57: Portents
It was late afternoon on New Sanctuary. The Nomad settlement was cast in the waning, purple-orange of near-twilight, with the sun starting its gradual descent behind the horizon. At this hour, the lanes between the mostly prefabricated buildings were empty, with the bulk of the Nomads who called this place home indoors, likely preparing dinners and such. Natalia, dressed in a more casual, unmarked battle-dress uniform, followed Aithris as he strode down the main 'street' (less of a 'street' and more a gravel road), headed for his mother's home towards the town centre. A few Nomad civilians waved from their doorsteps and front porches, but otherwise the place was quiet. Not to the point of being unsettling, simply peaceful, subdued. Alien birds called from the surrounding forests and similarly alien bugs chirruped and buzzed from the undergrowth.
The home of Aithris' mother was empty. Livona was out, it seemed. The front door was unlocked, a commonality amongst the settlement for few Nomads actually locked their doors. Just about everyone here knew everyone else, and crime was non-existent. It was a level of trust in a society Natalia had not seen since her childhood in the village back home, in rural Russia. Despite being the only human here, she felt oddly comfortable, welcomed even. The Nomads had certainly been welcoming during her last visit, and aside from Livona's apparent distrust of her Natalia could almost see herself living here.
The inside of Livona's home was dark, and Aithris switched on the light in the central kitchen/dining area, the unassuming light bulbs casting the room in a yellow-hued illumination. From the table, he picked up a handwritten note and after a quick read, he scrunched it up and tossed it into a small bin by the kitchen counter.
"My mother has gone to see her father, elsewhere in the village," he said, turning to Natalia who now loitered in the doorway. Natalia cocked an eyebrow, surprised.
"You never told me you had a grandfather. I mean, one who's still around."
"He is old enough that his mind isn't how it once was," Aithris stated. He set his backpack upon the table before he walked over to the pantry door and pulled it open. "He was never part of the council as I was, or as my father was, so he has no implants. Not to mention, he and my father never got along. The man is uncouth, to say the least."
"That's okay. I also had a grandfather who had a real dirty mouth on him." Natalia walked up beside Aithris, looking into the pantry herself. There were some pre-packaged foods in there, supplied by the SGC. Vegetarian stuff, unsurprisingly. She figured that if she was going to spend a little more time with Aithris, she was probably going to have to get used to going without steaks and hamburgers.
"His dislike of my father was understandable, in its own strange way." Aithris closed the pantry door after having removed two cans of beans. He turned to her, the look on his face a thoughtful one. "My mother and father did not end up together in the usual way, not like most I mean."
"Oh?" Natalia waited for more, pleased to hear that the Nomad was opening up further. Aithris set both cans of beans upon the countertop, using the ring-pull on each to open them up. It seemed that dinner tonight was going to be baked beans. Not that Natalia minded, it sure beat the MREs she had been living on the past few days.
"They were paired together, my father a council member, my mother with her gift. It was deemed that their genetic matchup would increase the likelihood of their offspring inheriting her gift. Evidently, that did not happen." Aithris sounded almost disappointed as he said this. Natalia thought that maybe it was for the best, that missing out on that 'gift' his mother was burdened with had spared him a great deal of anguish. "It was arranged, pure and simple. Love did not factor into it until I was born. At least then the two of them developed a proper, loving relationship over the son they now had. My grandfather never approved of it, of course. He believed that the council was using his daughter, and in a way he was right."
"They weren't disappointed with you, were they?" Natalia asked him. She found it hard to believe that anyone could be disappointed with Aithris. He was a kind and courageous man, and Natalia had found that she had developed more than a simple liking for him.
"Not at all," Aithris answered. "They loved me and I loved them, as any family should. Given our people's falling birth-rates, the fact that I was even born at all was a small miracle. Have you noticed the lack of children in this town?" His voice became a little more serious then. Natalia, with some trepidation, nodded her head. She had seen a few children, but they were a rare sight around here.
"Just another harsh reality my people face," Aithris continued, his tone souring further. "We're dying out. Slowly but surely. More so now, after having lost so many on Sanctuary." His voice wavered then, the emotions he kept so deeply buried seeping to the surface. Natalia reached out and put a hand to his face, cradling his cheek, looking into his violet-hued eyes and seeing then the loss and powerlessness he felt. They had all fought hard, and would continue to do so, but it seemed to Aithris that their chances of success were slim.
Natalia did not want to see him lose morale, not after becoming so used to seeing him as the most stalwart member of the team. They had worked together for several months now and during that time, Natalia had always found Aithris the one she could often talk to, for he was always willing to listen. Now, for a change, she was the one to lean on, and it seemed he needed it now more than ever.
"We'll find a way to fix that," Natalia said, even if she was not sure of that herself. It sounded feeble, even with the confident tone she spoke in. Aithris moved from her touch and glanced back at the dinner he had been preparing. Natalia tugged his shoulder, causing him to turn back around and look at her again. "Don't worry about dinner. I'm not that hungry." She paused, another question coming to mind that had been bugging her for a while: "Something's troubling you, and it's not just the obvious. What did that monster tell you before it died?"
Aithris did not reply. For a moment there, it looked like he was about to, yet something stopped him and he shook his head.
"I do not wish to burden you with my problems…"
"You can burden me all you want, Aith. Just tell me what's really on your mind." Natalia did not mean to sound so demanding, yet it came out as much and she paused, hoping she was not pushing him too hard. Aithris regarded her with a mildly curious look, before he suddenly started for the door.
"Where are you going?" Natalia went to follow him. Aithris stopped just after the doorway, turning to her.
"I'll be out shortly. I simply need to wash up, refresh myself." He gestured to the kitchen as a whole. "Make yourself at home, Natalia. Please." And with that, he was gone. Natalia could see plain as day that he was troubled, yet she did not know what she could do to help. She was no psychiatrist. Still, Aithris did not need a shrink. Rather, he needed a friend, and Natalia was trying her hardest to be one. Even so, it did not strike her as being enough.
The water was supplied by a water tank at the back of the building. It was a temporary measure, with more permanent plumbing being laid that took water from an underground spring and into the settlement as a whole. The water heater took a minute to actually warm the water, and when it was finally to the level Aithris preferred, he stepped into the shower and began to wash in earnest.
There was too much on his mind for him to really enjoy it. The bathroom was small, cramped even, adjoined to the room that had been put aside for him. From inside the small shower cubicle, he caught sight of himself in the mirror, his body mostly bereft of noticeable scars courtesy of the nanites coursing through his system. They healed him quickly and reduced scarring, a luxury few of his kind had. It came with having been trained for the council, as all council members and elite guardsmen received the implants. Now, with his people greatly reduced in number and relegated to living in a simple village, it seemed that no one would ever receive those life-altering implants ever again. He was the last of a dying breed, quite literally.
As had been the case since leaving Atlantis, the dying words of the Herald replayed again and again in his head. Aithris had meant to speak to his mother about what he had been told but seeing as she was off tending to her ageing father, it seemed he would have to contend with them himself for a little longer. As for Natalia, he did not wish to burden her…
With her in mind, he perked up when he heard the door of the small, cramped bathroom space slide open. He looked to the visitor and he felt his heart jump in his chest when he saw Natalia there, standing in the doorway wearing nothing but a smile. She strode confidently towards him, stepping into the narrow cubicle with him, her gaze fixed firmly upon his own. It all happened so quickly, and Aithris found himself speechless as she closed the distance and pressed her nude form firmly against his own. Hands roamed eagerly across the muscles of his chest and then around his back. His heart was pounding now, his focus having shifted entirely upon the determined woman who had joined him in the shower.
There was no denying her beauty, a beauty he had admired since having met her. Now though, for her to be bared to him only elevated it further, and he wrapped his own arms around her, running them down her back and feeling every curve her feminine frame offered. There was muscle there, certainly, her arms and chest were appropriately toned for someone who had spent so much of their life in the military, not to mention the powerful legs made so from many miles of marching over the years. Still, she carried a lithe feminine figure that held Aithris captivated. She planted a few eager kisses to his chest and neck, before she leaned her head back and met his eyes again. Her smile was wide and beaming, full of the kind of vibrancy he had come to admire from her.
"We are on the same team," Aithris said, his voice little louder than a mumble. The more rational part of his mind was fighting a losing battle here. "This does not seem like a good idea."
Natalia silenced any further protests by standing on her toes and planting her lips against his. It was a lasting kiss, driven by a passion kept contained by both of them for so long. Here and now, they were free to unleash it in its entirety, and Aithris swept aside his doubts as he wrapped Natalia up in his powerful arms. Her calloused fingers felt a little rough against his skin, which only seemed to make her touch all the more stirring. Driven purely by desire, the unusual pair plunged headlong into the sensations their bodies had to offer one another, all their worries being pushed aside in turn.
He loved her hair. The way it felt in his fingers, long and silky, it was something no Nomad carried. It was free of its bun and hung loosely over her neck and shoulders. After the shower, it carried the hint of something soapy, the day's journey having been washed away from it and the rest of her form.
Her eyes were a crystal blue that reminded him of the oceans and skies he had seen on a number of liveable worlds. They were bright with desire and glee, and at first he allowed her to hover over him, straddle him, run her hands along his chest and explore his body in any way she pleased.
They made the most of their time together, a night spent lost in one another. The first time was slow and languid, testing the waters. And then, a little while later, they went again, more confidently this time. In the end, they collapsed together in a tangle of limbs within the dim lighting of the bedroom, sweat slickened and content. Natalia fell asleep against him, and for an hour or so Aithris remained awake, arm wrapped around the woman who had captivated him such. He considered what this whole escapade might have meant, truly. She had not said so aloud, although it was apparent that she felt strongly for him, loved him even. He felt much the same, and it seemed 'right' to have them here, like this, their feelings in the open and expressed in the most thorough way possible.
Even so, there were uncertainties. They worked together, fought together and relied upon one another in the field. The humans had rules against such fraternising. With that in mind, Aithris thought of what his people might have done, for there were no rules in their armed forces about fraternising. Certainly not within the elite guards that Aithris had been training for prior to his self-imposed exile. Presumably, the belief by the Council was that such relationships 'improved' unit cohesion.
He supposed that if there were problems, they would work through them as they came along. He did not want to think about any of that now, not with Natalia asleep against him, the inside air of his bedroom cool and the night outside dark, blinds drawn over the one window. He needed some sleep himself, and after a while spent staring at the ceiling and mulling over his increasingly complicated situation, he finally fell asleep.
Aithris was taken a little off-guard by the apparent promptness at which morning came. He recognized the sounds of the native birds, calling from some distant tree line. Sunlight filtered in through the plastic blinds over the window, casting the room in a yellowish glow. He rolled over amongst the tangled bedsheets, expecting to find Natalia next to him. Instead, he was alone, the bed empty. He thought he detected a trace of her scent amongst the sheets, but otherwise it was as if she had never been there.
Slowly, he climbed out of the bed. He paused in his movements, listening for any noises from within the house. None came, so he had to assume Natalia had left. That was unlike her, and Aithris found himself with a growing uncertainty as he hastily dressed, sliding on his usual grey jacket as well as a set of sturdy boots and similarly grey-toned cargo pants. Moving for the door, he pushed it open, only to step not into the narrow hallway that ran down the middle of the house, but onto a vibrant grassy field that went on for miles.
He was startled at first, naturally. The house had gone, replaced with open air and greenery for as far as he could see. The sky above was a deep blue, the sun bright from where it was just rising at the horizon. There were some rocky mountains off upon the horizon to his left, with more of the open meadows all around him. It was not all just grass, of course. Some clusters of trees were scattered about, with many more far off in the distance behind him. A forest, no less, that took up a mostly hilled region, although none were of any significant height.
His initial shock faded and he realised, very quickly, that he must have been dreaming. There was no other explanation, none that made sense. Unless someone was working some form of teleportation-related trickery on him, then this had to be a dream. As he focused some more on what lay ahead, he realised that about half a kilometre to his front lay a lake. It was a little off to the right, and by the edge of it was a building he thought seemed familiar.
He took a few steps through the overgrown grass. Aithris surmised then that he had seen that structure before. The shape of it was hard to forget, with its multiple steeples and bulbous-shaped domes, with the central one topped by the sign of the cross. A church, specifically the one Natalia had shown him in the photo taken in her hometown. The old village church, constructed of ageing stone and adorned with lavish religious iconography. From here, his sharp eyes could make out some of the smaller details on the church, including the somewhat faded painting over its front double doors, that of saints and angels and the like. A cracked, uneven road ran from its front and off to the east (this was Earth, he knew it now, and so Aithris knew which way was what in accordance to the position of the sun). The town was further down that road, a cluster of grey and brown blocks against the lush, verdant meadows. No signs of life were visible, however. The place was quiet, with only the sounds of the wind gusting across the fields providing any ample background to his movements.
Suddenly, he realised that he was not alone. Someone had appeared to his left, seemingly stepping into existence out of thin air. Aithris, his heart skipping a beat, swivelled to face this apparent threat. However, a calming sensation overcame him then, one he could not explain. He found himself looking upon a figure a few inches shorter than he was, shrouded in a dark purple robe adorned with gold trimmings. A gloved hand reached out for him, not that Aithris took it. Instead, he focused on the face, partially covered under the hood, and he saw a set of distinctly Calsharan eyes looking back at him. He saw the light green scales, the pointed teeth bared in what was supposed to be a friendly smile; and then, as he watched, the face morphed to something bereft of these things. Scales became pink-toned skin, the teeth blunted and became fewer whilst the eyes turned green.
He was about to speak, recognizing the woman immediately, but she started walking for the church before he could utter a word. She moved briskly, pausing several metres away to look back at him, a Calsharan face now in place of the previously familiar human one. With one finger, she beckoned for him to follow. Aithris, seeing no other alternative, did just that. Besides, he felt as if he needed to follow her.
As they passed by a handful of trees, Aithris was startled by another figure who appeared on their other side. He relaxed quickly when he saw it was Jonas, except it was a Jonas dressed in a dirty uniform, his face covered in soot and dirt and one hand held out. Jonas said nothing, barely even acknowledged Aithris' presence, he simply stood still in his untidy state. In his hand, somewhat outstretched, was a length of grey cloth. It was steeped in blood.
Aithris felt something tug him then, and he turned to his guide, once again met with the human face. It morphed again as he watched, one gloved hand pulling at his arm. He took the hint and continued following her. There was little point to fighting it, convinced as he now was that he was being shown something important. How it was important, he had no idea, just that he had to see it through.
As they neared the church, someone else approached him from the right. Daniel emerged from around the side of the building, coming upon his flank. Unlike Jonas, he appeared clean and normal, dressed in unassuming civvies. However, his expression was serious, his eyes narrowed and fixed firmly upon Aithris. The Nomad wanted to stop and see what he had to say, but his escort was becoming impatient, her hand now firmly wrapped around his left forearm. Nonetheless, he did hear something of what Daniel had to say:
"The advocate wants to speak to us," he stated, and with that the doors of the church opened and Aithris was practically pulled inside.
The exterior may have showed its age in places, being a building well over one-hundred years old. On the inside, one would not have been able to tell by any of the visible wear and tear. Everything was in otherwise good condition, with most imperfections covered by the array of elaborate paintings that covered the walls and ceilings. Arches were up high, accommodating for the rounded shape of the roof above, with just about every inch adorned with some artist's interpretation of saints and angels or the messiah. A soft red carpet ran down the central aisle, wooden pews to either side. The front space where the altar would have been situated was floored with smooth marble tiles. Instead of the usual altar, whereupon one might find candles and crucifixes and the like, there was instead a wicker basket of some variety, situated upon a simple wooden stand. Aithris' escort, shifting once again from Calsharan to human, gently lead him down the aisle and towards this unusual centrepiece. Surrounded by religious iconography that Aithris was only vaguely familiar with, he paused before the small basket and gazed down at what lay within.
A baby. A small, blue-skinned baby wrapped up in a white blanket. Aithris found himself oddly captivated by the sight, startled by the noticeably violet eyes it carried upon an otherwise humanoid face. He looked to his escort again, seeking answers. None came, for she had vanished. Looking about the vast church interior, he saw no sign of her, no indication that she had ever been present.
Aithris picked up the quiet, mostly sleepy infant. A sense of belonging fell upon him then, that somehow he knew that this child belonged to him. With little else for him to find within this church, he turned around and started for the entrance. He cradled the child in his arms, having not once figured that he might ever have a child of his own. With Nomad birth-rates the way they were, the odds of a successful conception followed by a live birth were slim.
He emerged outside again, only to find others waiting for him. Men clad in black tactical gear, reminiscent of the security officers on Atlantis. One of them, the one he took to be in charge, approached him. There had to be a dozen of them all around, weapons drawn. Aithris felt dread strike hard within him, and he knew then what they were here for.
Suddenly, two of them were upon him, forcing him to his knees. And then the one in charge was prying the infant out of his grasp. It started to cry then, bawling in a way that only spurred Aithris into action. He had to save the child, his child, and so he pushed and shoved against the men holding him back. The officer in charge was already walking away with the crying child in his hands, the officer's face concealed underneath a tinted visor and respirator. All these men had their faces hidden, a means of not only hiding their identities but of intimidating their enemies further.
Aithris broke free of the pair's grasp and vaulted over the edge of the church steps. The other men gave chase, but the Nomad was fast, faster than any ordinary human. He found the officer at the lake's edge behind the church, kneeling by the water. As Aithris ran towards him, he watched in horror as the officer plunged the bawling infant under the water, holding it there, its cries becoming replaced with a horrible gurgling sound that drove anguish through Aithris' very core. He did not even realise he was screaming at the man, once again set on by multiple foes and pushed to his knees, thrashing and swiping whilst his enemies began to kick him and punch him…
Aithris woke up with a start, his heart pounding. It was still dark outside, and a quick glance at the clock in his bedroom told him that it was the very early hours of the morning. He looked around frantically, half-expecting the black ops troopers to be in the room with him. Instead, Natalia sat up beside him, concern on her features, her hair tousled and her eyes carrying the look of someone still half-asleep.
"Aith, Aith what is it?" She put a hand to his shoulder. Slowly, Aithris leaned back against the headboard, his heartbeat slowing to something more relaxed. He leaned into her touch and she planted a light kiss against his cheek.
"Just a dream." A very vivid dream, disturbingly so. His mother had told him that dreams often contained information pertaining either to one's past or future, it was simply a matter of making sense of it. Easier said than done, of course. And Aithris was not sure of what to make of what he had just seen, the memories of which were fading rapidly, leaving only the most striking parts clear in his mind.
"A bad one?" Natalia asked him.
"Yes." He turned to her, reaching up with one hand to trail his fingers down her cheek. "No bad dream can haunt me for long with you here."
She smiled at him, the kind of smile that could light up a room.
"You don't want to talk about it?"
"The dream?" Aithris shook his head. "There isn't much to talk about. It was just a dream."
"You sure?"
"I'm sure." He paused, as something else came to mind. "But there was something else. About what happened on Atlantis. I told you I didn't want to burden you with my problems."
"You were always there for me to talk to these past seven months," Natalia said. "I thought maybe you needed someone to do the same for you?"
Aithris looked her in the eyes, seeing the sincerity in them and knowing that here was someone he could trust entirely. More so than even John or Daniel, the other humans he had come to consider friends. He loved Natalia, there was no use denying it now.
"The Herald told me a few things," Aithris said, his voice taking on a much graver tone. Natalia listened carefully as he continued further: "About my people, the Nomads. I don't know whether to believe it or not, but it makes sense in a strange way."
"Do you believe him?" A very valid question. Aithris had been thinking that over since he had had his exchange with the Herald.
"I believe it would be unwise to dismiss what he says," he replied. "But I certainly can't trust him."
He felt then one of Natalia's hands drifting across his thigh. She was trying to distract him, lighten the mood. Aithris certainly appreciated the attempt. They still had a few hours until morning, so he supposed there was no harm in keeping up the 'distractions' until then.
His mother was home when he finally got out of bed, when the first rays of sunshine were seeping in through the small gaps in the blinds. He left Natalia be, fast asleep and sprawled amongst the tangled bedsheets, whilst he dressed himself, sans his jacket which he left hanging on a coat-hook by the door.
This time, he did not have to worry about emerging into some kind of unusual dreamscape, and so when he left his bedroom he ended up in the narrow hallway as expected. He could hear movement in the kitchen, and so he made his way there to find his mother putting together a simple breakfast.
"Mother," he said, offering her a smile. She turned to him, paused in her activities and approached her son with a wide smile. Some relief crossed her features, and she embraced him in a prolonged hug. Aithris could always feel welcome in his mother's house.
"I'm sorry I wasn't here when you arrived," she told him, as she released him from her grasp. She seemed energetic this morning, dressed in her usual blue gown. "Your grandfather needed some help, you know how he is."
"Yes, I do." Aithris left it at that. His opinions on his grandfather were best left unsaid. The old man was a piece of work on the best of days, although now with his mind gradually going the way it often did in the very elderly, most days were not his 'best'.
"Your mission, did it go well?" Livona had not been privy to the details of his most recent missions. However, she was intuitive enough to know when he had been off on some dangerous assignment, even by the simple fact that he had come to visit her. A few scrapes with death were enough of a reason to come here and visit the only family he had, if only to remind him of why he fought.
"As well as it could," Aithris said. Livona sat down at the circular dining table, bringing with her the bowl of heated porridge she had prepared. It was a simple dish, courtesy of the human-supplied rations that they had been delivered.
"There is something I need to speak with you about," he added quickly, unwilling to spoil his mother's otherwise good mood with a serious discussion. Even so, he had to ask these questions, had to be sure about them.
"What is it?" Livona looked up at him, and Aithris sat down in the chair across from her. He was not entirely sure where to start with it. He wondered, briefly, if Livona even knew that Natalia was in the house. Not likely, he figured.
"You're the only living member of the council in this village," Aithris said. This was true, as none of the actual ruling council members had made it off of Sanctuary alive. Some elite guardsmen had, but even they would not have been in the same circle as someone like Livona. She herself had been an 'advisor' really, not a full-fledged member, unlike Aithris' father Vakron.
"Maybe you could shed some light on this, then," Aithris continued. Now his mother was watching him curiously, one brow-ridge quirked. "I encountered a Herald, just recently."
Her expression darkened when he said this. He was quick to allay her fears, however.
"I killed it," he said. "It's what it told me when it lay dying I want to ask you about."
"You can't believe anything it says," she countered, and she was quick to do so. "Those creatures lie, and they do it very well."
"What it said still gave me cause for concern." He watched his mother for a moment before continuing, attempting to gauge what she may have been thinking. Did she have a clue as to what he was about to tell her? It was impossible to determine, really. He could very well have been spouting off a bunch of lies. And yet, part of him did not consider them lies. There was truth in there; whether or not it was the full truth, he could not be sure.
"It told me about our people, mother," Aithris explained. "It told me how we were created by his masters, genetically engineered to be their soldiers. Somewhere along the way, many thousands of years ago, some of those soldiers rebelled, breaking their conditioning. They fled, taking their master's nanotechnology with them. And they settled on a planet they came to call Varalan, before it was destroyed centuries later. The reason our birth-rates are in decline is because our genetics are gradually breaking down, generation after generation. Without the ancient enemy around to maintain our genes, we will eventually die out." He laid it all out as clearly as he could, ensuring that there could be no misunderstanding. His mother's expression, although serious, did not change as he continued. She simply soaked in every word, eyes fixed upon those of her son.
"Did the council know?" He asked her, and this time his tone was blunt. His mother looked down for a moment, as if considering her response. Aithris leaned forwards, glaring at her: "Did they know, mother? Is that why Torrant allied himself with the enemy?"
"I don't know," Livona said suddenly, exasperated. "I knew there was something they weren't telling me, but I didn't know what. Torrant and the others, they all had their secrets."
"It makes sense, doesn't it? Why else would we be suffering the genetic shortfalls we are? The enemy, the 'Demons' did not make our people to last, not without their direct intervention. We're dying out and our only hope would be align ourselves with them, or so Torrant would have intended."
"Would you, Aithris?" Her eyes widened. "Would you align yourself with that enemy?"
"No." Aithris shook his head slowly. "Never. There are other ways to fix our problem, ways I am certain will become apparent as this conflict goes on. I just needed to know if you knew anything about this."
"I didn't, really." Livona shook her head. Sadness had taken hold in her eyes, a deep underlying sense of sadness that seemed to suck the vibrancy from his mother's face. "Do you believe it?"
"I believe it enough to take it seriously," Aithris answered. "I will simply keep an eye out for proof of it." His genetics might have some hints, and he wondered if the humans of Earth might have been able to assist him with that. They knew a great deal about DNA and the like, even more so with the Ancient-built technology they had at their disposal in some places. All he knew was that his people needed help, regardless of their origin. The thought that their enemies had in fact created his species did not sit well with him at all, however. It was almost sickening, and it cast a shadow over so much of his life that he was no longer sure what to believe. Were it not for people like Natalia there to keep him grounded, to remind him of what he was fighting for, then perhaps he really could have fallen into despair…
It was at that moment that Natalia decided to make herself known. She entered the kitchen wearing Aithris' jacket and nothing else, with the outfit being a few sizes too big such that it covered up her modesty appropriately. She had come in oblivious to the presence of Livona, and so started for the refrigerator whilst both Livona and Aithris watched her, the former with a look of surprise that was quickly replaced with something irritable. Natalia yawned, rubbing her eyes, before she stopped partway to the fridge and set her eyes upon Livona.
"Ah, Livona, I was, uh…" She trailed off, before she pulled Aithris' jacket tighter around her as to cover herself up a little more. "I was just looking for something to drink."
Aithris looked to his mother, trying to clamp down on the embarrassment he felt, although it seemed likely that Natalia was feeling much more of it than he was. Livona's expression morphed into something almost resigned, her apparent annoyance having dissipated quickly.
"I'll leave you two be," Natalia said, as soon as she had pulled a bottle of fruit juice from the refrigerator. She strode out of the kitchen, eager to avoid any further embarrassment. Aithris could find some relief in the fact that she had had the good sense to get semi-dressed before walking in here.
"I knew she was the one," Livona said suddenly, her voice low. Aithris looked to her, frowning slightly, unsure of what to make of this statement.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, I saw her. Same as I see my other visions." Livona sighed, before she finally set her gaze upon her son once more. "I saw her and I saw you with her."
"For how long have you known this?" It was probably not surprising that his mother had known of Natalia, and so was not surprised to see that the pair had become intimate. Livona received all manner of visions, often at inopportune times. A glimpse of her own son's future was probably to be expected.
"Years," she said simply. Her voice sounded hollow, and Aithris realised that she was trying to hold something back. Her eyes filled with sorrow, and he saw the first hints of tears welling up in them.
"Mother, what is it?" He moved off of his chair and to her side, allowing her to stand up and lean into his arms. He had rarely seen her like this, weeping openly. The only other time had been when she had learned of his father's death, and the thought that something similar had happened caused his heart to lurch, dread setting into his gut.
"I've seen how you die," Livona declared, and she buried her face into his chest, tears streaming down. Aithris allowed his eyes to widen, but he quickly reined in the shock that the declaration had brought on. He had been trained since a young age to keep a cool head in a life-or-death situation, and this seemed to be little different.
"Mother, please, you have to explain."
"I've had it burned into my memory for years," Livona added, and she choked back a sob before she looked up at him, eyes streaming. "I always knew you would fall in love with a human woman, Aithris. Seeing it now, it sets it all in place. All the futures I've seen have come to pass, in some way. No matter what anyone does, they always happen. And now…"
"The future isn't set, mother." He interrupted her, determined to pull her from this despair that had fallen upon her so suddenly. It made a strange sort of sense as to why his mother had been initially hostile towards Natalia. By being together, he was fulfilling whatever visions of the future she had seen of him. The thought that she had seen him die was a disquieting one, and he wondered at the kind of burden that had placed on her for all these years. It was bad enough to see all manner of horrible things befall others in her visions, but her own son?
He hugged her tight, allowing her to cry into his uniform shirt. Natalia appeared again at the doorway, having been drawn by the noise. She looked at him, stunned, and Aithris simply returned the look with something serious of his own. How could he reassure his mother, and how could he possibly inform Natalia of this?
"When you are ready, mother, you will need to tell me everything you know." Aithris spoke quietly to her. "Everything you have seen about what happens to me, I need to know every detail." It would be odd, to have foreknowledge of his own death, but if he intended to avoid it then he needed to know every aspect of what his mother had foreseen. Maybe then he could change it. As for Natalia, she did not need to know. Not yet.
"Is everything all right, Aith?" Natalia asked him, standing in the doorway.
"It's okay, Natalia. Sometimes my mother's visions are hard for her to bear."
Natalia nodded in understanding, before she made her way back to the bedroom again. She was wisely giving the pair some space. Aithris wondered how things would fare between them as part of the team, now that they had their feelings for one another out in the open. Of course, he would never consider putting an end to what they had shared, even if it might have averted the future his mother had seen. Natalia had stolen his heart, and it was not something easily taken back.
