Deep purple drapes were the only sources of color in the room other than the pain white couches. The walls, the floor, even the door were the light grey color typical of Kaldorei stonework. The door opened in the plain room, allowing two women to enter. Casually held back in a very loose ponytail, Issinia's indigo mane both clashed with and complemented the drapes, though her gown almost matched the walls. Straightening up her posture only slightly, her movements free and fluid after she'd left formality behind so long ago. A confident grin that was tame a d controlled marked her features as she welcomed a patient into the safe room after numerous other sessions.

Anna followed her inside, head held high in a sign of her ever improving posture. Issinia's lax attitude toward simple formalities had yielded the opposite result, and the trainee priestess had found that Anna functioned much better when given the freedom to act on her own.

At a point of even greater informality, Anna cracked a few polite jokes as she was welcomed inside and instinctively walked toward the couch closer toward the door. Both were rather comfortable, but the client had staked out her favorite one weeks ago.

Issinia waited for her client to sit down before taking her own seat. "This room has become rather familiar, hasn't it?"

"You know, I didn't like it at first," Anna replied, "but it really has grown on me by now."

"Maybe it's the drapes?"

Anna grinned readily, reveling in small, whimsical observations. "Probably the drapes."

After an obligatory round of remarks on the new decor in the recreation room, Issinia allowed a brief lull to work its way into the conversation before she continued. "Alright, we had a very good experience with the role playing yesterday. From my vantage point in the hallway, I had a great view of your plans to work toward your ideal self."

Resting her cheek in the palm of her hand bashfully, Anna looked down for a moment. "Do you think it's realistic?" she asked, a sincere sense of self consciousness in her voice.

"Absolutely. You know, I'm not here to feed you fantasies; we have to be honest when we're looking at potential and achievement. But everything you desire for yourself is definitely achievable and very reasonable for someone who has shown the sort of rapid development you have. You're a strong person, Anna."

"Well...I don't quite feel that way yet, but it's great to hear that."

"Why not, though?"

Anna's demeanor became a bit more subdued, though not closed off or uncomfortable. "I understand that you and Priestess Tinalith don't simply make things up when you comment on the progress I've been making personally. I believe it, and trust me - I am so, so very thankful for all the confidence you've helped me build, and all the demons you've helped me exorcise. Being rescued by those sentinels wasn't enough; had I not been lucky enough for the blessing that is this facility, I probably would have found a way to fall back into my old habits again."

"What matters is that the goddess has blessed you, and shown you this path. You're here, you're safe and we're here with you every step of the way. But what is it that makes you think you're not so strong?"

At first, Anna looked a bit trapped. The question wasn't particularly direct, but she didn't particularly seem to enjoy it nonetheless. There was no distrust present between them; however, the woman looked like she was trying to articulate a lingering fear in the back of her mind. "Despite all the progress I've made, all of it is personal; it's all internal. But how I relate to the world that I wish to return to is out of my control."

"If I understood you correctly, you feel as if you're unable to affect your own fate in the world?"

"Y...yes, that's basically it. Eventually I will pass this program, whether on this first try or if I require an extension of a few months, and I must leave the facility. And while I know that the Sisterhood will help me find gainful employment, their responsibility for my life will not continue forever, and it shouldn't; the goal is for me to become self sufficient. I have to stand on my own."

"Does that scare you?"

"Of course, Issa. How could it not? I might be a thousand years old, but I was so naïve- like all of us who lived during the Long Vigil. Ours was a world without money, without poverty, without want, without...well, I'm sure your mother has regaled you with numerous stories, as has Priestess Tinalith. And so many of us were unprepared for a world full of greed and hate and injustice...I already tried the transition from the support of my shield sisters at the grove to venturing out on my own, and I didn't even last a month before I was abducted. Then I spent half a century in captivity, but captivity is still safe in a way; a cage protects as much as it imprisons. I've never truly lived on my own, ever."

"I know we haven't discussed this before, but have you considered contacting-"

"-my old shield sisters and blood relatives at the grove?" Anna interjected nervously. "No, no and no. For the same reason that I accept the name 'Anna' now. The starry eyed new druidess fresh out of training is gone. And like I've said before, I don't view that as acquiescence toward what I went through; to me, it's just acknowledgement of the reality of my situation."

"Of course."

"So I thought about this in my sober moments during my bondage, and even in the past few months here: what if I ever tried to go back? And to me, the question is the same as some foolish ones among our people who thought they could regain immortality after we lost it half a century ago. They're just chasing an impossible and, to be frank, undesirable dream as part of their denial of reality: that there is no going back to the way things were, and we..." Anna paused for a moment, staring off into space as if she'd been moonstruck. "...we have to move on. All of us who are from that era. Eternity met its end; we're part of the brave new world, and we understand the value of life even better. And..."

Preemptively, Issinia joined Anna on her side of the couch. In the past, it had helped her to speak when she began to close up, and this time it seemed to visibly reassure the woman when her breathing increased for a few seconds before evening out. "It's okay," Issinia said while doing her best not to make excessive eye contact or to overtly try to console Anna; she didn't want to be patronizing.

"And we all accept the change in different ways. For me, part of accepting what happened to me and understanding that..." Anna sniffled only once and rolled her shoulders against the back of the couch before continuing. It was clear that as difficult as this topic in particular was for her, her determination to move on was greater. "...that I didn't deserve it, and that it wasn't my fault but it happened all the same...for me, a part of that is letting go of the naïve grove girl I used to be, just as I let go of the mindless, devoted servant of nature that I also was back then. One day...one day, I will go back to my ancestral grove; I swear to Elune by that. I will go back to see the only home I knew for a thousand years, no matter how much the changes that may have taken place scare me. I will go back regardless of whether or not the women I shared my life with are still there. And if they are there, then I will face them and tell them everything. But...not now. Not when I haven't made it yet."

Issinia didn't hesitate, feeling the need to keep the conversation moving when the client was speaking so openly about her fears. "By 'made it,' do you mean to successfully live out in the world by yourself?" she asked almost rhetorically, tempering her words with active listening.

"Alone and unassisted. That's why I left the grove in the first place. Until I can successfully support myself, I won't feel like I can face them. They will not judge me, at least I don't think they will, but it's not about them. I need that for myself. And, currently," Anna explained whole gesturing to herself, "I am not capable of living on my own. I feel so much improvement in myself already, but I know that I'm not ready yet."

Touched despite Anna's apprehension, Issinia could t conceal her smile. "You're full of hope. You're entirely different from the first time you entered this room. You might need more time to work some practicalities out, but I am confident that you will; you've achieved so much in such a little time." Issinia grinned when Anna nearly blushed, and decided to just speak openly even if it embarrassed the woman. "I'm proud of you."

Failing miserably at trying to conceal her own ear to ear grin, Anna looked down shyly, almost beyond words. "I...oh...thank you so much for saying that," she laughed awkwardly. It was the sort of cute discomfort of a person flattered, which would have been impossible for her a few months before. "I want that so much. I know I've already been blessed by the goddess with so much, all things considered, but I want to achieve more. And, although I am patient even if I must wait another half century, I want to see my old village so badly."

Once again, Issinia spoke freely and without thinking. "Something tells me that you'll be ready much sooner than that. One way or another, the Sisterhood will ensure that you're able to gain the skills you need to become a productive member of society."

Anna replied with a lopsided smile. "You'll...you'll be here to ensure that, too...right?" There was a hint of worry in her voice, and the fact that her confidence hadn't reached the level of a fully independent person yet became clear.

Issinia felt her heart rate increase at the question. She hadn't slept at all the day before, and though she'd managed to hide that fact, her brain was as tired as her body. For so many hours she'd tossed and turned, judging herself a hundred times over as she struggled to reach a coherent conclusion about her own personal choices. In truth, she hadn't resolved much; all she'd done was forced herself to rearrange her and Thandra's entire closet and mentally review every mistake she'd made in her life until the moon came up.

When faced with a living representation of the reason she'd joined the program, however, she found it easier to give an answer out loud, if not convince herself of it internally. "Yes, of course, Anna," she forced herself to chuckle.

In what had to have been the shortest session they'd ever held, Issinia and Anna exited the safe room only s few minutes later, finding no reason to stretch the session out when Anna had spoken of her personal revelation so immediately, readily and surely. The goal wasn't to spend a specified amount of time talking; it was simply to help the woman reach self actualization and set a plan for ordering her life after so much pain. After having completed that so easily, they only discussed a few lighter topics of job skills courses and other practicalities before exiting.

Issinia led Anna down the hallway toward the reception area. So few visitors ever came to the clinic that even the waiting area out front was treated like another part of the communal living space, and seeing as how all the clients left the grounds so infrequently, many of them often used the room as a hangout spot. Nobody was doing such a thing on that particular night, and only a very bored looking temporary hire sat behind the reception desk reading a trashy novel with an obscene cover. Tutting her tongue in disapproval as they walked by, Issinia led Anna over toward a chair next to a table of newspapers.

"I need to freshen up before we go out to the market tonight," she said as Anna sat down. "Just give me five minutes?"

"As long as that lady doesn't try to talk to me," Anna whispered.

Stifling what would have been a much louder laugh, Issinia set her purse down on the table and walked into an adjacent hallway. The restroom was empty, and she found herself free to stand in front of the naturally enchanted wash basin with a little wisp powered fountain spraying upward in reaction to her approach. Bracing herself against it, she stared into the mirror, giving herself a good, long look.

Tired of hiding how she felt for so long, she resigned herself toward making what seemed like the ethical choice. "With my warmest regards to the Sisterhood mission in Uldum," she recited out loud. "My warmest regards to the representatives of the Sisterhood of Elune in Southern Kalimdor Autonomous Province...Autonomous Region...I regret to inform you...

"...I wish to inform you...regret...wish...that I must politely decline your most gracious invitation." Footsteps echoed on the other side of the wall as someone hurried down the hallway, and Issinia quickly shut her mouth in fear that she might be heard. Once she heard the door toward the roof access stairwell close, she waited another minute or so before continuing. "I must unfortunately decline your most gracious invitation. I am currently committed to sponsoring a recovering sister in our substance abuse rehabilitation program, which will not conclude for two and a half more months. I cannot, in good conscience, resign from the program before we conclude that her condition has...I have to pee."

The suspense tickled her bladder just a little too much, and she scurried off to one of the bathroom stalls. Once she'd finished and washed up, she realized that it had been more than five minutes and began to feel a little self conscious.

Out in the hallway, she tried to think of a non embarrassing excuse. "Sorry about that, they were out of...uh...Anna?"

The chair where Anna had been sitting was empty, and none of the newspapers had been touched. Proving that Anna did retain a bad habit of certain childlike behaviors when unwatched, however, Issinia's purse had been opened. It wasn't the first time, and Anna was always extremely apologetic, but sneaking around and looking through people's belongings had been a point they were working on - though to Anna's credit, she never, ever stole.

But she did sift through belongings. Including reading letters.

Including Issinia's acceptance letter to the Uldum mission.

Cursing herself silently, Issinia closed her eyes for a moment and tried to ignore all the scenarios running through her head. Her pulse hit the roof and she could practically hear it rushing through her long, slender ears, and it was only the almost disrespectfully informal voice of the temporary receptionist that snapped her out of her shock.

"Your friend went down the hall," the receptionist mumbled from behind a book cover featuring a druid strategically covered by wrapped vines.

"Th-thank you," Issinia mumbled and then stumbled back into the hall.

Those footsteps from earlier...images of Anna gasping and covering her mouth with one hand while staring wide eyed at the letter ran through Issinia's mind. The woman had recovered so much self confidence; surely, she wouldn't be shaken by that one letter.

Right?

Slowly at first, Issinia walked toward the end of the empty hall that was mostly used for storing mops and buckets. At the end was the heavy door that led to an access stairwell for the roof, the upper gallery and the minaret tower overlooking the orchard. Every muscle in Issinia's body trembled as she drew nearer to that door, draining her of her usual reservation and resolve. Logic dictated that perhaps Anna was just a bit upset and needed time alone, but when Issinia could hear light footsteps sprinting up the access stairwell, the worst scenarios tortured her, refusing to let her exhausted mind rest.

"Anna!" she called out as she pushed the door open and followed the sound.