agentlenet | psychic thread

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psychic thread

[The gentle brush against the Strangers' minds comes in early evening. It is, as all mental touches are from Fayura, soft and unassuming, much like a polite knock at a door. Once as many minds are connected as she thinks will open the door to her, she speaks.]

I am curious, Strangers, what you would do with the young man who shot and killed Councilwoman Vera.

Many of you come from worlds where there are laws against murder. While we have no such laws here, when a Blood male in a Queen's Territory kills another without cause, she may demand a price from him. Sometimes, that is his own life if he was negligent enough with his temper and sometimes, it's something less.

My trouble is this: if I execute him according to the laws of the Blood, of which he is not one, the Guilds will rouse their people into a furor and attack not only me, but the people of Draega. If I turn him over to the Ebon Council, the Guilds will do much the same, and that will incite the Council to strike back. And if I return him to the Guilds for accolades instead of punishment for taking a life, the Ebon Council will have cause to rip apart the Guilds and anyone in their way to extract from him the price for murdering one of their own.

Were you me, what course would you take? And please try not to shout over each other; this is as many of you as I could reach.

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The Queen's will is law, but usually only for the Blood. Historically, even when landen villages fall under a Queen's purview, she leaves them to their own devices. For good or for ill. [The tone of her mental voice suggests that Fayura thinks that was a pretty big ill.

Leaving an entire people to themselves just because they're a little different than you? She's not a fan.]

Don't mistake me. I'm asking for advice to get an outside perspective, but a unilateral decision from me will likely see both the Council and the Guilds turning on my court. While uniting them against a common foe would likely help them get over themselves— [Her tone turns wry.] —I'd prefer they take aim at someone else and leave my limbs attached to my body.

[ Nothing about this place makes any sense to her. How can there be one set of rules for one people and a completely different set of rules for someone else while they coexist in the same place? It seems a thousand times more complicated and worse than segregation, and everything she knows about that was horrific. ]

I see.

[ And she immediately doubts herself. What does she know about law-making or... she doesn't understand enough about this place, she doesn't even really know the Queen's motives. (Well, here's a chance to find out, Piper.) It still takes her a moment to try and find her way forward. ]

I'm glad you'll be talking with the landen and the Blood to try to work something out. I was just thinking... it might be good to use this as a chance to set up some kind of agreed-upon consequence with them and - try and bridge the divide that there are different consequences for Blood and landen. Try to start getting one set of rules.

Perhaps. Warlord Princes are, as ever, the trouble with this.

[Her voice carries a faintly teasing tone.]

We cannot make murder illegal when they are what they are. Or, rather, we make make exceptions. That will certainly cause trouble for the landens who don't understand that asking a Warlord Prince not to eliminate a threat is like asking someone to suffocate themselves, if you'll forgive the grim analogy.

[ This. This is what she most doesn't understand about this place. This is something that frightens her a little and disturbs her a lot.

And while politic, there are some things Piper can never keep her mouth (or her mental voice) shut over. Her tone is more cautious than accusatory. ]

What that sounds like to me is saying that one person's life is more valuable than someone else's.

[ And why was that? Because of their blood? Because they were stronger? If that was true, then everyone should have just rolled over and died when Gaea decided she wanted to rule the Earth. Piper would be the first to admit that she values the lives of the people she loves more than the lives of strangers, but she's not proud of that. And the idea that some people are more valuable because of how they were born is... infuriating. ]

Edited 2019-03-08 03:32 (UTC)

[Fayura is quiet for a long time, wrestling with Piper's words. She takes no offense, but Piper gave her a perspective she's never had before, and Fayura understands the value in a different perspective. Hell's fire, she brought the Strangers here in part for the hope of a different perspective.

When she finally speaks, her mental voice comes slowly, thoughtfully.]

No life is more or less valuable than another—though if you tell a Warlord Prince his lady's life has the same value as his, he'll dig his heels into the ground and argue with you until you give up. With Princes, it is... there's something inside them that must protect the people they cherish, and because Blood females especially have times of great vulnerability, that protection is often swift and violent.

But a Warlord Prince who kills without provocation... he violates the trust the Blood must have to deal with each other. He doesn't deserve the honor of protecting anyone. A Queen who abuses her social power to harm others doesn't deserve to rule.

There needs to be a justified reason, though I understand many Strangers believe that killing is not and can never be justified. If one of my First Circle killed a witch for no reason, I may not execute him the first time, but I would the second.

With the landen man, I cannot treat him as I would a Blood male because he is not a Blood male. To treat them the same would be a disservice to the very traits that make us unique, and those traits are precious. They should be acknowledged.

[Her wince somehow translates through their connection.]

Forgive me. I am prone to rambling.

No, no. It's helpful. [ Piper's brow furrows and - she's really not used to communicating like this. She has good control of her mind, but this is an emotional and personal topic for her. Inequality due to blood... being considered less than... it strikes home in a lot of ways. Fayura may sense that Piper's got some woundedness connected with these issues, but that she is trying very hard to understand. ]

I know that there's a lot that's different about how -- everything is here. I'm not used to... [ she trails off for a minute, trying to figure out how to encase her confusion and what so disturbs her ] ...hearing protectiveness described as... almost a species trait instead of a choice. Where I'm from, the only things that would offer anyone an excuse for murder is if they are defending themselves or literally insane. So these traits that you're talking about - I don't understand them.

[ They sound so convenient, like excuses, but... that's not the sense that Piper is getting from Fayura at all, and she trusts that part of her. ]

Edited 2019-03-10 20:23 (UTC)

If one male killed another while defending his wife from an attacker, would that be indefensible among your people? [She asks because she thinks the answer will be no.] For Blood males, that need to protect is absolute. But they would defend a landen woman the same as a witch if only we could stop hating each other long enough. Our two peoples... we are kin, but not kind. Similar, but not the same. We've let the differences between us become and easy way to hate and hurt each other.

If Terreille is to survive, that cannot continue. But it's... so much to overcome all at once. [Weariness and something that resonates with Piper's own woundedness resonates in her mental voice.] How do you help people to celebrate differences they've been taught to hate?

[ Those are two very separate questions, and Piper think that they're both important. ]

It wouldn't be indefensible, but... I don't know, I think states have different laws about that. [ She pauses, considering, then continues honestly: ] I think that it would be justified, and that stopping someone from hurting other people is the responsibility of the truly strong. But I also think that - there has to be a measure. If you're strong enough to stop an attacker, but you kill them instead, on my world you're held to account for that, just not to the same degree. [ A thought suddenly occurs to her - ] That sounds like part of the issue with punishing the young landen - what are your people's options? Death or what else?

[ But all while she's answering this question, there's an undercurrent in her thoughts - Fayura's second question definitely struck a chord. There may be impressions received of painful memories, grief and loss. ]

I don't... know. [ She thinks of the reservation, but she doesn't want to try to speak for her people, even if it's her story as well, even if the bitterness she'd refer to had been pointed at her, as half white, all her life. And it had been the same when she'd gone out in those fancy schools her dad had put her in - because she was half Cherokee, she wasn't the same, she was looked down on, she was Other. How do you help people celebrate differences they've been taught to hate?

But then... she thinks of the Romans and the Greeks. ] ...maybe you don't start with those differences. Maybe you start with points of similarity instead. Then maybe you get a few people to lend their strength to each other and you just... keep going.

[ A sudden flush of self-consciousness. ] I don't know, does that make sense?

Exile. Or service. If I trusted Councilwoman Vera's family not to retaliate, that's how I would have solved this. But I don't.

[Piper's emotions are a turbulent wash of surf against a bluff, rough and uncertain and full of shy self-consciousness. Fayura weathers them silently and without judgment. If anything, she wants to be a safe harbor for the young woman.]

It is hard to be different, isn't it? To be similar enough that you look like everyone else around you, but different enough that they know you don't belong. [Piper's sense of otherness? Fayura understands it.] The Ebon Council, the rest of the Blood... I, too, am kin but not kind. I'd thought that would be enough to help me, but it hasn't been.

But you make a good point. The planting season starts soon, and we all need to eat. The farmers get on with each other better than most of the cityfolk do. Perhaps they can help us learn, too.

[ It is hard to be different. Piper had only learned about a year ago that some of her most obvious, jarring differences could be explained. She really was Other, she was the daughter of a mortal and a goddess... and she'd never be able to explain to her dad who she was, why she'd gotten into so much trouble, that she'd been telling the truth when she said she just asked for things and people gave them to her. Knowing the truth had helped in a lot of ways, given her new purpose, introduced her to others like her... but in other ways it'd just made the differences between her and her family even deeper. It sucked. It hurt. And she shied away from talking about it.

But there is, for a moment, a hint of yearning in their connection. It would be good, maybe, to talk about this with someone who could understand. But she doesn't really know Fayura, and that yearning is ruthlessly cut off.

Focus, Piper. ]

People have to want to change, and change is hard. It's not easy to admit when you've been wrong, and from what I've learned - there's a lot of wrong to go around here, on both sides.

But you're right, too. Having a common enemy can draw people together. And hunger is a good common enemy. She's seen how stretched the resources in the city have been. If the city folk can get on doing something about that together instead of just complaining about it... that'd be good.

[ This... had gotten a bit far off from her point about mutual accountability, but maybe she should wait to raise that point again after her conversation with Prince Verim? She still just... thinks that there should be consequences for anyone who murders anyone, even if it's just... restitution, somehow. ]

[Piper cuts off that thread of yearning, and Fay isn't surprised. Though this isn't the same reaction as many have had to her, it's in line enough that it isn't unexpected, and it doesn't wound her much anymore.]

Hopefully soon, we all see a step in the right direction. Perhaps by asking a jury of landens and Blood to come to conclusion about this young man, we can make that first step.

[A pause.]

If Verim is fussing at you, let me know, and I'll flip the blankets off his toes.

[ The yearning may have been cut off, but it won't be forgotten. There is just... a lot coming through in this method of communication. She is still defensive over her own wounds, and there are rejections in her past she's not yet ready to face. ]

It will give them a voice and force them to meet each other on equal ground. [ Piper sends Fayura the equivalent of a small, hopeful smile through their mental connection. ] I think that sounds like it's going to be difficult, but a good opportunity for them.

[ If Verim is fussing -- Piper gives a brief and breathy laugh, a sudden relief of tension. ]

Fussing is a great word. [ Not because of what Verim is doing, but because of what she is sure she is going to be in for when she tells Jason about this. ] It's okay. It's - weird, but it's okay. Thank you.

[ And there's a smile of female solidarity in those words. Men.

...or well. Males, she supposes. ]

[The break in tension is relief as much for Fay as for Piper, and she smiles faintly. This, she thinks, is what she needs to give the entire city—quite hard to do. But the more she experiences moments like these, the more she learns from the Strangers, the closer she thinks they all move toward a better solution.]

If it gets too weird, you're more than welcome to give him the mental equivalent of a bucket of cold water poured over his head. And if you don't feel comfortable doing that, say the word, and I will.

Kindly, of course.

[ Piper can't help grinning. This is something familiar. And that feels good after all this awfulness. ]

I'll keep that in mind. [ The mental equivalent of a bucket of cold water, huh? She hopes she can manage something like that, it sounds like something she should work on. ] Thank you, Lady Fayura.

[ This is a misunderstanding that Verim knows well. The landen view it the same much as Piper does. When he slides into the thread between the two of them, his presence is dark because of the power of his Jewel, but also warm. ]

Would you like to experience the difference? It will require a deeper connection than a psychic thread meant for communication, but none so deep that I will be privy to anything you want to remain yours.

[ That darkness is something Piper is coming to associate with power, so the warmth is something reassuring. This feels like a very vulnerable and strange method of communication all together, but it also feels -- true. She thinks it would be difficult to hide intentions this way.

But now Verim is talking about something even deeper? And she's only ever just - seen him in the Queen's court. The thought is alarming, but... if it would help her to understand this place better, these people better, it sounds like a risk worth taking. (The little voice in the back of her head that sounds like a frowning boyfriend will just have to deal, tbh.) ]

Thank you for the offer. [ Very polite, because even though she's the one with the weaker jewel here, he's the one offering up the vulnerability of letting her experience something from his point of view. At least, that's what she thinks he's offering. ...on that note, actually, it might be good to check. ] What would we need to do?

[ Against Piper's mind comes a polite touch that hovers at the edge - there but not intruding. The thread is thicker than the ones Lady Fayura used to connect them all. ]

Open yourself to my thread and I will show you two memories. One that I think will mirror your understanding and one that will show what is difficult to convey in words or thought. In the beginning, it will be disorienting, but we'll go slowly and at any time, all you need say is stop.

[ That is such a bizarre experience, it's like receiving a knock inside your mind without a sound, but it doesn't startle her. It's just... strange. She really needs to practice with this whole psychic thing more.

Piper considers for a moment, but doesn't hesitate. ]

Yes. I'll do it. Just - one question first. Would I be seeing it from your point of view entirely, or will I still know I'm - me?

[ The answer is yes either way. She just wants to know what to expect. (It probably should occur to her to ask if he'll see her memories too, but it doesn't.) ]

You will be aware of both, though the memory will be a shade more dominant. [ He pauses, considering. ] I do recommend sitting on something comfortable though. The memory won't harm you, but the experience is assuredly odd the first time.

[ Okay, that was good to know. Then Verim offers his suggestion that she find a comfortable place to sit, and the consideration is so opposite what she was expecting, since she'd been tense throughout this whole - offering of her opinion thing and and starting to brace for what he's assured her would be disorienting, that she actually laughs out loud. Her amusement is bright and clean along their connection, tinged with something like relief and something like the extension of a little bit of trust. ]

All right, one second.

[ She glances around the small room where she's staying and goes to sit on the bed, still grinning a bit. ]

Okay, I'm settled. [ She extends her mental awareness toward that thread he's offered and takes a breath. ] Ready?

[ And if he indicates yes, she'll reach for the thread and open up her mind to him. ]

[ When Piper opens her mind, the thread that she mentally holds gently tugs. Instead of Verim sinking into her mind, he leads Piper into his. He guides her deeper than necessary for communication, but not so far that she can see more than he wishes. A mental shield forms them of Gray power along with the distinct impression that this was for Piper's benefit and the others connected to Fayura's psychic threads. ]

We'll go slowly.

[ In one moment, Piper is entirely entirely herself, just in a strange place. Second by second that changes.

An alleyway in Draega rolls to life under her feet. Only, they are not her feet. The shoes are too big as is the body that she now seems to inhabit. Buildings crawl from the darkness and reach towards a sky that slowly weaves into a sunset.

Dinner time. The thought that isn't hers rolls across her mind with a sense of exasperation and weariness despite the growling in her belly. With a sense that trouble looms, Piper's steps quicken towards an old building that's seen better days. A slap-dash of boards bar broken windows and doors hang sideways from rusty hinges.

A thread of Red Jeweled power that she uses eases them open and then shut once Piper steps inside. The air is musty, but it's a familiar smell that is more comforting now than off putting. The first two floors are devoid of life and a witchlight keeps her steps certain on the stairs - this one is broken, that one isn't. Skip these two steps to avoid the tangled web embedded in them for unwelcomed guests. (A web that Piper made and one that isn't kind to intruders.)

On the third floor, the air clears some and with it comes the smell of food and the sounds of angry bickering.

You have to stop this. That thought too rings clear. She is the strongest Warlord Prince in this building, in all of Draega, with her Red Jewel.

Turning a corner reveals an open room where many youths gather. They are all younger than Piper - a mere 456 at best to her 578 years. Two young men - one is a Tiger Eyed Blood male, the other a landen - snarl at each other over a jar of preserved pears. They're a rare treat for anyone in Draega and even more so for those in this room who the city forgot about before they were even born.

Anger bubbles up in Piper, hot and quick, though there is a sense that this is mild and expected. Foolish to fight over food. Even more foolish to do it when they knew Verim would be dropping by. And yet, by comparison, the anger she feels is the kind that sends others to throwing punches long before they consider if they should.

Verim pauses the memory here, well knowing that the hot-temper of a Warlord Prince isn't easy for anyone to see, much less feel. ]

Are you okay? [ He asks as if he stood right beside her in the memory. ]

[ Disorienting was a good word for this. The shift in priorities, in strength, in body was just... bizarre. She kept feeling as though she was about to trip, but no - there was confidence and unerring purpose in the memory.

The difference in age and experience was also just - weird.

But that was nothing to the contrast of sudden, hot temper in response to what Piper would normally view as a minor annoyance. This felt personal in a way that it normally wouldn't either, as if their fight was a purposeful and planned insult to her power. It is so sudden, so strong, that she's shocked he hasn't already dived in, fists flying and full of confidence that they would fall in front of her.

That feeling when you've been spinning around in a circle and you suddenly stop -- that feeling has her clutching her blanket when Verim stops the memory to check on her. ]

Yes. [ A little breathless, her voice is a little thin. The memory has paused, but the emotions have not, they linger like echoes in strange contrast to the absolutely still Blood males in front of her. ] That's - this is weird. [ She swallows and looks down at herself and it's not her body and that's weird. Piper takes a breath, holds it, then lets it out slowly. Then she looks over at where Verim should be, by his voice, but... right. Right. ] So this is - mild for you?

Edited 2019-03-11 01:35 (UTC)

It is weird. [ Verim's voice is not unsympathetic and it is kind. A stabilizing sensation wraps around her. It's not enough to be called a 'touch', but it is stabilizing as he blunts the edges of raw emotion down to where it doesn't rock Piper off center. A little at a time, he let's that feeling return as she's able to digest it because the sudden severity of anger is the important part. ]

In this context, yes. [ His mental voice chuckles dimly.] You would not want the memory after Lady Fayura wove her web to bring all of you here.

[ He does give Piper a tiny taste of that moment. Fear. Terror. His Lady weak and vulnerable and the need that went to core of him and encompassed all that he was to keep her safe. That feeling too, Verim blunts down the harsh edges, but it leaves the impression that he would have done anything save Fayura. ]

This memory is many years before we had a Queen worth the caste in Draega. I was - [ He paused for a moment, considering what he'd learned of the Strangers thus far and the shorter lived races. ] - in my mid to late teens. I wouldn't meet Lady Fayura for close to another thirteen hundred years. The incident required little more than reminding both men that we all wanted a pear and if they wanted to keep them for themselves, they would have to go through me.

[ Piper takes another breath as the emotions are blunted. It makes it easier to breathe, to think. She knows anger, but this isn't hers. The tenor and intensity of it is different, she can think of only a few times in her life when she was this angry, and all of them were when her life and the lives of people she loved were in danger.

Then Verim gives her a taste of the moment when Lady Fayura wove her web to bring them all here, and Piper's entire body tenses. She knows this feeling. It's just a few shades darker than how she'd felt when her father had been attacked in order to punish her, when an army of monsters had been unleashed by a giant to punish her for not betraying her friends to him. All she'd had was a knife, and the terror in her throat and the anger in her stomach. She feels as though she has to move, to do something--

She doesn't do any kind of job shielding the association from him too busy trying to ride the emotions that aren't hers even if she had the skill to try and keep it from him. ]

...so at 578, you were my age.

[ She holds on to that bizarre fact, trying to ground herself in who she is, in where she is. And it is a valuable fact. Only gods are that old in her world. And they were certainly held to no standard but their own. ]

[ Verim feels the roil of emotion in Piper. Something that feels like ... understanding. The flash of her memory follows emotion and now the feeling coming from her makes sense. He's tempted to tap those moments because he is a Black Widow and the mind is the ground of Hourglass coven. Temptation does not result in action and he makes a mental note to ask Piper later if she'd like further instruction on crafting psychic shields.]

More or less. [ A flash of amusement. ] Though there are some from the shorter lived races that would argue the comparison is flawed not only when comparing the longer lived races to those who aren't, but also when comparing landen to Blood. It's the kind of riveting conversation that I recommend if you ever find yourself unable to sleep.

[ The good-natured humor in his mental voice rings clear. She needs a moment to steady herself and decide if she wants to continue and he can do no less than afford her that time. ]

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i always tl;dr and i am sorry

never apologize!

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