then she saw someone up on the cliffs. No, not someone. A ghost. It had to be. With the way she looked so ethereal up there and Paige just had to go and look for herself. That was all there was too it.

So it was with careful steps that she made her way up to the cliff, bare feet drifting across the ground as she suddenly came to a stop, getting on her belly in the scarce brushes with the intent on creeping up on the ghost. Paige pulled herself forward, unaware of the dragon that would surely see her or how dangerous it might be to sneak up on the eldest daughter of Safrin, instead intent on getting ever closer.

Maybe the ghost needed help. What if they were lost? What if they couldn't find something? She couldn't go without at least trying to see if she could help.

Paige

Seren

The dragon spotted the little intruder, but för whatever reason decided not to alert his bonded to her presence. Nor did he stir from his spot, a mere shadow in the gathering dark; merely watched, and waited to see what would unfold.

Seren picked her way up onto and along the jagged rocks that surrounded the base of the lighthouse. It was a game she had played many times, but much of the challenge was gone now that her legs were longer. The drop to the water's edge below was not as far, nor was it an effort in calling on weightlessness to make one particular leap that had always seemed so daunting.

All it took was a skip and a hop, and for a moment the young woman seemed to float from boulder to boulder, impossibly suspended as her feet never once touched ground. When she landed, it was with a long, restless sigh... and quite on impulse she plopped down to sit on the flat surface. Listless and unable to maintain the fun when so much crowded her mind.

I love you as certain dark things are to be loved
In secret, between the shadow and the soul

see what you find there with grace in your heart and flowers in your hair

Paige watched it all with a sense of awe. The ghost girl flitted from rock to rock, seeming to glide without much problem at all and Paige figured it was cause she was a ghost and clearly didn't need to walk, but then she did something weird. She sat down. Did ghost do that? This one did apparently. Paige gathered her courage, getting to her feet and slowly sneaking forward, approaching the edge of the bolder, fingers curling at the edge of the boulder as she pulled herself up to peek over the edge.

"Are you lost, miss ghost?" She asked softly, not recognizing this as Seren, having not actually met her before. Paige only knew about her from her Auntie Maeve, but that didn't stop her from saying that she knew Seren. Either way, she had a ghost on her hands. A ghost that looked rather solid, but Paige hadn't ever seen a ghost before. So she couldn't really say if anything was weird about this one.

Paige

Seren

The sudden voice speaking up behind her made Seren start, all but jumping out of her own skin. Turning quickly, she found herself eye to eye with a little girl, wide eyed and somewhat familiar. It took her a moment, then she recognized the child Maeve had brought along to the festival. A worker's child, supposedly.

"Hello, Paige," she said with a smile, once the worst surprise had settled. "Do I look that much like a ghost? I'm sorry, I fear I'm quite alive still. See?" Holding out a hand, she closed her fingers and turned the wrist in a circle. When she opened her hand again, a small seashell, pink and quite lovely, lay upon her palm.

"For you," she offered.

I love you as certain dark things are to be loved
In secret, between the shadow and the soul

see what you find there with grace in your heart and flowers in your hair

As Seren said her name, blue eyes widen further and she blinked in surprise before recognition finally hit. "Oh! It's you! M'sorry, Miss Seren." Paige said, shifting to pull herself up onto the boulder, scrambling up with a little bit of effort before coming to sit beside her. "You seemed pretty ghostlike. Your dress looks like a ghost dress." Did Paige know anything about ghost dresses? No, she didn't. Did that change her opinion? Not one bit.

The girl watched in awe as Seren produced a shell from seemingly no where, eyes lighting up as she took it carefully, turning it over in her hands. "It's very pretty. Thank you. I always find broken one of these. Not big ones like this." She said, sitting cross legged now as she reached for her backpack, carefully tucking the shell inside. Finally, she turned her attention back to the older girl, head cocking to the side thoughtfully. "Are you okay? You seem sad."

Paige

Seren

A ghost dress? Seren glanced down over herself. It looked like a simple garment to her, sleeveless and loose fitting. It was white, and the skirt rather long and billowy... perhaps that was why?
"Thank you," she laughed all the same. "I always wanted a ghost dress - I'm glad this one fits."

Looking up, Seren cocked her head aside at the question. "Sad? Hmm, no, not quite. A friend of mine went on a long journey, and it has been a while since I heard from them. I am a little worried about how they are doing." And perhaps she missed him too... but she didn't say that aloud.

"Isn't it a little late for you to be out, still?" The woman threw a meaningful glance up at the starry sky. Light was draining away quickly, and it would be completely dark soon.

I love you as certain dark things are to be loved
In secret, between the shadow and the soul

see what you find there with grace in your heart and flowers in your hair

Pleased that her compliment was taken for what it was, Paige beamed up at Seren from where she sat, tucking her hands in her lap. "Well that's the perfect one. I wish I had a ghost dress like that. Imagine how spooky I could be!" She sighed wistfully, looking off into the distance for but a moment before she focused on Seren again, straightening up slightly.

"Are you talking about Sigh?" It's clear she meant Sah, but was using the little nickname that she had given him, grinning to herself at the clever joke. "He had a meeting with Auntie Maeve a few days ago!" Had it been a few days? Paige couldn't really remember, but she did remember him going into the Court. She saw him when she was playing in the garden.

The question took Paige by surprise and for a moment she looked guilty before quickly schooling her expression, crossing her arms over her chest as she shook her head, "Nope! I'm allowed to be out still! It's not dinner time yet." That was a big fat lie.

Paige

Seren

Perhaps it was clear to the little girl, but Seren did not know that nickname, not did she realize that Paige had any knowledge about who the demi-god's friends were. So she merely offered a pale smile and shrugged lightly. "I don't think so... I have no friend by that name."

Catching the girl's guilty expression, Seren gave her a long look. Then she shrugged again, to herself this time. It was none of her business; besides, she wasn't about to let the girl come to harm. Paige could earn herself the scolding on her own responsibility.
"I see. Say, have you ever painted on a real canvas?" She gestured towards the easel and row of paints.

I love you as certain dark things are to be loved
In secret, between the shadow and the soul

see what you find there with grace in your heart and flowers in your hair

A frown tugged on her lips and she thought for a moment, wondering why she didn't get it, but then it occurred to her that Seren might not know the nickname for the hunter. "Yes you do. His real name is Sah, but it sounds like siiigh." Paige explained, giggling at the memory of telling Sah as much, thinking that his name was silly. It still is silly.

Paige was about to defend herself again, but Seren let it go. Instead she shifted the conversation, drawing her attention to the canvas and pots of paint that were set up, bare and ready for a picture. Her blue eyes lit up brightly, shaking her head, "Nuh uh! Are you an artist?" She asked eagerly, brows lifting towards her hairline and practically disappearing there.

Paige

Seren

Seren's own brows shot up when Paige clarified, and she realized that this 'Sigh' person really was familiar. Something fluttery and warm lurched and flipped within her stomach - Sah was here, in Torchline? - but her expression only hardened with suspicion.
"And how exactly do you know anything about who my friends are, little girl?" It was not pleasant at all. In fact, that this stray child whom she had no relation to both knew her name and her friends was highly upsetting. It was one thing for her name to be known - Seren expected nothing less as Safrin's demigod - but she had thought that her friends would be spared the same publicity.

The excitement in the girl's eyes suddenly didn't please her at all. The question, about whether she was an artist, was met with a mute shake of her head and nothing more.

I love you as certain dark things are to be loved
In secret, between the shadow and the soul

see what you find there with grace in your heart and flowers in your hair

Instantly Paige felt as if she had done something wrong. The child was hardly known for being meek, but the coldness of Seren’s voice and the hardening of her expression had her smile dropping from her face, eyes darting away as her cheeks flushed. ”Well, uhm, he found me by the Waterways when I was playing and wanted to help me get home.” She began, voice much softer now as she fidgeted, picking at one of her nails. ”He asked me about where I lived and stuff and I told him that I lived at Auntie Maeve’s. He said he didn’t know Maeve himself, but he knew her ‘cause he was friends with you and you’re best friends with Auntie Maeve.” Her words come out in a rush, wishing to explain away whatever this uncomfortable feeling was that settled over them, threatening to make her cower further.

Even when she was around Mr. Jata as a dragon she hadn’t been scared like this, but never before had such suspicion and ire been directed towards her by a grown up before. Paige felt very out of place, anxious and unsure, worried that she had done something to upset the starchild. She didn’t understand. Why was it bad that she knew Sah? Was she not supposed to know they were friends? Was it a secret? She wouldn’t tell if it was, but Paige hadn’t known that it was one. ”M’sorry… I- I won’t tell anyone… I swear.”

Paige

Seren

Unaware of how her face looked from the girl's perspective, Seren kept her gaze fixed on Paige during the entirety of the stuttering explanation. Her eyebrows shot up at the apology - why was the child so upset? - and with a sigh she dragged a hand over her face.

"Please don't," she replied. "I can't say I enjoy that people I've never really met know about who my friends are. I really thought Sah would know better than to spread it around like that."

Turning on her stone so she could look more directly at the child, Seren regarded her with a somber expression. "Do you know who I am, Paige? Who my mother is?" She didn't expect so, and for perhaps the first time in a long while, Seren did not look forward to regaling the kid with that story. Never had she known before how starlight could cast such long shadows.

I love you as certain dark things are to be loved
In secret, between the shadow and the soul

see what you find there with grace in your heart and flowers in your hair

It was hard to decide how to answer the question because she did know who Seren was. She knew because of her Auntie Maeve, but she didn't know what Seren did or who her mamma was. Was she supposed to? Would she get in trouble for not knowing? Would Seren be even more upset with her? Paige swallowed thickly, trying hard not to fidget, but failing miserably under the intensity of Seren's gaze.

"I know your name is Seren and that you're friends with Auntie Maeve, but I don't know who your momma is... M'sorry." She tacked on the apology just in case, scared of disappointing the girl that she'd only just met, wanting nothing more than to truly impress her. Paige had a feeling she never would. With a sick feeling in her belly, Paige slipped off the rock, scurrying back towards her home once more.

{FIN}

Paige