It was well into the following afternoon before Anur was remotely ready to bring any of it up again.

Aelius was lying on the ground, letting them lean into his side and Kir was half-asleep against Anur's shoulder, Anur keeping one arm draped over Aelius' back so he could tangle his fingers in his mane and the other hooked around Kir's waist. Kari had brought them here this morning – to a traveler's chapel northeast of Lumira's congregation, well into the dead-zone bordering all of Hardorn and used almost exclusively by Firestarters on patrol. Henrick had just restocked a few days ago before departing so there was little danger of anyone stumbling across them.

If anyone had been heading this way, the low-lying firestorm that had appeared the moment Kari let them stumble out of his Fetching would have sent them walking the other way. Anur had immediately latched onto Kir, half out of worry Kir would fall over, he was shaking so hard, and at least a quarter out of worry that without physical contact Kir wouldn't realize he too was standing in the middle of the firestorm, please don't burn his hair, thank you.

By the time it had subsided, golden-red licks of flame still dancing across Kir's skin – across his own skin, and hadn't that been unnerving, to see washes of flame skitter across his hands and his sleeves and leave nothing but warmth behind – Aelius, Riva and all their tack and his and Kir's packs had arrived, Kari sitting on the pile of assorted gear and looking vaguely smug. But that was a default cat expression, so Anur hadn't read much into it.

Flames still flickered into existence every so often, but mostly they were confined to the charred swath of earth in front of them. Some still showed up tangled in Kir's fingers or shimmering across his sleeves and Anur was not entirely certain how Kir was keeping these seemingly involuntary fire-surges from burning him too but he would take it. Letting Kir go wasn't an option at this point.

"Seventeen innocents," Kir said abruptly, sounding exhausted, "It's seventeen. Not fifteen."

"I would argue sixteen, if you have to count Wes as your own," Anur murmured, "Seraphi attacked you and your brother – that was self-defense, regardless of her being a horse-shaped person instead of a people-shaped person. Without Verius there, you wouldn't have burned him, but I understand if you still count him as on your hands. I don't agree, but I understand."

"I'm glad my father's not going to be there," his whisper sounded guilty, sounded ashamed, and Anur wanted to punch the entire country of Karse in the face. All of Karse.

"That's fair," Anur said quietly. "I don't think I could treat anyone who hurt you rationally, unknowingly or not, decades ago or not. Sunlord, Kir, everything about – this is all a mess. Everything - " he laughed abruptly, hiding his face in Kir's hair, "Kir you're a miracle, how could you have smiled at me in that stable and offered a truce."

"I hate the screaming," Kir said immediately, shuddering, "I hate it, I hate them so much -"

"Easy, easy Kir, it's quiet here," Anur murmured, using the bizarre mental twist-pull he'd figured out last night with faint help from Aelius and lucky guesses to dull the sudden shrieks echoing in Kir's mind. It was strange, because he'd heard those screams in Kir's nightmares before, but he'd never heard the words, not until last night and now he could hardly avoid hearing them.

They weren't all Seraphi. They weren't all Wes.

Fourteen Talented – how many had been mindspeakers? How many had he burned himself, hearing their screams in his mind and only knowing to burn them faster, quicker, hotter so the screaming would stop? How many had he been unable to mute even in that way, because he was watching someone else's Igniting and was forbidden from helping?

"Well, I'll admit," Anur finally said, letting himself smile, "I'm a little disappointed it wasn't my sheer charm and charisma."

When Kir choked on a laugh and ended up giggling half-hysterically into his chest, he considered it a victory. On Kir's around-gasps reply of, "It was the hair, how could I possibly burn it?" he barked his own laugh and let himself grin, shaking his head.

"I knew it!" he said smugly, making a point of running his fingers through his hair in the most absurdly preening way he could manage. Kir wasn't really looking up at him, so most of the effect was lost, but Aelius appreciated it he was sure.

:Oh of course Chosen, amazing.:

:I know!:

Kir hissed, suddenly tensing and Anur immediately shifted to focus on Kir again, "Are you all right?" he asked aloud, before remembering their earlier discovery on the new weakness in their shielding and wincing, "Ah, you heard that? Sorry, I thought we had shielded enough for the physical-contact relay to not get to you."

"Well this is the first time all three of us have been in physical contact and you and Aelius have tried to mindspeak without me – actually I think this is one of the first times all three of us have been in physical contact at all," Kir huffed a laugh, "It's not something that would come up. I'm fine, Anur, just – startled. It shouldn't bother me – it hasn't for so long I don't know why – well. No, I understand that telling that story would bring things up I've tried to lock away for years, but I don't understand why it would hurt."

"Mindspeech hurts you?" Anur asked, aghast because how could he have not noticed that? Upset Kir, yes he had realized that quickly, but actual immediate pain?

"Not always," Kir grimaced, shaking his head, shifting back to meet Anur's gaze, "Not ever, really, not with you and Aelius – last night, when I was hearing… Aelius' voice hurt then. You noticed that."

"We did," Anur agreed, Aelius physically bobbing his head, "That's why he stopped – and since I mindspoke with him afterwards and you didn't react I thought our shields were good enough. Though fair point on all three of us being in physical contact, it's not exactly common. But now – anyone hurts?"

"All three of the people I mindspeak to," Kir admitted, looking ashamed for some reason because how could this possibly be his fault, "Kari only did once today and – I flinched. It was mostly the memories but there was – it stung."

"And Aelius? Me?" Anur asked.

"You were more – a rasp," Kir half-shrugged, looking unsatisfied with the description and elaborating, "Less than Kari. Aelius burned."

Aelius managed an impressively distressed whinny, curling his neck to rest his nose on Kir's arm. Anur wasn't much better, but he instead focused intently on the shields he'd built around his and Aelius' connection and asked aloud, "Aelius, do you have any idea what could cause that?"

:I have a theory – he didn't flinch that time, did he hear me?:

"Kir?" he prompted, Kir just raising an eyebrow.

"I didn't hear anything, if Aelius said something to you," he replied, smiling faintly when Anur gave a relieved sigh. "Does he have an idea? Is it – is it permanent?"

"Doubt it," Anur said, Aelius also shaking his head, "And he does have an idea – a moment though, he needs to explain it."

Meeting his Companion's gaze, he kept half his attention on keeping those shields strong, the other half listening to Aelius' explanation.

:He heard Seraphi and Wes before the burning started – I highly doubt they were broadcasting, especially if she was still trying to convince him to try to escape. They were powerful mindspeakers, so perhaps louder than any other he'd heard in Karse, but they weren't broadcasting – others would have heard, and her presence wouldn't have been a surprise. That doesn't match, Chosen, if his mindspeech was waking at the same time as his firestarting, they should be similar strength and they're not even close to comparable.:

"Would that be explained by focused training?" Anur asked, doubting he'd be able to shield so fiercely and mindspeak at the same time and not willing to risk it.

:Not to this degree. He can only hear Talented, and unshielded Talented at that, and his range isn't particularly impressive. No, Chosen, I think when Seraphi screamed into his mind, she blasted open that channel and scarred it badly. It would be a bad case of Gift burn-out – his youth would probably be the only reason he managed to retain any of it, growing minds can recover better than ones fully formed.:

"Well, clearly he had a solid idea," Kir's voice broke through the roaring in his ears, "You wouldn't be this furious at something vague."

"Yes," Anur managed and he shut his eyes, ducking his head and breathing through it. It would take some doing to explain this in a way that would make sense – Kir might not even be familiar with the idea of burn-out when it came to Gifts, and he definitely wouldn't understand Anur's near instinctive revulsion to the idea of causing it.

***===***pagebreak***===***

Finding words to describe the actual discomfort Mindspeech had caused him had been difficult, but not as difficult as watching Anur's horror at the idea. Realizing Aelius could still speak to Anur without him hearing, and without any of them moving, had been an immeasurable relief. Being unable to hear the words that were horrifying and enraging Anur so badly had been surprisingly frustrating, especially given that a little over a year ago even Aelius' voice had still given him pause.

He wanted that hard-earned ease back.

"You heard Seraphi and Wes long before screaming started," Anur said carefully, voice tight, "But he doubts they were broadcasting – maybe not shielding as carefully as they could have, but not broadcasting to anyone who could possibly hear – not if Wes still was trying to convince her to escape. If – Kir that's not consistent, with what your mindspeech is now. You're not powerful, and if your Gift was waking when you were seven – it would have been strong. I don't think there's been a single case where Gifts wake up before puberty and are weak. With your Firestarting – conceivably, you should be as powerful a mindspeaker as you are a Firestarter. Or at least somewhat similar degrees but you're not."

"And you don't think that training Firestarting alone and ignoring or suppressing mindspeech would account for it?"

"We don't think so – not to this degree at least."

"So then something was changed," Kir mused, staring out at the charred patch of earth, at the clear blue sky.

"People can suffer burn-out," Anur said quietly, "If a Gift is just waking up and something floods it, or even if you just overuse what you have – it can cause serious damage, and not just to your energy levels. There are records of people overreaching themselves and… ruining their Gift, essentially. Mindspeakers who go mind-deaf, empaths who can barely feel an echo of their own feelings anymore, farseers who can't even imagine distant places in any detail without crippling headaches – the severity changes, but we wouldn't be surprised at all if Seraphi's screaming damaged your mindspeech beyond repair."

"I owe her a debt then," Kir said faintly, remembering those days spent obtaining control of fire, realizing that what he could do with some thought and a few minutes time would take some in his cohort marks to achieve – if he had been that way with mindspeech too, there is no way he could have hidden it. He would have burned.

"It speaks to how messed up the situation is that something Seraphi would have been severely censured for, had it happened in Valdemar, is something worth gratitude," Anur huffed a laugh and Kir snorted, shaking his head.

"None of it would have happened in Valdemar," he pointed out, "Literally none of that situation would have risen in Valdemar. I don't see how me being grateful for her scalding my mind makes the situation anymore strange or wrong than the rest of it."

"Fair," Anur said quietly.

"But, back to more immediate worries, this… oversensitivity won't last?"

"To the point of causing pain, no, but it might be different," Anur replied, focusing more intently on Aelius for a moment, "Aelius isn't sure if the memories – if they just caused echoes, bruising of a sort, or if they scraped at the old injury again – worst case scenario your mindspeech will have gotten stronger? I don't know Kir, but we should be able to mindspeak without hurting you within a day or two."

"Good," Kir said, unable to hold back a laugh at that, at a sentiment he never dreamed he'd express, even after befriending Anur and meeting a witch-queen and dragging a Herald across the length and breadth of his nation.

"Good," he repeated, meeting Anur's smile with his own, "Because strange as it seems, I miss it."

"We'll make a Herald out of you yet," Anur teased.

"Don't even joke," Kir snorted, shaking his head and looking towards Hardorn before continuing quietly, "Being there with you will be worse, I think – I don't – I have no idea how they found Wes, how he was caught and if it was someone reporting him - "

"You think they could report me," Anur said quietly, "I understand – but Kir, it is literally impossible for that to end in me burning, you understand? Even if by some freak accident everything-goes-wrong and you can't stop it, Kari could get me out. If you're worried enough by the thought we can arrange that with him before any visit happens that he keeps an especially careful ear out for us, though being frank I don't think we'd need to ask. Jaina will probably make a similar request, if he doesn't take it upon himself."

"I know," Kir managed, beating back the memories with fonder ones, of brawling in their kitchen and Jaina refusing to divulge her own contingencies – of Laskaris coming to the morning service and asking about details on how mental shielding worked. Hopefully they would be able to put something meaningful together for him without showcasing quite how much of the matter Anur had been taught, rather than stumbled upon.

"I know," he repeated, "But I'll still worry."

"And I'll probably be looking over my shoulder for this Elisia to knife you in the back or spread hateful rumors or equally terrible and hopefully unlikely things," Anur shrugged, smiling wryly, "It's going to be a very stressful visit all around – if it happens. Let's not borrow trouble just yet though, maybe we'll just have Kiara and Lukas visit via boat!"

"Ship."

"...I really don't understand the distinction."

***===***pagebreak***===***

Aelius let the sunlight and laughter wash over him, relieved beyond measure yet still unsurprised that his Chosen had moved from worries and fears to trying to figure out why calling a ship a boat was unacceptable. They had never gone on the Evendim circuit, and the boats of the rivers of Valdemar were just that, so it had never come up.

By Kir's disjointed explanation that seemed to boil down to it just doesn't sound right, he didn't have much of an idea either, which only made sense with him being taken from home so young.

Anur had been Chosen at twelve, and he had very nearly talked himself out of Choosing the innocent he'd found searching a pond for frogs because he couldn't bear the idea of taking that joy away, of darkening it with growing knowledge of how the world worked. He hadn't been swayed, he was a selfish man who'd wanted a heart-sib for so very long, but it had been hard.

But seven, Stars and Winds how could anyone do that?

Companions had in the past, he knew, but usually that had been when the child had no family or kin to cling too, was lacking support, or at the very least had Gifts too strong to leave untrained for even a few short years – had Kir been born in Valdemar, he very well might have been Chosen that young, with a powerful Firestarting Gift and Mindspeech unfurling just the same. But it was easier to think of that as a positive, as acceptable.

The lack of slaps across the face and blackmail over the bleeding form of a brother's body probably had a lot to do with that, he admitted to himself sourly. He would never profess to be a good educator, to work well with children – Anur was his Chosen, had been twelve, and they'd stumbled along just fine. Some exceptions existed, but as a general rule? No, he'd leave that to people much better at it, and much more patient, than him.

Because he knew that about himself, and acknowledged that, and apparently Verius had not, or had been the best of a bad lot because Aelius remembered Seras'words, Jaina's fond descriptions those few times she and Kir indulged in nostalgia. For a man who was described in terms of his love for his students – and why had he had four students? This one-on-one mentoring system seemed much longer standing, historically, and more sustainable than shoving all the students on one person – the one direct memory he had of the man did not match.

Maybe he'd had a bad day, but for a bad day to result in slapping a distressed child –

No, Aelius would not make excuses for him. And he wouldn't let Anur do so either. As the member of their partnership with opposable thumbs and the ability to speak without getting screamed at for heresy, he was going to have to be the one to make inquiries. He was curious to see what the records said about Kir's claiming.

To see if Verius had left any documents of his own.

Kari appeared in a wash of fire near their things again, trotting over and promptly sprawling across his pair's legs. :I have ensured our presence won't be missed for a few days, so we can afford to ride back to Sunhame rather than appear out of nothing again. We are trying to keep my presence somewhat circumspect, after all.:

Anur relayed that aloud and Kir replied, "My thanks, Kari. We could use the chance to – resettle ourselves."

:Of course. Valerik was relieved you had departed by the time Jaina posted his bail, he had apparently been worried you would at last forbid his forays into Sunhame.:

Aelius snorted aloud and Anur cackled, passing the message on and he could feel Kir's silent laughter against his shoulder, finally managing to murmur, "I don't understand how he can still think we're unaware of the fact that if he heads into town an doesn't make the next dawn service, Jaina goes missing for marks and the discretionary fund takes a small hit. It's literally written into the budget at this point, how could we possibly be ignorant?"

"Does anyone know how detailed those budget books are? Who checked Jaina's numbers before us?"

"Evidently not Valerik!"

A careful knock at the edge of his mind and he cast a glance to Kari, meeting lighter blue eyes before letting his head settle and sinking into his mental landscape more thoroughly. Anur would reach for him if he was needed. He and Kari had spoken relatively often over the past year, but he wouldn't say he knew the Cat well. A chance to see and speak with him outside their current shells could be useful.

Also, reading a cat's body language was very difficult. He'd at least had practice with horses, both in this life and his last.

Opening his eyes to the constructed hearth and hall that served as his visualized mental meeting point, he stood on two legs and opened the external door, taking a long look at the man standing on the other side. Firestarter robes, unsurprising. Shorter than Aelius' human form, but he had been considered unfairly tall. Darker blue eyes than his Cat shell, and the dusky skin and dark hair typical of Karsites, though Kari was manifesting as middle-aged at least, with a dusting of grey and lines on his face beginning to deepen.

He was receiving the same scrutiny, before the priest-Cat smiled, corners of his eyes crinkling, "May I enter, honored Herald?"

Aelius snorted and stepped aside, waving the man in and eyeing the Sun-in-Glory around his neck – it wasn't a conscious choice, how they appeared here, though effort could change it. He wore Whites and his knives here, not the armor he'd practically lived in – but his knives were his own, his boots well-broken in and scuffed, they were still his. He would expect Kari's robes and emblems to be the same. The Sun-in-Glory Kari was wearing was nice – relatively plain, but with a shimmer he thought was familiar.

"I thought you didn't know the process of Sun Blessed steel?" he asked, taking a seat by the hearth and rather unsurprised when a fire started crackling away as Kari sat.

"I don't," Kari said ruefully, hand pressing against his Sun in Glory, "This was passed on to me by a mentor."

"Ah. Well, at least Kir's method seems to produce the same aura," Aelius mused, "So that reproduction at least succeeded. But to more critical matters – is Laskaris going to be a threat?"

"No," Kari assured him, gaze going sharp, "He is conflicted and confused, but not violently so."

"I will hold you too that," Aelius said sternly, the priest only raising an eyebrow at him and replying mildly.

"I love them too, you know."

"But you love all your Firestarters – I have my priorities," Aelius shrugged, remembering so many scoldings for his attachments, for his ties to friends and kin overcoming those ties that he swore too – it had brought heartache, to be sure. But it had brought him Anur.

"They are my kin," Kari said calmly, a rueful tone entering his voice as he continued, "That does not preclude me having favorites, though."

"You don't fool me," Aelius snorted, forcibly lightening his tone to teasing and smiling as he said, "It's Colbern, isn't it."

"You caught me," Kari laughed, shaking his head, "It's definitely Colbern."

"Do you have any more specifics on what this potential necromancy warding is going to involve? The catacomb reinforcement one?" Aelius asked curiously, "Was necromancy an active part of the priesthood in your era?"

"I predate the establishment of a powerful theocracy," Kari admitted, Aelius mentally crowing because getting information about past lives was like pulling teeth – to be fair, he was just as bad. They were in the habit, though he didn't think Firecats were quite as strictly forbidden from revealing their reincarnated nature.

"The priesthood has always held power in Karse, we have long been a faithful land, but without a powerful theocracy there was less need for these wardings – we burn our dead but for those most sacred. It was only as the city grew and the Temple expanded that catacombs became haunting grounds, and necromancy is rare – not so rare as Kir's manifestation of Firestarting, admittedly, but rare. I personally never met a necromancer, or at least not one that announced themselves as such, not until after my death."

"Fair, not all lives can be so eventful as these," Aelius allowed, taking mental note of the amused look on Kari's face – so he thought his life had been this eventful, interesting – but letting the matter rest.

"Now for the other ward of concern – I do have some ideas for the blood-magic ward Kir is growing more sensitive too. Exactly how much magical power can you channel safely? And can you direct it to a particular purpose or is it simply a pure redirection?"

"Depends on the purpose – and it wouldn't be subtle, if Ulrich's estimates on the power of the ward increasing is accurate, I'd be blazing white at the end of it," Aelius warned, intrigued nonetheless.

He had channeled energy to Kir before, so at least that avenue was open – getting it to flow the other way would take some practice though.

Winds be merciful, they'd have the time.

***==***pagebreak***===***

"Captain?" Gregori asked after they finally exited the canal into Ruby proper, letting the sails out to take them on their way. "Successful visit?"

Kiara laughed slightly, because she should have known better than to think Gregori wouldn't have a solid idea of just why she'd fought so hard for an overnight Sunhame contract, and looked away from the sun glinting of the water letting her smile widen, "My brother is alive."

"...Lukas?" the helmsman called, shrugging when they both looked over, "What? It's a small boat. Lukas is supposed to be dead?"

"No," Kiara laughed again, "Not Lukas."

Looking back over the water, watching the shore recede as they picked up speed, she said, "No. No, this brother's name is Kir."

Notes:

Got a few notes for you all this time: first off, sorry for the delay, had a hard time figuring out how to wrap this chapter up and get through enough things to move on, but not unrealistically resolve everything, if that makes sense? Hope it worked, feedback welcome!

SECOND: Origami-Roses has gone ABOVE AND BEYOND and has made some absolutely GORGEOUS fanart for the fic on deviant art - please look at it, admire, and adore (also, if anyone knows how to link things? Is that even possile): gallery/63696599/Devious-Folder