Rivers Keep Flowing

Chapter 34: Needles of Despair, Threads of Life

LadyRainStarDragon does not, nor will she ever own Spirited Away, Inuyasha, Yu-yu Hakusho, or any other anime. Rain is not saddened though, merely hoping to do as well as Miyazaki-san and others one day.

"The Dragon and the Well Maiden" is a picture I've been wanting to paint for a while. When I wrote this I was too chicken to try it yet, wanting to work on my dragon forms more. I am now starting on the painting. When done, I'll put it up on my website.

These two weeks removed from most of the things that pushed on her concept of who she was had greatly helped Chihiro. Sure, she wasn't exactly able to open her eyes and be home, but she had been long overdue for a quest to build her sense of self again. She loved working at the Shrine, but most of the time she didn't feel like she was accomplishing anything useful in the grand scheme of things. Chihiro was one of those people that just HAD to make the world a better place.

It had been annoying listening to the two cousins bicker like they were siblings, but it was good for BlowingWind to bond with someone from her family. This odd trek seemed to be doing wonders for both of the volatile women, allowing them to work out much pent up emotion. In this swirling storm of activity, Chihiro was regaining her center.

When Kohaku had been forced back to his world, the river bride felt a tinge of sorrow at yet another separation, but also there was the sure knowledge that they were never far from each other. It would be as easy to bear as when he had been gone before. And so, it was with this knowledge and her natural courage that the priestess looked the being before her in the eye, declaring herself ready for the test.

At first, nothing seemed to happen. The wind had stilled, and the only sound that reached her ears was the steady beat of the drum of her heart, sure as the river that she loved. Then, beneath the onslaught of that dread gaze her soul opened, and every hidden corner of her past and present self, and even of the former selves from beyond her current incarnation, was searched.

"Interesting child you are. You have no true despair within you at all. Yet, I must give each of you a test of some kind. I see that two of the strings that tie themselves to you are stained with the feeling. Trust yourself, and see if you can heal the Despair that plagues the females of your family through your mother."

There was a constricting feeling within and around herself, and Chihiro's spirit was concentrated once more into a pure pearl. The Tapestry of Creation folded on itself to her observance, and she was speeding through the weaving, following two threads that started out as closely twined around each other. After a while, something split them and the threads were then involved in two separate but equally beautiful designs. Both had the colors that she comprehended as love, and yet there was a darkness that both spoiled and highlighted the beauty at the same time.

Plunging into one, she saw her mother and another woman who was so very similar. Some quality that this unknown woman possessed spoke to Chihiro, called out to her as a kind of sister. Though human, there was something more about her, as if she were being called to something far different than a normal human fate. After a while, the woman was gone, and Yuukio was left alone in the dark, screaming out about the cruelty of nature and betrayal by gods.

Then the priestess found her soul yanked backwards through the webbing once more, following the path again to where the split occurred. The nameless woman was now walking along a vaguely familiar river, and judging by the terrain it was somewhere on the main island of Honshu. The rain was falling down all around her, wild and fierce as Susanowo was throwing a temper tantrum about some unknown thing and causing the local rain god to work overtime. And yet still the woman strolled in the rain along the river, pausing now and then in her silence to release a thoughtful and saddened sigh as she gazed at the river.

Looking carefully, the woman was carrying a plate before her, well covered to keep whatever was on it safe from the rain. A bridge was not far away, and it was a short time before this relative of some kind began to cross, possibly destined for the simple shrine on the other side of the river denoted only by a weathered torii.

"How I wish that my feeling for this beautiful river was returned. Alas, the spirits no longer mingle freely with us humans. At least I have met a good man here nearby that I can love. I wonder when he will finally tell me about himself. He is so mysterious."

The bridge began to shake beneath her, the supports being washed away by the swollen river. However, she was so lost in her thoughts that the dangerous state of the bridge that she had just set across did not register. Floating behind the woman, the pearl of the priestess' consciousness followed for a better view, hoping that perhaps her shouts would be heard.

"Tsubame! The bridge is not safe! Go back!"

The shouts had come from the water, and the priestess saw a young man with muddy brown hair frantically trying to warn away the human woman. He stood on the raging river, his own swirling white and pale blue robes defiled by the amount of debris that he was carrying within his liquid body stained brown by the seasonal flood. His eyes, no trace of human disguise hiding the peculiar shade of pale blue only found in the underside of the curls in a swift rapid, were open in horror at what he knew was coming. He would halt the flow of the river if he could, but to do so for one human life would violate so many treaties that stretched back into the mists of his birth, and even possibly cause even more loss of life later.

The spirit sprang up onto the bridge, obviously going to attempt forcing her back to the land, when water that had escaped from a dam far upstream in the mountains leagues distant finally roared through, sweeping the bridge away. He had just grasped the human who had begun cleaning and caring for this particular nearly forgotten shrine of his only a few years ago, and the pair were left to fall into the river below. The woman had dropped the offering in her surprise as she had finally been ripped from whatever had been bothering her thoughts, her screams of terror pealing in the air like few could manage, when he forced her to look at this truth of his human shape.

"You! What are you doing here?"

"Just trust me. I swear, you will learn everything."

He poured himself into her as they fell into the wild river, fusing their essences together and intent on melding their two physical shapes together in order to save her life, when a last panicked thought flittered through her being, destroying the needed concentration for her body to survive such a forceful and unexpected coupling.

'I never got to say goodbye.'

The woman's soul left her body in that instant as her body succumbed to the raging water's full force contained within the panicking guardian, and the river spirit felt her leave the drowned shell. Thinking quickly, he took his older form, the one that he was born with, and streaked through the air before the strange human could leave him alone once more. Powder blue scales shed the rain easily as the waters that they were accustomed to, and the white foam of his mane blazed behind him with all the power of the springtime flood that would claim many other lives later on. Luck was on his side, and he managed to catch the confused emerald that had been released. Taking this prize that had come far earlier than he expected, Shiorikawa Kitsuimizu himself dove beneath his own surface once more while directing his waters to deposit the body where he hoped it would be found to announce Tsubame's physical fate.

He hated himself that what he had been slowly working toward had been done in such a hurried fashion. He had not meant to kill her body, intending instead to give her life as they had been swept away by the water. Instead, he had been too forceful, and she had not been properly prepared. The woman that he had chosen as his true priestess would never serve the community, and he had not intended to take her as a mate unless she came to him first.

Chihiro understood now exactly why her mother hated nature, and rivers especially. The words of Despair echoed in her head, and it was time to do something to fix this gaping wound.

'My mother and Aunt Tsubame need to see each other again, and it needs to be done in present time. But how?'

She lurched again as something beyond herself picked her up. It was almost like she was being used as a needle, and there were threads dependent on her own tying in with their's correctly. She was threaded with something, and shot through the fabric once more.

Chihiro was never going to go on another roller coaster as long as she lived. This ride she was on pretty much ruined them all while making her pray she wasn't going to have a close and personal encounter with a brick wall at the end.

She was virtually solid with relief when things took form around her again. That is until she heard a very loud scream and found herself in what had to be the darkest grotto that she had ever been in.

"Great, I'm now in someplace that is possibly scarier than Ryu's sock drawer."

Voices could be heard in the blackness that lay over everything.

"It's a human . . . I think."

"Who is she?"

"An intruder."

"To the dungeon!"

"Wait!"

The last had been a masculine bellow that echoed off of the invisible cavern walls, growing louder with each resonance. Lichen began to light up all around, the phosphorescent glow amplified by water and crystal. Beings were revealed in the low light, dragon shapes all ghostly as if they had never taken a solid form, interspersed with a human shape here and there. These dragons all looked very different from the dragons of the Nigihayami clan, longer yet thinner, more snakelike in countenance.

The largest of the lot uncoiled from where he had been resting, leaving behind the clear woman that he had been wrapped around. She had been the one to send up the shriek, but she now only looked curious instead of how frightened she must have been for sensing an intruder.

"Forgive me for intruding. I am not exactly sure of what I am doing here."

Chihiro gave a low bow to the being, who she supposed was the leader of these gathered dragons. Like the rest, she could see straight through him, and she thought that he was composed entirely of water. It was like looking at water that had decided to pull itself into this shape, and vaguely reminded Chihiro of how at times Haku's river would congeal a hand to stroke her cheek when she swam in the dead of night. Unlike the others here though, she got a sense of solidarity from him, as if he were more solid than he appeared.

"Your spirit smells like my Tsubame did when she was embodied. Yet you also carry the odor signature of the river clan that controls the northern islands. The child soul that is hosted inside of you I can not place. Who are you and your family?"

Chihiro was nervous, discovering herself in a den of a rival clan of her mate's. She didn't know anything about his allies other than a little about Ten, and nothing at all of his enemies. Suddenly, it struck her exactly how little she really knew about the spirit she had become bonded to. Still, she had to reply, and she would not allow him to see her shake the way Yubaba had once seen. Thinking of what she had learned from Yubaba gave her courage, and she found it in herself to reply in what she hoped was the correct manner. So many of the Shinto and Ainu tales had the spirits introduce themselves to each other with not only name, but also parentage.

"I am Ogino Chihiro, Priestess and mate of Nigihayami Kohakunushi. My mother and father are Ogino Akio andOgino Yuukiowho is of . . ."

"It is enough, child. We know who you are now."

The woman on the dais had been the one to interrupt what by all rights should have been a long genealogical introduction. Chihiro was relieved that she didn't have to go through the whole family tree as far as she could. The water dragon regarded the woman that must be his mate oddly.

"We do?"

"You do remember my sister, correct?"

"Yes, but this child is far to young to be her."

"She would be my niece. I remember that the man she married was one Akio Ogino."

"I suppose so, you did go to witness the wedding when she married out of my protection."

The dragon still looked doubtful, but walked around to nudge her forward. If she truly were the niece of his mate then she would be his niece as well. It wouldn't do to be rude.

"Your aunt has wanted to meet you for a long time now."

Chihiro was escorted over to her aunt. It was unnerving how the woman looked like water, clear and rippling a bit as she stirred. She had heard that her aunt was dead, and yet here she was, obviously well other than certainly looking inhuman. Would that happen to her as well, changing slowly until she was nought but conglomerated water?

"You are a little young to be dead, aren't you? I would have thought that you would have lived longer than I did. Then again, I can also see that you fell for a river as well."

"I'm not dead. It's some kind of journey, but I'm not dead unless I fail my tests."

"That is certainly strange. The Nigihayami usually keep their women more closely guarded. If you are taking tests of some kind, why don't you have an escort?"

"Apparently, it's not allowed."

Chihiro felt herself getting weaker, and she wondered what was going to happen now. Was she failing her test? What was she supposed to do? Looking at her hands, she dreaded what she saw. Haku wasn't here to help her with this, and she didn't know if she was fading because of the food rule or something else.

The others saw her become more transparent, her hologram fading and the pearl of her soul becoming more pronounced as she pulled into herself. There was a tiny flash from her soul and then a tiny dragon scrabbled up from the woman's abdomen to her shoulder.

"Mom. You've gotta tell them about Grandma! I'm pretty sure that we are here to get help for her. All of those threads we traveled through had to be Time."

"How do you know Gawakusa?"

"I don't know how I know."

The water woman, produced when her spirit had melded with the spirit of the river she had drowned in, gained her feet in one liquid movement, looking like she was pouring herself into a new shape. With her distress, she took on a bit more solidarity, and features could now be made out. The dragon had assumed a human form now as well, although he was quite solid appearing, and cleaner than he had been in the previous vision Chihiro had experienced.

"What is wrong with my sister?"

"Aunt, my mom and dad were taken prisoner by Amatsu Mikaboshi. Haku and some others went to go save them."

The spirit of the River of Intense Waters was very disturbed at this news, his eyes narrowing into glacial slits. He could hear the prayers now that his former charge's daughter had brought him the news. Energetically, she had severed her connection to him when she married, and he had only been able to get news of her through his mate. His mate had only been able to visit at their New Year or when there was dire need for her help through dreams.

It was at this moment that Chihiro was pulled into herself and flattened into a needle once more. She could see the stitches form as she was again passing through the fabric mending the battered designs. There was the sense that something had been done right, but now she could only wait. Chihiro now officially hated sewing.

A final time of being punched through the fabric, and Chihiro was deposited on the hard ground to shudder and pray that she would not have to endure anything like that again.

Meanwhile . . .

"What did you do with her? Where is she?"

The cousins and the dog spirit stared in outrage at the empty spot where the River Bride had been. All were tensed and ready to attempt beating the creature into submission, forcing Despair to bring her back to them. The sigh from the coalescing cloud had not been expected.

"I have done nothing with her. She goes where she is needed. Do you need to hear why you are being called on for these tasks?"

The last of the cloud took form, revealing a gaunt and skinny form obviously in need of nourishment and perhaps a bit of attention. He obviously felt like he was going to be here a while, as he took a seat on the ground, soon joined by another wizened form that had been hidden in the other cloud.

"We'd better tell them anyway, brother."

"Fine. I'm sure one of the girls have already told you about the huge gaping rifts that our brothers and ourselves rip into this cloth that humans and most spirits experience as reality. Every time this occurs, someone from the fabric itself has to be an instrument to repair it. Now, there are two different kinds of thread used to make this fabric. There are spirits and their world, and then there are you humans and yours. At 90 degrees to each other, interaction is necessary, but at times it is rare, like a quilt in some ways. This whole destruction thing is our cry for attention from the opposite parts we are supposed to work with. Of course, they don't want to work with us since we tend to make a big mess of things. With us so far?"

"And?"

BlowingWind was very crabby, as one would rightfully expect. In her opinion, the explanation had better be really good, or she was going to find out if this guy could bleed . . . or if she would pull a Kyuujo and pass right through this form too.

Abandonment took over, tossing his brother a leathern bag filled with water. Apparently the two had also been taking advantage of this time to nourish themselves.

"Well, our two eldest brothers seem to have gone crazy with their frustration, and have this 'great' idea to burn the loom and fabric all in one grand final bid. Despair and I think it's a stupid idea . . . but as you can see, we don't hold a whole lot of sway in the family. So you ladies need to stop hesitating in these tests, as each one that you pass makes you stronger. With any luck, once you reach Tyranny and Cruelty, you will be ready."

Jewel couldn't resist going up to poke curiously at Despair. He was just so malnourished, it was hard not to feel pity for him, and she wanted to verify that her eyes really were working. Who knew in this mixed-up fairytale that she was trapped in?

"So, the test is looking in your eyes then?"

"And surviving whatever your mind throws you through."

"Jewel! Quit poking him!"

Abandonment rolled his eyes watching the slightly older woman try to restrain the younger woman. It was coming . . . any minute now . . . wait for it.

'Three . . . two . . . one.'

In their mini-tussle, the pair somehow managed to lock eyes with their test giver. So they didn't so much as get given the test, as more like have it thrown at them with all the preparation of the infamous university student who went to his exam stone drunk. In a flash, they were gone and in the fabric once more, darting and weaving between threads until they were positioned by the working weavers of the web currently trying to stitch a hole back together. If the women were aware that their needles had temporarily been given souls through the interference of two fed up Dark Ones they gave no sign as they labored.

Jewel watched as great patterns flashed by. She was too close and integral with them to see them well, but there was still the sense of intricate beauty and complicated composure. Something was guiding her, thrusting her through to make tiny holes to hold thread that would bind something back to proper construction. On an upswing, the needle tried to look down at the pattern while the thread was pulled taut, and for just a moment, she thought that she saw two long broken hearts being mended.

On the downswing, she found herself within the pattern itself, her own thread playing out in this never-ending dance of life. Sapphire eyes blinked in surprise at the two matching sets that were escorted by living tiger's eye.

"B-baby girl?"

Jewel answered by pinching herself on one rather feminine bicep, wincing when she actually experienced pain that told her this was not a dream. Yet, she could still see through her hands in that odd way that she had been able to since beginning on the spirit journey she was part of.

"Oh, Gods and Goddesses! Ten, I can see straight through her."

Jewel's confused eyes locked with the dragon's. A dying ember within those deep orbs of his seemed to give out it's last bit of light as he read what was in her eyes, fading even more as he took in what her soul truly looked like. It did not escape him how she was dressed, the things that he would never have with the terrified maiden who had caught his heart. The scale that lurked around her neck proudly proclaimed who she belonged to, even though the other dragon had already renounced his claim verbally before others. The choice had been made by the Irish woman afterwards, nullifying Huetziatl's declaration of her freedom.

"Her spirit has come for a visit Marcella. She obviously must have an announcement of some kind."

The hurt in Ten's voice did not go unnoticed by any of the women present, least of all Jewel. It tore at her heart like a thousand bloodthirsty sharks, or a hundred enraged dragons. He had obviously figured out what choice that she had made, even if it had been made more for the reasons of her child and her need to know. She couldn't leave him with the bleeding hole that she could see in his heart, although she questioned herself as to why she could see two when before she had not seen any. Had she possessed some kind of latent power after all, or did she see this merely because she was in the dimension that she was?

Taking a deep breath that was not taken truly at all, Jewel slowly closed the twenty paces that existed between herself and the others. The growing being within her womb threw her balance off a bit, and the round was just beginning to show noticeably beneath her wrappings as she swayed. To keep focused on the task she had set, the woman examined how easily her mother leaned into the young dragon for support. Ten, in his turn, unconsciously had responded to her silent plea, and had placed one arm around her to shelter her within his sleeve. The pair looked right somehow, complimentary in some unfathomable way, made for each other. Narrowing her eyes a little, she could almost imagine a frayed cord between their hearts, nearly severed a long time ago.

Her mother had been devastated when dad had died. She had tried to hide it, but Jewel had seen it growing up. Marcella had been a very lonely woman, and though she had many friends, none of them truly could say that they knew her. Even dad had said once that he barely knew her, that she was always aloof. Although she fit in well with the land, it had been like she did not belong to the world of man but instead somewhere far away. There had been times when she could have been mistaken for a fairy. Sometimes, in the dark of night while her mother danced beneath a midnight moon, Jewel had sworn she had seen her mother become a lithe dragon, green as the grass. Before, she could dismiss it as a childish fantasy . . . but what if mother had once been a dragon in a past life? Was it possible?

Marcella seemed to grow more accepting and comfortable as Jewel grew nearer, but Ten seemed to grow ever more uncomfortable. His affable smile was now stretched and worn thin, threadbare as it tried to disguise grief and loss beneath. His body was tensed as if he would prefer to bolt, to run away from what was shredding his already brittle heart. Yet, he stayed, supporting the woman at his side even though he was still trapped by her spell that could also be seen from this in between existence. Finally, Jewel could reach out and touch her mother and beloved friend. Now on Ten's other side so that she could see, Aunt Marie was watching curiously.

"I'm ok, Mom. Chihiro, 'Wind and I . . . have some business we need to do. We'll be back as soon as we can, so don't worry too much. I'm a big girl, and I've been in worse scrapes. Remember a few years ago when Cambridge University had announced my party had surely been eaten by panthers? Then later they announced that we had merely gotten lost because Bill broke the compass?"

Marcella couldn't help her snort. That story had been a favorite of Jewel's group of friends when they had flown her to Mexico as a Mother's Day gift one year. Jewel had laminated the news clippings she had brought them, and given them to Bill as a 'reminder' that compasses and coffee don't mix, especially early in the morning in panther infested jungles. Of course, the tale had grown larger with every retelling, but the basic facts stayed the same. Jewel had stalked off followed by an apologetic Bill, they nearly got mauled by two of the hungry cats, the whole group eventually met up again, got lost for a month, and ended up where they were supposed to be where thankfully an extra compass had been included with the airlifted supplies now meant for another team.

"Bill's not with you is he?"

"No. But we have a giant shape shifting dog, are all stuck in the most ridiculous costumes you can imagine, and have gotten to see quite a bit of untamed wilderness."

Jewel had underscored her point by rustling the feathers in her hair, at which her mother couldn't help but laugh. That was good, it had been a while since she had voiced a genuine laugh. Now if she could only get Ten to smile, since he was obviously rather down.

"Mother, I think you should do some drawings of Ten. He has a very fine physique in both forms, and judging by some of the talk I've heard about him, he would be happy to pose for you. Much better than those other men."

"Jewel!"

This had Ten's definite attention as curiosity arose in his eyes, stirred no doubt by the lovely cherry shade that Marcella had turned as she glared her daughter down. However, judging by the wide and rakish smile plastered on the wayward woman's face that complemented the spritely sparkling eyes, Jewel was less than intimidated.

"You're an artist Marcella?"

"Oh yes, mom's really famous for her forays into the male form. Maybe she might even feel inspired by your dragon shape as her fantasy artwork is prized so. It's how she's paid her bills, and her work is in several museums. She's even had some up in the Tokyo Museum of Fine Art. Of course, some of her best work went missing a while ago, but since it disappeared from her studio . . . Finnigan probably hoarded it somewhere."

Now, while Marcella had reached the color of a wild fire, Ten was looking lost in thought as he tried to think of if he had seen her work before. Despite his rather boisterous nature, he enjoyed art greatly and paid attention to what was in the museums even if he rarely ever could go. In fact, he had been so impressed with a few that he had sent servants out to buy them. One had been an O'Drake, but was it the same person? It had been something about a dragon and a well, what had it been called?

With a thoughtful noise, Marie had started grinning and eying her sister. Marie had once been lucky enough to visit the New York Museum of Fine Art, and had happened upon some very interesting paintings that had been done by a woman who had oddly enough shared her estranged sister's name. Judging by her sister's face . . . they were the same person as not much had been said about the artist herself.

"So . . . The Dragon and The Well Maiden is your work then? My, my, I didn't know that you had such a vivid imagination. Especially since you always pooh-poohed love."

That's what it had been called! Ten's eyes widened so much in shock that Jewel thought his gorgeous orbs would fall out and roll around on the floor like in the kiddy cartoons. The oil painting in question was quite edgy to say the least. It had been a fanciful self portrait, the woman gazing longingly into an old stone well, parts of her face obscured by loose bits of hair as the wind slowly stripped away gauzy fabric from her body. The dragon that wrapped around the hill she was on clashed greatly with the traditional Irish countryside, a bronze Oriental dragon twining around everything and yet looking in the opposite direction, totally missing the tiny being he seemed to be looking for. It had become very famous, art critics everywhere finding different hidden messages within it. This one had stuck in his mind because of one very strange fact, and so he had been sure to buy it when it had finally gone to Tokyo.

The dragon had looked just like him.

And so, Jewel found herself plunged through the fabric once more, catching only a fleeting glimpse of the astounded dragon, embarrassed witch, and hysterically laughing woodworker. Her mother and Ten made a good pair . . . and who knew, maybe she would start calling him 'dad' to see if she could fluster him.

Her landing was harsh, causing her already rebellious innards to declare war. One great heave was all it took. A very familiar and very welcome voice greeted her as her contents hit a familiar fur coat belonging to the owner.

"Gross! Who threw up on me?"

Maiden Snake was carefully walking the halls, accompanied by little Lily who was making sure she didn't fall. Walking, a task normal for the carp spirit, was rather difficult for the little snake that was slowly evolving into a powerful dragon. This new human form was very different from the long form that slid across the ground like a banner of silk, yet she was slowly getting used to it. Her eyes, once a button black, were now like garnet that was set with black holes for pupils. Those two burning garnets were the only thing that could be seen in the eternal dark of this healing womb, a dragon's sight having been gained along with her change. The two were bringing some food that had been sent for by the Lord Ob, who was a relative of Ryu's somehow.

Normally, the task would not fall to them, as they were guests here. However, the strange dragon had specifically sent for them and no one else. Perhaps he did not trust the exuberance of his fellow beings of earth and fire around the bewitched beings. So it was that they found themselves bringing a knife, bandages, bread, fruit, a pitcher of rich broth, and a pitcher of water.

The going had been slow for them, as this long hall was completely dark. Each step they took was tested with a careful foot before shifting to the next step. This had leant an odd and ethereal grace to their posture, and it would forever be echoed in how Maiden Snake would hold herself in human guise from now on. Thankfully, with each careful step she became more sure of her new shape, and surely it would not be long before she could nearly fly instead of walking or running.

"Lily, do you hear that?"

The pair stopped where they were, listening hard in the silence to see if the noises would come again. Minutes passed in which only the sound of their breathing and their beatings hearts could be heard harmonizing this the electrical hum of their own nerves. Shrugging, the pair continued the rest of the way down the black corridor, slipping through the ink of eternal healing shadow carefully as they could.

"You know Lily, Ryu really needs to get this hallway lighted. It's darker than Haku's personal quarters here. Kami only knows what he's hiding in there."

"Nude drawings of Chihiro probably. He had taken a sudden interest in art. I wonder what the head healer wants this stuff for."

Ryu had blazed through the halls of his domain, headed straight for where he knew Maeve would be going. After all, there was only one place where she would have any reason to go here.

The wonders and secrets of the medical wing passed by in flashes unheeded. What use did he have for his treasure troves and armories right now meant for the defense of this section, or the store rooms full of medical supplies? Kitchens and healers' quarters were of no avail right now. The entrance to the medical wing was where he needed to be, and hopefully he could head Maeve off.

As luck would have it, he caught her just as she was about to head down the gaping maw that lead to the healing rooms. She stood there, as if searching out something yet afraid to go after it. Her face was a study of longing and fear, as if the ancient warrioress was afraid to find out the truth of what she could hear calling to her. As she began to move her foot, Ryu called out to her.

"Maeve!"

Quickly, the woman hid all trace of her uncertainty beneath a mask that she had been working on for generations. Gone was the merely human spirit woman that she had been so long ago, replaced instead with the woman who had shouldered so much responsibility and become an honored Ancestor.

"Don't go down there. It's not time yet."

"I have to find out what this energy is. It's so familiar, but he's not here, so it shouldn't be either. If I am feeling him again, then maybe the others are back as well."

It was sound logic, if you didn't take time travel into account. Ryu didn't understand what was going on, but he could put the facts together. Still, he had to keep her here and give Ob time for whatever he was supposed to be giving.

"You are tired. Maybe you are just imagining things Maeve."

"Imagining! My horse and spear! We might not have been able to finish the soul bonding, but that doesn't mean that we had not tasted of each other's truth! Nor does it mean that we did not have a child together either, as we were husband and wife. There is a whole strain of half beings that live shadowy lives unknown and watching over the line of my firstborn daughter, taking refuge with the full dragons of Drake's clan! I know his energy anywhere."

A crack began to form in her impassive mask and she stepped away from the passage, the light from the magma river giving her face ghastly shadows. He could see where BlowingWind had gotten the close guard she had put on her heart. His own mate was one that blustered to hide her pain or fear, raging to keep others away from tender spots. It could take a long time to get her to talk about things that really bothered her, and something about this had obviously been bothering Maeve for a long time.

Unnoticed as the two faced each other, both trying to remain reasonable adults, a shifting in the energy around them went unnoticed as stitches closed in around them.

"Do you need to talk? It always helps BlowingWind."

"What always helps me?"

The pair turned to where the familiar voice had come from, witnessing what seemed to be a shining needle filling out into the shape of one of the missing mystics. The heat that rose off of the molten river stirred the hawk feathers in her braids and the fringe that decorated her doe skins. The spirit of the young shaman frowned when she saw that she was standing on thin air, looking down into the glowing depths below her for a moment before walking not so very calmly to where there would be solidarity beneath her feet.

"You know, I would have expected a warmer welcome at least from you Ryu. I've been gone two weeks after all. I don't know exactly how long it has been for you in this world, but it's been an eternity for me you scaly coyote."

Ryu finally found his tongue. He had nearly swallowed it. He ignored her question though, as by the laughter in her eyes she had at least heard that part.

"Are you ok?"

"Do I look ok? I'm pregnant, starting to get big, on some odd quest to fix reality, getting shoved through fabric made out of who knows what with string in my head, and my hormones are seriously out of whack. What do you think?"

In Japanese, or Dragon, or English if you prefer . . . Yes she was ok. Disgruntled to her maximum, but she was definitely alright.

"I suppose that you can tell me why you are not in your body where you belong? You aren't supposed to be out for this long."

Maeve was in battle mode, her clipped tones something that would give even the most seasoned of generals the willies. She cared, and that was what made her so stern. She woman was scared spitless for the young mixed breed that was one of her descendants. The Irish/Native American snorted and shrugged her shoulders.

"What can I say? I'm great at getting into messes. I'm getting tested . . . again. No biggie. What I am doing here I don't know though. It has something to do with Despair. I don't have any unless you count this niggling feeling that something just isn't right, so maybe it's one of you. So, I have some words of advice. CUT IT OUT!"

At this point, BlowingWind looked rather fierce to the astounded and supremely confused dragon and ghost. With her fists and her hips and feet spread the woman looked like she was scolding little kids for snagging cookies . . . or a certain dragon for burgling bacon. Neither had any clue what she was talking about. Obviously, her advice was not helping at all. She felt the disquieting feeling of being tugged on like there was a knot in thread behind her that just didn't want to go through, and the world she was sort of taking part in wavered before her.

'Crud! I don't think that's good.'

What the other two saw was BlowingWind become even more translucent, only an outline visible at this point.

"Mother, I don't think that this test is truly for you."

A shining form separated itself from BlowingWind, connected to her expanding womb with a silver thread. As it stepped out, she regained her color once more. The shape that had stepped apart turned out to be a young boy of perhaps five years.

The first thing noticeable about him were his eyes, two pools reflecting a high summer sky. Wild black hair was cropped closely to his head in a style similar to Ryu's, and indeed other than the eyes it was like he was a miniature of the magma spirit. The boy was just how he would have imagined their son to look, right down to the clothes that the boy was wearing. The fine buck skins were well tanned, hanging around the childish form as if they were part of him, which they very well were. He had a hopeful smile on his face as he locked eyes with the woman who he wanted for his soul mate. He was finally given a chance to take away the pain that he had not been able to remove before.

"It's been a long time, Maeve. Come talk with me."

Drifting towards the little boy like she couldn't believe what she was seeing, Maeve began to shimmer at her edges as the boy focused on the flaw that had been etched into her soul. With luck, she would be ready to heal unlike the last life they had been together. Dropping in a nerveless puddle at his feet, Maeve reached out to touch him as if to verify that it was real.

"Drake?"

"Would you follow me if given the chance?"

"Anywhere."

"Then let go of it. Cast out your pain, guilt, and sorrow. I have never blamed you, it was my fault."

"How do I do that Drake? All these centuries, and I still haven't been able to. The gift I had promised to you I had not been able to defend."

The boy leaned forward to wrap his little arms around the grown woman kneeling before him. If she didn't hurry, then she might miss the window that was being opened for them. She needed his protection, his help, and his love.

"And you still don't understand that virginity really has very little to do with purity. If I could take away that mark I would. Only you can buff it out, but I can wait for you. Move past what perceived dishonor you still hide behind and let me see the real you. I am being reborn, you can too if you are willing to come back to life. Follow me."

"I don't understand. It has everything to do with purity. From the moment he touched me with his dirty hands as my body lay in helpless sleep he covered me with his dirty thoughts, implanting them inside my body when he was alone. How can I purge it when it has become part of me?"

"I can only tell you what countless other spiritually aware people in similar situations have been told, love. Energy flows both ways on any thread, and even the profane is sacred if viewed while looking for Truth. Think about it, I'm sure that you will be able to find the meaning."

The boy placed a tender kiss on top of the ghost woman's head, and for a moment it could be seen how he must have been before all of this started for him, just a lonely soul unbound to anyone and looking for a missing part of himself. He seemed to be aging backwards, becoming younger as his gestation progressed. With a wistful sigh, the dragon-boy stepped back before taking a new shape, now just a small black and red dracling as he reentered the nurturance of his mother's center, taking his umbilical cord with him.

BlowingWind was extremely confused by the exchange. The test had supposedly been for her, so why had it been passed to her son? Looking at Ryu, she wondered why he looked so sad. His face was not showing it, but his eyes could not hide the pain. The shaman reached out for her spirit, wanting to take it away and fix whatever was breaking. At that time, she drew into herself once more, whatever being using her as a tool ready to move on for more stitches.

"No! Not now! Ryu, I love you."

As the last of the pattern before her disappeared, BlowingWind thought that she could hear him echo her words. Her eyes overflowed with salt water, and closed in an effort to restrain her tears. She refused to believe that she would never see him again. She had to.

When she opened her eyes again, he saw Abandonment helping Chihiro drink some water, Despair trying to sooth Jewel's upset stomach, and Kyuujo cleaning some unthinkable substance out of his fur that looked suspiciously like vomit.

"You know, I am never taking up needlepoint. Somebody shoot me if I ever start considering it. Snowboarding makes far more sense."

An ever-changing woman had given up pounding on the walls of the box she had been confined in. Her visage never held true long enough to see what she looked like, instead it was like glimpsing every woman that had ever lived or that ever would live. Staring at the bleak walls, she had despaired of ever getting out again, ever witnessing another birth or gently guiding a soul to a new life.

Scrapes outside had gone unnoticed as the chains of Despair lessened, his attention being withdrawn as he could finally release the proud Baba Yaga from her division. His test had been passed, and it was time to reenter the light.

Hope filled the Baba Yaga as her Nigimitama at last saw the lid slide off of her prison to allow in sweet air and light. The Russian forest around her bloomed back into life as she once more entered her mind and took back dominance, comforting her bereaved Aramitama.

The ugly old hag and gorgeous mother rejoined as one whole being once more, and she left the meeting hall of the Death Guild. She had to find Tezcatlipoca and somehow convince him that the plan was not worth the deaths. She needed to heal the wounds in the Dark One's heart and hopefully reconcile his with his brother. It may be against the rules as her pair had been unsuccessfully bred, but she had already broken a rule by having agreed to the destruction of her children in the first place. The humans were only children still as far as awareness went.

Besides, just because there were no children, and the human's body had been consumed, did not mean that the souls had not somehow bonded to each other before she saw the human's spirit begin to wander.

Closing her eyes, she reached her thoughts outward, calling on the powers of Life to find the black coatl.

'Where are you Tezcatlipoca?'

Thanks to my reviewers.