A Clearing In The Woods

[Faith Augustin]

TBC by Ti'niva

They had come to this clearing because the suns were bright in the sky. It was a beautiful sunny trial and Faith glanced at Ti'niva with a grin as they emptied out the contents of the wicker picnic basket. "I think I cooked too much. But I thought that Padraig would be here, too, and maybe Nir'wei or even Aeon. But they aren't. Yet. They might still come, I suppose." The picnic was laid out on a blanket and even she had to admit that it looked tasty. "I'd like you to meet Padraig, you'd like him a lot, I think." There was no doubting her feelings for him, she couldn't speak his name without smiling and the happiness she felt shone from her. But it was more than that and Faith knew it. She was happy, yes, but she was content, she was at home and she was truly free.

"Sometimes", she considered, fussing over small details in the layout of the food, "I think that I am like a jigsaw piece. I think I just got put into place and the picture is whole. Or maybe I am a dreadful romantic. That could be true, also, and I certainly wouldn't deny. Ironically, though, I am dreadful at romance."

Faith was kneeling on the ground, her dress kept clean by the blanket. Today she was wearing a bright blue dress, tied with a yellow satin belt. She smiled up at Ti'niva and gestured. "I hope you're hungry, you know. I've never really been able to build up much of an appetite ~ too many arcs of not eating much, I suppose. Besides, I'd grow all fat, that would never do." The young woman was five foot four and, although she had been significantly underweight at one point, she was still very slender and small of frame. She probably always would be.

"So, it's a beautiful trial, the birds are singing and there is good food. How are you this trial?" He looked calm, she thought, and happy. That might well be just because he so often, usually in fact, was, but Faith saw something shining out of his eyes and wondered if it was more. He would tell her, if so.

[Ti'niva]

Ti'niva

Zi'da 10th, Arc 716

Ti smiled at his companion as he admired the delicious looking food in front of him. He had to admit it was more food than he had ever seen, besides the at festivals, but he didn't really count them. It all looked quite yummy to Ti and his good mood made him sure he would enjoy it all the more. Today was a good day a day of celebration and he could hardly wait to talk with Faith about all that had happened. "I think I understand that now." Ti interjected following her statement about being like a jigsaw piece. He understood it quite literally, he was literally part of a two piece jigsaw.

He sat blissfully in the forest clearing smiling, for once he could not think of a thing that would spoil his day. It was quite incredible how much better he felt now. He sheepishly stole a small role from the collection of food in front of him. He knew Faith would have seen it but there was nothing he would ever be able to do completely in secret anymore. He smiled before taking a bite out of the role. It was surprisingly sweet, he had expected something more savoury, but this was a pleasant discovery. He had eaten so few sweet things in his life.

She asked how he was and he couldn't hold it back anymore as the words came flooding out of his mouth like water from a fountain. "I found her Faith, I found her!" His words were filled with pure joy and undescribable excitement. He could barely contain himself, he wanted to jump and dance. He wanted to climb the tallest mountain in Idalos and scream it so all could here. The feelings were like nothing he had experienced before, for the first time in his life he felt complete.

The picture of his familiar flashed before his eyes as he thought of his other half. She was literally the missing part of his soul, without her he really was incomplete. "I am finally completed and she is so wonderful. She is the most beautiful creature I've ever seen, and she is so intelligent. She is funny and caring, she's playful and daring, she is all the parts of me I was missing." He said the words wondering if those traits would now increase in his personality too. He sat leaning back and looking up into the sun filled sky, he watched the small wisps of cloud float above him. How beautiful the world seemed today.

[Faith Augustin]

He understood the jigsaw analogy? Faith smiled at him as he said that and her expression was teasing. "If people start understanding the nonsense I talk, it will only encourage me to speak it more, you know." She watched him eat the sweet treat and she could not resist the stern gaze and teasing finger-wag she gave him. She did not say anything though, content to tease her friend a little and to enjoy his face as he sampled the sweet taste.

Everything was laid out ready to go and she spoke a question to Ti'niva and he answered. Faith looked at him in amazement, her eyes, and then her expression, showing her absolute delight at his words. She did not entirely understand what he was saying at first, but Faith was in no doubt that he was happy. He had met someone? A smile of pure joy crossed her face and Faith spoke.

"Ti'niva! I am so happy for you!" He had been alone too long, she knew, and this was an opportunity for him to not be. Faith gave a prayer of thanks to Famula for the joy which another soul had brought to her friend. She heard his description of how he had found the other half of himself, how he was now finally complete and she nodded. "I understand. But this, this is such good news my friend!"

Faith could not help herself, she knelt up slightly and looked at Ti'niva with an expression of curiosity on her face. "So tell me about her?" Did he not know, she wondered? She was a woman and, therefore, she needed more details. "What is her name? How did you meet? What does she look like? All of it, Ti'niva, please. I am so happy for you! For you both, of course, but you have been waiting for this for such a long time. Tell me everything?" As she asked that of him she slid over a plate of delicate lemon chocolates laced with a taste of lemon liquer. "Try those, but don't worry about talking with food in your mouth. Tell me all of it!"

[Ti'niva]

Ti'niva

Ti realised immediately the miscommunication that had occurred. It was rather amusing, only the other day had his friend, Finn, made that exact same mistake. He smiled as he searched for the words to explain. "Well she is not exactly human, I guess in some ways she is me." He realised how strange that sounded. All he had down was make it sound creepy.

"She is my Familiar, she is a panther, and the other half of my soul." He said explaining the complex concept to his human friend. He did not expect her to understand straight away, few other races were missing half of there soul. "I have been searching for her for trials, following her pull and her call, scowering the woods until I found her." It sounded so strange and it was even stranger because only he could see her. He wondered if there was any real way to explain it to a person, it was not really something one could put into words but he would try anyway.

He decided to still answer her questions anyway even if it was about something that was not a woman. "She is a panther and her name is Áine. She has bright electric blue eyes and ebony fur, much like my own hair." He took one of the lemon chocolates, the taste of alcohol was there too, something he had never truly tasted before. It was so smooth and a little bitter, he assumed the lemon was the cause of that, although it could have been the chocolate if it was dark enough. He continued with his mouth full of the delightful tasting sweet, "She is truly beautiful, like no creature I have seen before. I had to search for days in the forest searching every glade. She came to me in dreams and showed me where to find her each time, yet when reality came I would fail over and over again. Until one day I found her in the exact clearing I had seen her in my dreams, oh it was so amazing, it was like finding something that you lost many years ago, or like a loved one had come back to life in front of you!" He stopped and took another chocolate as he allowed her to process the information.

He let out a soft hum as he devoured another delicious piece. He swallowed the smooth chocolate and then continued, "She sounds like my mother, and she sings the song my mother would sing to me at night. Yet she is not like my mother in other respects. She is playful and adventurous, but she is also shorter tempered. She has many of the traits which I lack in so to speak." He was happy to explain it all to his friend. He was sure that if anyone besides a Sev'ryn was to understand it would be her.

"She is just so wonderful, and I feel like I have discovered this whole new side to me, oh Faith, it just makes me so happy." His emotions traveled on the words, thick and strong almost like you could smell them. He felt like he could die right then and there and die a happy man, not that he would wish it of course. He could barely contain his joy as he sat there staring at all the food wondering what to try next. His eyes were alive with feelings and they seemed to dance around in their sockets as he examined the picnic.

[Faith Augustin]

Faith listened to him and when Ti'niva explained more, she beamed in delight. "A familiar? Oh, that sounds wonderful! Like the other half of yourself? As long as you are happy, my friend. I'm sorry, I thought you meant you'd fallen in love with a lady. Evidently, I am obsessed," although in fairness, she considered, he didn't exactly make it sound like a panther at first, but it made sense. She watched him as he spoke, noticing the way his face lit with animated enthusiasm. It was good to see Ti'niva so happy, it really was. He certainly deserved that happiness in everything he did. The story of how he found his familiar was amazing to hear and she listened, enraptured with what he was saying. "Ti'niva, you have been on such an adventure! To find the other half of yourself in such a manner, and for her to have so many traits which you recognise. It must be a wonderful thing!"

Faith listened to him tell of the panther singing the song that his mother used to sing to him at night. "It seems so strange to me, Ti'niva, when I hear you talk of family. What is it like?" It was a genuine thing which she wondered and she had never quite worked up the courage to ask anyone, not even Padraig. His childhood was very different than most people's she understood, but it was still consistent. Then, she supposed that her was consistent, just in a very different way.

"I mean, I know that I will not ever understand what it is to have been free as a child. I just, can not imagine why someone singing a song would be important. Yet I know that it is from your face, your manner, everything."

Taking one of the savoury pies, an individual one of pork with a layer of cranberry and a crisp shortcrust pasty, Faith started to nibble at it. She thought about it a moment and she smiled, slightly. "I suppose it's an impossible question, isn't it, to ask you. I can not understand what a parent is or does, any more than you can not understand it. But if she sings a song your mother sung, has she been alive as long as you? Were you born at the same moment?" That was an interesting question, Faith considered, "or did she take on your memories when you joined together?"

How very intriguing!

[Ti'niva]

Ti'niva

She asked him about family, wanting to know what it was like, why a song could be so important. and a slightly sadder look came to his features, it had been so long since he truly thought about his late family. He hardly remembered his mother, the one thing that had always stuck with him was the song. However, his father flowed very much through him, he was more like him than he cared to admit. "Family is strange, especially when you are raised by only one parent, it leaves you wondering what it would have been like to have that balance provided by two. Yet having them is something I am thankful for, even if it was only for a short part of my life, they made me who I am today." He forced a smile across his face to show that she had not upset him, in fact he was thankful for the memories it surfaced.

"As for the song, it may not have been so important to me had it not been the last thing I heard from my mother. It is the only solid memory I have of her, the importance is not of the song but what the song reminds me of." He said as he recalled the smooth and soft sound of his mothers voice. He closed his eyes briefly picturing her sweet smile and soft hands as they caressed his young cheek. He felt like he should never open his eyes, he missed her dearly and although he had never truly known her, he knew he would have loved her. His eyes might have remained closed if Faiths words had not roused him and returned him too there picnic. He smiled calmly as he examined the food considering what to take next.

"They live as long as we do, but for a part of our life we are without them. I believe they enter this world at the same time as us as our souls are to be reborn at the same time. Then we live separate until we are ready to be united, I believe it is meant to be a test to show we have come of age and understand ourselves more deeply. Also I hear that if one of us was to die the other would die soon after, we literally cannot live without our familiar." He smiled as he explained the concept that he was not completely sure about himself, even through the sadder part the smile remained on his face. Nobody had ever taught him how it was or why it was, nobody had taught him the particulars, he had just been told that one day he would find his familiar. "It is all very complicated, I am not sure I understand it all myself." He admitted truthfully, he did not want to confuse her or mislead her. He reached forward taking one of the pies she had just taken from the collection of food. It was savoury and he enjoyed how it cleansed his pallet. Until the cranberries came, hit his tongue last, giving a blast of tartness causing a look of surprise to come over his face.

"The food is lovely Faith, I think I could eat it all myself." His words were followed by a chuckle as he thought of the prospect. He imagined himself growing a huge stomach from all the food and having to be rolled back to his home. Something was great about finding her, something was making him happy, despite everything that had happened since he left Desnind for Ne'haer he was still happy, he hoped it would last. He looked at her with a wide smile. "I must meet Padraig one day, you speak so much of him and he appears to make you as happy as Áine makes me." He finished of the pie in two more large bites. It was all so good he managed to hold himself back for a moment, he was trying to be polite, something he was bad at; manners weren't important when you lived in solitude.

[Faith Augustin]

As soon as she asked, he looked sad and Faith put her small hand on his as she shook her head, "I am sorry, my friend. I should not have asked. I often just don't think about things before they leave my mouth. I did not mean to upset you," she truly meant it and would not upset him for the world. She listened to his words and she nodded, smiling slightly. "Memories must be very precious things, I understand. Thank you Ti'niva," she didn't understand though, not for a moment and she found it very frustrating that she seemd unable to do so. He was talking about people, just people, but they held such significance to him. Faith had no comprehension of how that might be and she smiled and sighed at once, "Actually, I do not understand at all. But I think maybe I never can, and that is what I will have to comprehend. Know the limits of my understanding, accept the boundaries of my ignorance. That works, doesn't it?" Faith considered that it was a good lesson, in fairness.

She watched his face as he explained the relationship with his familiar and Faith smiled in pleasure for her friend. "That is a remarkable relationship, Ti'niva. Literally two parts of a whole," no missed communication or lack of understanding there, two parts of a whole, separate and yet united. It sounded both beautiful and overwhelming at the same time. "If one of you dies, the other moves on soon after? Then we had best protect you both so that you have a long and happy life together, I would say. That makes sense to me, very much." Faith found it fascinating and did not find it confusing, just intriguing. "So, you are... Sev'ryn? This is true of all Sev'ryn, Ti'niva? What happens if you don't find your familiar?" silver eyes regarded him and then Faith's face showed her amusement at herself.

"I find so many questions inside my head, all the time. It is a strange thing," she explained. She waved a hand dismissively when he complimented the food, "I cook. It brings other people pleasure and allows me to feed them body and heart and soul. It's a privilege." Faith nodded her head, though and beamed, "I would love for you to meet Padraig, Ti'niva, I really would. I do not think that it is .. well, we misunderstand each other a lot of the time, I say one thing he worries it was something else, that sort of thing. More often the other way around, in truth. But he was the one I ran to when I was freed. It's like he's slowly taking away each chain that holds me, you know? Because he can see me. The real me. White dress me."

She looked at Ti'niva and her face broke into a smile, "Does this mean that... well, if you find a woman who you love then, well what happens?" It was an important question, she thought and so she asked it whilst continuing with another tiny nibble of the pie she was still eating. "Try this, it's an egg, but wrapped in spices and meat and breadcrumbs. I think you'll like it," she urged. Always, with the need to feed people.

[Ti'niva]

Ti'niva

Ti smiled as Faith described how her and Padraig were together. He normally worried about her new male friend, but at this moment he was just happy to see the woman smile. They smiled together briefly before Ti had yet another question to attempt to answer. The woman truly was curious, she was like a young child wanting to know what everything was for and why. "I wish I could answer all the questions that whiz around your head." he admitted, not only did he wish it for her sake but then he himself would be much more wise and able to understand the complex world around them. He wondered if anyone could truly understood everything in this world, he knew that not even the immortals understood everything,

The question was one he had never really considered or been informed about, it certainly wasn't something he had been able to ask her about yet. "I would assume that she would either approve or not approve of my decision, she is part of me after all, her opinion in theory is the other half of my own. Maybe together we would make more balanced and sensible decisions, but who knows maybe she falls in love too I will have to wait and see." The ideas were all something he could imagine but from the two options he liked the first most, he imagined her as a being of intelligence and the two of them would have to agree if he was to truly fall in love. "I think it would only be fare that we agree, she may have to spend the rest of her life in their company too.

She handed him a food that was shaped like an egg yet covered in bread crumbs. It looked enticing and Ti's curiosity took over willing him to discover all it contained. It was delicious, he had tasted nothing like it before in his life and he was sure he never again would. His eyes lit up with joy at the mixture of tastes as Faith explained what it all was. He chewed the food savouring the taste before swallowing it and taking another bite. "You have to teach me how you cook these one day." He said his mouth full of the delicious item. He finished the bread and meat covered egg, "What are they called?" He wondered if he could get them back home in Desnind. They would make a nice addition to his glade something to eat when he was bored of his over cooked steaks, his cooking was truly dreadful.

He heard something behind him, it left trees and bushes and was approaching his back. Then came the touch of fur against the back of his neck, she was there behind him. 'Hello Ti.' the voice in his head was accompanied by a soft and warm purr. He reached up his arm and stroked the panther behind the ear, she was now stood at his side examining the woman and licking her lips at all the food gathered around. 'I like this woman, she is kind and that food looks delicious, even to me. Is she going to be your mate?' Ti smirked and resisted the laugh bubbling inside him at her comment. "She is here," he smiled as he petted the beautiful, to Faith invisible, creature, "she says she likes you." He said as he looked at his friend and laughed. "You have made a good first impression." He added as Áine laid down beside him placing her head on his thigh. 'What it wasn't that ridiculous of an assumption.' her voice was soothing to the young man and reverberated around his mind beautifully.

[Faith Augustin]

"Oh you and me both, my friend, you and me both!" Faith's smile was genuine as she answered him on the questions which filled her mind. Always thinking, always questioning, it was her way. "Can you imagine what I was like before I was allowed out in the library? I had so many questions and no way of answering them." She shook her head at the memory. "The first time I met Padraig, he was my tutor. He asked me what I wanted to learn and I told him, everything. He said that it would take a long time."

The status of his familiar as the other half of his soul, though, intrigued Faith."So can you disagree? How does that work? Oh I am doing it again, I'm sorry," she realised that no sooner had she agreed that she asked a lot of questions, but she was off again. It much be very frustrating, but she could not help but grin.

However, her expression changed to one of awe as Ti'niva told her that the panther was here. Looking around she didn't quite know where to look but her tone was quiet and reverent when she spoke. "I am so sorry that I can't see you, but from what I see in Ti'niva's face when he speaks of you, I think I begin to understand just how beautiful you are. It is reflected in his eyes." Faith smiled and shook her head. "I can't think of a single question, how odd. I'm happy, in my heart, that my friend has found all of himself and is whole. I never saw anything lacking, but now that I have spoken to him today, I am amazed by the difference." She smiled at Ti'niva and then realised that he had asked her a question. "Crumbed eggs. That's what I call them, anyhow."

[Ti'niva]

Ti'niva

Ti dropped his jaw playfully in awe of Faith who for the first time in their long and happy friendship had run out of questions. "I did not believe it to be possible, you unable to think of a question." He smirked before leaning his head back and letting out a hearty laugh. He smiled a broad smile at his friend who had created such a literal name for the food he was currently eating. "Crumbed Egg, how delicious." He chomped down on another of the eggs, the slight spice setting on his tongue. He had taken quite a liking to these crumbed eggs, there taste suited him and he was definitely enjoying them among the other foods his friend had made.

Áine cocked her head, looking towards the woman and purring softly, the compliment had made her happy and by extension himself. "I believe we can disagree, as we are one yet we are two parts of one soul, those two parts reflect each other yet they may have some different traits that the other half does not." He scratched his chin and looked at Faith. "Like your soul is complete and inside it I am sure that one part will sometimes disagree with the other. One part may think you should go and help a person in need or who is being harmed, yet part of you may disagree telling you it isn't safe or is a bad idea. I believe that to be the case with her." He smiled as he explained it, or how he believed it to be.

He leaned forward and took up another one of the roles he had first eaten, as his hand came to rest on it he felt himself feeling rather tired, it was strange just how fast it had come over him. He began to eat the role as he rested a little more on Áine, his eyes growing heavy. "I am glad I got to share this wonderful news with you, there is nobody I would rather have revealed this too." He smiled as he felt his body grow week and slump, he felt everything spin around him momentarily as he watched his picnic companion spiral away from him. What a strange sensation to spin and spin as the world around you disappears.

He felt the cold grasp of the forest floor, calling him back to the real world back to his waking self as everything he had just seen drifted out of sight.