"You're stalking me."
"Not at all." Chandra raised both eyebrows, jutting her head forward in disbelief.
"You're following me around the Mulitverse, which, I think, constitutes stalking."
"I'm not stalking you; you've nothing to worry about."
"Really?"
Gideon milled about his head, looking for a way to differentiate between what he had done and that which he was being accused of. He couldn't identify the difference. That seemed somewhat worthy of concern. Ah, concern – there it was.
"I apologise if my concern made you nervous." It was clearly the wrong thing to say as Chandra's eyes bugged and her hair started crackling.
"I'm not a child and I'm no damsel in distress! I don't need to be protected by anyone but myself and if you don't get that you'll shortly find yourself in need of protection from me!" If it were another person Gideon might have expected them to storm away but this was Chandra. The famously short fuse was alight and he suspected violence was no empty threat. She was in no way put off by confrontation.
"I'm sorry." He spoke calmly as always. Chandra grumbled.
"Why are you here?"
"I thought you established that already."
"No I mean, why are you following me?" He elected not to answer the question yet again, instead pausing and looking out over the plateau's edge, past the steep shrub covered descent, to the ocean. No ports as far as the eye could see which being a long way likely meant no mind mages or artificers nearby. That was probably why she was here he decided.
Gideon didn't know this plane, he'd been pointed here by some assistance from the Infinite Consortium and when he'd asked what to expect Jace had simply said "It's really, really tall."
He was right. They stood on the rocky edge of a meadow atop an enormous plateau. So far as Gideon could tell this plane was made mostly of large flat-topped mountains, upon which were found fields, lakes and other mountains. The trees were short and there was a small city skirting around the foot of a mountain nearby. The mountain from which they'd come was a short distance the other way, they'd left to avoid accidentally tipping off the locals to the extremity of their foreign origin.
He looked back at a slightly annoyed Chandra and mused that her temper had improved a fraction or two. She wouldn't have simply given up without an answer when last he saw her. Without realising, he was giving her a small smile that seemed to ease the remnants or her irritation. He was glad to see her, and seemingly unscathed. Remarkable when he considered what happened on Zendikar.
She muttered something about having to get back to the settlement and he nodded, the two of them setting off towards the mountain again. As they walked her hair swished back and forth with each step, flashing in the sun. She looked quite healthy, at least as well as in Regatha, perhaps more so. He'd forgotten how bright her hair was, not so much ginger as it was orange. He'd forgotten a lot of how she looked; it had been almost four years. How old was she now, in her mid-twenties? He hadn't known her age even then, just that she was clearly some years younger than him.
His eyes flicked up to the settlement atop the diminutive mountain they were climbing. What was she doing there?
"Where are you staying?" She looked back at him.
"I'm staying in a mountain hollow near the school." She paused before continuing. "I'm teaching the little ones pyromancy, or at least I'm trying to." He reeled. Chandra teaching did not sound like a wise choice but he bit his tongue.
"I don't suppose that anyone could use my skills?" She looked back at him, confused.
"Why?"
"Because, I have no other commitments and I'm going to need to work for food and shelter until I determine where I'm going." She was staring at him suspiciously.
"You don't have anywhere to be for your Order?" He looked away so he wouldn't be tempted to analyse her reaction.
"I left," They kept ascending the walkway until they passed through an opening in the rail surrounding the lower level of the town and he turned to look her in the eye. "And I'm not going back."
