Cearbhail:

So, I decided to share that chapter between Mirri and her mother.

Oh, and enjoy =^^=


Battlemage Mirri Severin's Report: Severin Family Matriarch Induction to House Telvanni, 21 Evening Star 4e 207

It is hard for this battlemage to remain impartial in her report. The subject of this report is related to her mother, and because of this, I will try my best to impartially report all information I believe is pertinent for House Telvanni's future reports. In the past, House Severin, formally known as House Ulen, was planning an assassination of Councilor Morvayn. The reasons for this assassination are not relevant in this report. The important information is that House Severin was brought down by a collection of members of House Telvanni, Veselle Tenvanni, and Draseth and Zeratah Vedes. The Patriarch of House Severin (Vendil Severin) was killed in action, the daughter (me) was betrayed by my parents, and the Matriarch (Tilisu Severin) was knocked unconscious by… and I'm not making this up, Sanguine kissing her into a drunken stupor.

And I bring this up because the Matriarch, my mother, who was taken alive by House Redoran, has managed to escape her life sentence to House Redoran, and has sought extradition in House Telvanni, serving her life sentence in our House as a servant. She used the excuse of attacking the daughter of the Lord of Telvanni as her reason for seeking extradition. And Lord Neloth, the current presiding Lord of Telvanni, took her under his House's rules until the matter of this island's impending doom is handled. Until then, the Matriarch has been implanted with an Explosion Rune, one that will rend her into a thousand chunks of elven goo if she wanders off property or tries to tamper with the spell. Two other spells all linked to each other also reside inside her in cause she thinks of dismantling the spell placed on her heart. As an added precaution, Battlemages Teldryn Sero and Mirri Severin are to keep a close eye on the Matriarch until Lord Neloth can discuss the terms of the Matriarch's extradition to House Telvanni, if there is to be one at all.

Until such a time, I am stuck… watching my mother. And I am not happy about it. Not one bit.

Battlemage Mirri Severin.

"What a quaint… room you have."

Mother clearly did not enjoy what I have built for myself.

I only had this room for a little less than a month. It's not like I've had a stable paycheck begin to form. Most of the stuff I had in this room, I managed to take from Severin Manor before moving over here. I only took the stuff that I believed belonged to me. A bed, a bookcase, and a desk. I had a training dummy in the corner of my room, and on the other side a meditation mat. I had a small incense shrine set up so that I could breathe in the fragrant smoke while I meditated. I found that lavender helped me reach new levels of inner calm so that I could begin working with real magick instead of just relying on pure mana.

It was a simple room, but it was mine. It was right next to Teldryn's mushroom. I wouldn't say it was Severin Manor, but… it's mine. And I belong here.

"You have a problem with my room?" I kept my voice even. She was trying to rile me up, and I wouldn't let her have that.

"Not at all, daughter. It's just…" She wiped a finger on my desk. "ashy. Don't you dust?"

I took a deep breath, glancing over to Teldryn, who waited by my door, leaning on the doorframe, arms crossed. He kept his mirrored goggles aimed at Mother, but when I glanced over to him, he stuck two fingers up, gently telling me to keep my cool without even glancing at me.

That made me take a deep breath in, hold it for a few seconds, before silently releasing it. Teldryn was pretty much my father these days. He all but adopted me after what happened to me when I joined House Telvanni. It was nice having a positive role model in my life I could look to. Veselle's mother was pretty cool, and she filled that role easily enough, but Neloth… I don't know how Veselle ended up the way she is if she was raised by him. I honestly don't know that much about Veselle now that I think of it. Not her past anyway. She wasn't always in Raven Rock. Otherwise… we would have known each other as children. She's only been here for a little over a year. Huh… I guess I need to have a chat with her later.

"Nice breathing technique." Mother quipped from near my bed. "Good to know you retain some amount of mental control. How you could learn anything here is beyond me." She walked to my bookcase. "I see you abandoned all your textbooks on mana manipulation." She reached down, picking up a book on fire manipulation. "Fire magick? Really?" Mother almost scoffed, flipping the book open. "Learning the natural elements? Learning Fire the natural way, Mirri?" Mother skimmed the pages. "I see this tome has the basics covered, a proposed theory on how Fire forms in one's body." Mother scoffed. "Different colors of Fire. What tripe." She placed the book back into my bookcase. "As if there are different colors of Fire."

"There are." I replied. I had to keep my emotions in check as I readied myself to verbally combat her. "I've witnessed it. Orange Fire… Black Fire, Blue Fire… I've witnessed these for myself. I haven't been able to create Fire yet."

"Of course you haven't, butterfly." Mother replied. "You were trained to manipulate energy far grander than… this basic emotional element. You tap into the energy itself, bypassing the transformation process to create such elements. Your energy allows you to disrupt all forms of magick. You were created to destroy magick… not embrace it." Wind danced on my mother's fingertips. "I never had the opportunity to learn how to separate myself from magick… but you Mirri… you were born for it." She glared back at me. "And as for the different colors… what I refer to is the difference of them. Emotions have to run deep to transform Fire into different colors. But at it's core… it's still Fire. Black, Purple, Pink, Orange, Green… Blue. Those are the ones I'm familiar with. At the end of the day… it doesn't matter what the color is… it's still Fire. And… after a while, you can create whatever color you want."

Mother stuck out the fingers of her left hand, showing it to me. Small sparks of Fire burst out of her fingertips. Blue on her thumb, orange on her index, black on her middle, green on her ring, and pink on her pinky.

"Emotions are vibrations in our aura, butterfly. And learning how to manipulate our aura's vibration in separate parts of your body allows you to create different colors. Therefore… emotional reliance for using Fire… is primitive. Obsolete. Incomplete."

I felt my head spinning. Not because she was offering me advice or teaching me something new. It was because, if she knew she was or not, she was insulting my friend Veselle.

"And if someone did use their emotions to fuel their Fire Magick?" I tried to keep myself calm. "Would that make them a lesser person?"

Mother met my gaze. "I wonder… if someone had to steel a kiss to make their Fire work… would that make them an inferior mage… one who relied on their emotional state to solve their problems for them. When, that same mage, with complete understanding, could learn how to create Fire with full understanding of how Magick, at its core, is correctly formed? Would they be a better mage for using their emotions to fuel their mage, or would they be a better mage for utilizing everything else while keeping a calm and collected head?"

"I don't know." I exhaled.

"If magick worked on an emotional capacity, all mages everywhere, would be screaming crying children creating temper tantrums to solve their problems." Mother turned away from me. "Any mage who relies on their emotions for combat is a child at best, and a distracted explosion at their worst."

I continued to keep my breathing practices going as I clenched my fists. I dug my nails into my palms, hoping that the pain would ease me out of my mind-space.

"Giving into one's base emotions to accomplish their mission simply does not have the maturity needed to function as a proper mage."

"… Shut up." I did not mean to say it, but… it came out of me. It wasn't a whisper, a whimper. It wasn't a scream either. It was more like a command.

Mother turned to face me, eyeing me with a calculated glare. "So, finally found your tongue, daughter?"

I cleared my throat, trying my best to remain calm. I couldn't let her get to me like that. "Magick, in all forms, as long as it is achieved, is in no way lesser than another form. My mana manipulation, for instance, was defeated by Veselle's own form of Fire creation on occasion. And I have watched another, a Khajiit by the name of Ruby, use crystals to create her own form of magick. She was very competent with it. I would say that utilizing one's strengths to accomplish their mission does not make one lesser than someone else." I gestured to Teldryn. "My mentor, if I may?" Teldryn nodded his head, giving me permission to explain his magick. "My mentor over here, Teldryn Sero, uses magick to amplify his Voice. He holds his voice inside him, gathering magick into his lungs and throat. And it is utilized when he speaks Commands. These Commands can be emotional, cold, apathetic, or even empathic. He can put people to sleep, he can make people cry… he can share his memories, emotions, force people to embrace their own demons. Or he can kill people with a single whisper. Even if you block your ears. His Voice becomes Reality. While I've been here, I've learned a lot that you can Father kept hidden from me."

"We didn't keep anything hidden from you. We chose a specific concept to teach you. I didn't want the distraction of Wind, Fire, Frost, Shock, Rock, Water clouding your mind. Mana manipulation is the highest form of spiritual connection. But… you have to start early, clear of any other inner turmoil connected to other forms of magick, for it to be as pure as it can be. You're the perfect mana user, Mirri. And if you remain here, you'll taint our truest potential. Ruin who you are."

"Who I am?" I felt my voice beginning to rise. "Who I AM?" I screamed.

Mana exploded out of me as I threw my arms down. My mana cyclone around me as I let my anger express itself. "I'm still trying to figure that shit out!" More mana started to pour out. As I stood there, confronting my mother, my mana started transforming. My mana started turning orange, black edging the orange mana pouring out of me. It had a fiery texture.

I jabbed my finger over to Mother. "You and Father… all you two did was lock me up, keep me secret from everyone, even myself. I was nothing more than a pawn for you and Father. A product of your revenge. So don't begin with your whole 'it was your own good' bullshit. I've had time to come to terms of who I was, and what I meant to you and Dad. And I thought I was done with you! I thought you were out of my life forever. I was beginning to heal, beginning to feel like I belonged somewhere. And then… you come out of nowhere, force yourself into my current life, invading my safe space. And you insulted not only my friends, but me in the process. Emotions make you weak, huh?"

My mana began to transform. I felt a shift inside me. I felt like something keeping locked inside me was finally broken. Flames sprung from my mana, and before I knew it, I was surrounded by a vortex of my own magick. Colors of various colors were circling around me. Black, Purple, Orange, and Blue, wrapped around me. I had finally unlocked my own Fire magick.

"I guess I'm just a broken emotional mage, huh?" I let my tears fall as I glared at my mother. "I guess I ruined my pure mana, huh?" I wiped the tears from my eyes. "I'm just a stupid emotional child, right?"

Mother's eyes were wide, watching the fire spin around my body. "It's… beautiful. The colors." She watched the Fire dancing around my body. I found her beginning to smile. She carefully reached down for my bed, finding it with her hand. She then began to sit herself down, keeping her eyes locked on me, on my flames.

The Fire I had been building up began to wear itself down. My head felt… hot. My room was spinning around me just like the Fire had been spinning around me. I felt… light? Heavy? A little of both? My chest was screaming for more, as if I had more to offer. More to express. But… my body wasn't ready. My arms were tense, my fists clenched. My legs… trembling. I could barely keep myself standing. As my Fire died out, my legs decided they were done supporting me.

Teldryn was beside me in an instant, offering me a chair to sit in. I had no idea what was going on with me; it didn't feel like burnout. I never felt anything like this before. This was a new sensation. And if it had caused my mana to erupt into fire; I wonder if this is what Veselle feels when she unleashes her Fire magick.

Teldryn placed a hand on my shoulder, patting me reassuring me as he looked down at me with his mirrored goggles. Mother, on the other hand, was still sitting on my bed, her hand keeping her balanced as she stared wide-eyed at my already ended display of Fire.

Mother quickly regained herself as she cleared her throat, shifting her stance on my bed. "Well, daughter. It would seem you have something to say." She gestured for me to continue. "Please… tell me how you really feel."

"I believe I just did." I found my voice beginning to rise again.

Mother shook her head. "No you haven't. Back in Raven Rock, you said I was going to have to adapt my parenting style to one more to your liking. To me… you served your purpose. Not in the way I would have liked, and the conclusion of your raising has become… obsolete, and so… we must adapt to new times, and new lifestyles. I was not planning on what to do after we completed our revenge. I suspected all three of us would have been caught after our assassination and executed. Well, myself and your father. You were young, impressionable. Redeemable. I figured that you would have been spared… and I was correct. You were spared. Released into Neloth's custody. You would then build your own life. That is what I hoped for. And here I find you…" Mother ran her hand over my bed. "Living in House Telvanni…" She looked over to Teldryn. "Finding new role models." She glanced over to my door. "And finding love… of all things. More than I could have dreamed. And all within a month."

"It's been a busy month." I replied. "You might not know what's been going on, but I'll try to catch you up. Miraak is trying to take over the world. Daedra Princes are trying to control the world, and they're using Miraak's growing presence to push their own influences and agendas onto our island. It's all building to something we're still not sure about, but Veselle got a glimpse of a world taken down by a corprus virus. All starting right here in Solstheim."

Mother clicked her tongue, leaning back. "Sounds like the end of the world."

"It very well could be the start of that. We're working on defeating Miraak now. Veselle has a plan. The High King of Skyrim…"

"Ah… so that's who that was. I thought he looked familiar." Mother interrupted me. She broke into a thin-lipped smile. Her eyes began to narrow. "Look at you… getting in touch with royalty. Not only working for the presiding Lord of House Telvanni, but also working with the High King of Skyrim. Keep this up, and you'll be living in a palace."

I crossed my arms. "Is that all you care about?"

"And dating the daughter of Lord Neloth. Before long, you'll be running House Telvanni by her side."

"That's not why…"

Mother wasn't even paying attention. "I can see that you've done well for yourself. I was worried you'd crash and burn after you separated from our family. But I see now that you have managed to put yourself into a position of power… of respect."

I sighed, refusing to even give her a response. But… then I thought better. I should play her game. "I earned that power. That respect." I leaned forward in my chair. "Lord Neloth practically begged me to join the family. He saw my mana arts as something to be commended for learning. He wanted battlemages to serve House Telvanni, and I was going to become one of the first real battlemages. I practice daily with Master Teldryn, perfecting my arts. Master Teldryn actually helped me perfect my Gold Kanet Blossoms."

"And that new form of yours?"

"A combination of Ash Storm and Gold Kanet Blossoms. Stone-Fire Blossom Storm. A magickal extension and expression of my combative arts. You've seen it in action."

Mother nodded. "Indeed. It is a wonderful style. One I hope to study, if you'd permit me?"

I didn't let myself smile; I didn't let myself express any emotion at the request. "Once this war with Miraak is concluded, if there is time, and if you are permitted to remain with House Telvanni, and if you do not betray my new family in the meantime, then I will begrudgingly teach you my new combative style." If I can continue growing in my magickal development, maybe I can adjust my Stone-Fire into something stronger, something sharper. I'm thinking Flaming-Stone. That name is cool… but not as cool as I would like it to be. I'll talk with Veselle or Teldryn. Maybe they can help with the name of that new form. I have to create it first. Create the form... then find the name. It will come to me in time. I'm sure Shock isn't far behind either. Maybe I can adapt the Flaming-Stone form into Static-Ash Blossom Storm. I don't know yet. If I can create Frost, the naming potential will only increase. Aurora Field Blossom. Auricle Storm. I don't know yet. But both sound beautiful and deadly. Just like how I want to be perceived.

Mother nodded. "That sounds like a fair request. Now, back to the discussion we were having. In what ways would I have to adapt to become a better mother for you?"

"You could start by not insulting my friends around me. They mean more to me than you."

"Easy." Mother replied, dismissing it with a wave of her hand. "Next?"

"Try to treat me like an actual person. I have my own life now, my own goals. My own way of thinking. I'm not your toy. I'm not your property. I'm barely your daughter at this point."

Mother nodded. "I believe I can manage that. I believe if I begin to disrespect you, you will let me know?"

I nodded. "And if my friends think you're disrespecting me, you will respect their viewpoint. I'm still new to this… and if they believe I'm being mistreated, I will go off their judgment, seeing how I don't know any better how I'm supposed to be treated."

Mother sighed. "If we must."

Teldryn tapped me on the shoulder. When I glanced up at him, he nodded to me. I knew that I would have his support if I asked for it.

"I suppose… I could stand to listen to outside sources for parental advice." Mother grumbled, looking away. I'm glad to see she was uncomfortable. It meant she was out of her realm of comfort. Glad… because she was putting me on the stop, making me just as uncomfortable. She deserved to be just as thrown out of her zone just like me. This was uncharted ash fields for both of us. I was hoping to hold off on this conversation until I grew used to being around her again.

"Well, that was all I had." I shrugged. "I guess if I have other suggestions, I will bring them up."

Mother turned back to me, nodding. "What you have mentioned, I will begin… working on." She sighed as she leaned back into my bed. "I must say, Mirri… I do owe you an apology."

That's a first. "Okay…" Not the best response, but… it's a first for me. I really did not know what to say or expect.

"When I had you adopted-"

"Adopted?" Is she kidding me? "I'm… adopted?"

"I'm sterile, child." Mother replied, shrugging. "All Hlaalu assassins are sterilized, Mirri. It stops us from having complications. Pregnant assassins are a liability. And it lets us… raise our children assassins with impartiality. No real motherly connection allowed me to excuse your treatment."

"So… who's my real mother?"

"Deceased. Argonian Shadows killed her. You're House is unknown. You were one of many surviving babies found after the Black Marsh invasion." Mother looked me in the eye. She wasn't playing any game. She was showing me how sincere she was attempting to be. It's a start.

"Why tell me now?" If this was some stupid game of hers, I'm in no mood. If anything, it helps me treat her with less affection.

"To show you I'm open for this relationship to evolve." Mother stood up from my bed. "We may not be blood, Mirri… but you are my daughter. Affection was trained out of me, as I tried to train it out of you. Your father and I weren't really in love either. We were assigned to each other. And you were assigned to us. Our job was to turn you into a weapon for House Hlaalu. For the Morag Tong, a guild the two of us belonged. A guild you belonged. But… we both survived our expiration date in this world. We both survived our ordeal. And if you wish, we can begin again. I can be your mother, you can be my daughter. Or… because we're not blood, you can release me from our bond. I won't hold it against you. What your father and I did to you… it's repugnant. And when I learned your father ran you through with his sword, I wasn't surprised, but I was horrified. This will sound harsh to hear from my lips but… we don't dispose of our agents so casually."

"I refused to kill Veselle. I didn't do anything to stand in his way; I just refused to kill my friend." My voice began to crack. Even after all this time, all of one month, I still haven't healed from what Father did to me. 15 years of being his daughter… and then… I have a sword sticking through my chest. The pain was blinding… but that pain was nothing to knowing what my real value was. I was nothing. I was nothing to my parents. And to learn I wasn't even theirs to begin with… it didn't lessen the pain. If anything, it made it worse. I wasn't even important enough to be put through the pain of being birthed from them.

"Everything was a lie." My voice was straining to keep itself held together. My throat was tightening, my chest was heaving. My fists were shaking. My eyes were so watery that I couldn't see in front of me anymore.

Mother slowly approached me. "Do you mind if we hug?" Mother stretched her arms out cautiously.

I shook my head. I couldn't talk but I did walk over to her. She wrapped her arms around me, hugging me close to her. I felt myself break down in her arms.

We stood like that for a while. I'm not even sure how long we were hugging. I ugly-cried. That's all I really remembered. Screaming, crying, and Mother was brushing the back of my head reassuringly. It reminded me of the early days of my raising, where Mother would do the same thing whenever I got hurt during practice. I guess she was raising me as her daughter, even if we had a more… passive relationship later on in my development. And now, here we were, inside my new house. I was crying, and she was comforting me. At least, she was trying to. And even though I know I shouldn't trust her, I was letting myself be comforted by her. She could just as easily snap my neck and then use my body against Teldryn. One word from Teldryn and Mother would be dead. And if she somehow managed to escape that, the rest of Tel Mithryn would take her down. I'm sure of it. I think I could just let myself be vulnerable for a minute.

We continued to stand there, even after my chest had stopped heaving. My tears how silently ran down my cheek. And I just stood there, letting myself be 'comforted'. I had let my head rest on Mother's shoulder while she continued to rub the back of my head. I kept getting transported to the past of when she would comfort me like this, and it was hard to keep myself together knowing everything I knew now. It was hard to keep my edge. But… in this moment, I think I needed this more.

"Not everything was a lie." Mom quietly responded after several moments of silence between the two of us. "I may not have been a perfect mother, and I may have begun my relationship with you purely on a need-to-have basis, but… you did grow on me. I did take a genuine interest in your development. I did want to see you succeed, become more than me and your father. And… you have. Beyond anything I could have asked for, you have achieved a life that is your own. I am sorry you have to be stabbed by your father to obtain that freedom, but perhaps he did it as his own form of love."

"That's not love." I mumbled into her shoulder.

"A life or death situation, and you were on a possible losing side. Your father may have given you a way out. But… that is just a speculation. He never saw you or me as more than a means to an end. Perhaps he feared you would side against him, making his task even harder to accomplish. There are many reasons why he could have chosen to end your life, but speculation now would be useless. There is only the future, where we go from here. And if you permit me, I shall be here for you, going forward."

That brought a smile to my face. "This is going to be an odd relationship."

"Speaking of relationships…" Mother pulled me away. "You. Veselle. When?"

Mother sat us both on my bed.

I had enough time to think about what I was going to say. "Well, actually, first… there was a boy."

"A boy?" Mother arched an eyebrow. "One month and you've developed romantic feelings for two people?"

I was about to answer, but I ended up heavily nodding my head. "Yeah… like I said. It's been a weird long month.."

"Let's start with the boy." Mom said, grabbing my hand. "How did you two meet?"

"He was one of the cultists from Miraak's temple."

"Yikes." Mom grimaced. "But… I see the parallels."

I nodded. "We bonded over our shared indoctrination. He was forced to worship Miraak, I was forced to be an assassin. We understood each other. We also… were forced into weird scenarios where it seemed like we were being pushed into each other."

Mother hmm'd to herself, rubbing her chin. "The world is a weird place sometimes. Perhaps, it was the universe helping you to realize you were a person with advanced feelings?"

I shrugged. "It… did make me realize I was more than a mobile weapon. And even though I was growing close to this boy… it reminded me of Veselle and how… close I was to her. She was my only friend in Raven Rock. And I guess I hadn't thought of her as anything other than a friend. I mean… I did know about my possible death towards the end of my time with her. I didn't want to get too close to her."

"You got close enough to spare her life when we told you to kill her." Mom responded.

That made me nod. "That is true. And I think that was the moment I really started to realize what she meant to me. I couldn't kill her… but it wasn't because I loved her. At least… not at that point. It was weird. She… how to say this… she was a bunny. Remember that bunny you made me care for?"

"Snowfall?" Mother looked up at the ceiling. "Gods… I forgot about Snowfall. We had her for two years."

"Yes. You made me responsible for raising her from being a baby. And when you realized I grew attached to her… loved her… I remember Father put a knife in my hand. Told me to kill her."

"Classic training." Mother dismissed it with a wave. She seemed to catch herself and she turned to face me. She offered me a small comforting smile. "But… I can see how that would have been distressing for a young child. And how that could have formed complex trauma that could form into a complicated relationship or attachment disorder. It's kind of the reason why we choose those kinds of training scenarios. To keep our agents out of falling in love and stuff like that."

I sighed, elbowing Mother. "Thanks… it's that kind of stuff I would like you to acknowledge more often." I looked back up at the ceiling. "Killing Veselle… it was a lot like killing Snowfall. She was a child, an innocent child that was in the wrong place at the wrong time. She wasn't the target… and… let's be honest. She was my first friend. After the job was over… I was hoping I'd get to see her again. Explain the situation. Get some tea." I felt a blush growing on my face. "Honestly… even then, I think I knew I liked her. But you know… assassins and attachments. All that."

Mother sighed. "And that attachment you formed sealed your father's fate. All our fates." She turned to look at me. "You are the exact reason we don't let our assassins grow attachments. But I'm happy you are free from that prison we called our family."

"I never meant for Father to die… but after he stabbed me, I can't really say that I cared for his survival anymore."

Mother nodded. "I'm going to need a drink after this." She mumbled to herself. "Huh… I'm no longer part of the Morag Tong. That's…" She paused. She turned to look back at me. "So. Anything else you want to tell me?"

I shook my head. "Not at the moment. To be honest, I'm a little embarrassed talking about my feelings with you. And… you're here… and I'm adopted… and…" I shook my head. "I'm a little overwhelmed." And then I looked up to see Teldryn still standing by my doorway. "And my master's been listening to everything."

Teldryn held up his small notepad. "You should hear half the stuff Veselle tells me. But you won't because I don't share personal information."

That brought a small laugh from me. "Thanks, Master."

Master held up a thumb before nodding to my mother. "I can't leave her untracked. At least not for now. If you need to rest, I'll take up the watch."

That caught me off guard. I forgot I was supposed to be watching her.

I glanced back at Mother. "I almost forgot. You're our prisoner right now."

Mother elbowed me. "Part of the family."

Not if House Redoran has any say in the matter. This revelation I had with Mother might very well be the last one I'm allowed to have.

"Want to get something to eat?" I blurted out suddenly.

Mother smirked as she stood up. "Of course. There's a dining hall in this town, right?"

I nodded, getting off my bed. "Oh yes. And our storeroom has some amazing ingredients."


Cearbhail:

So, we have the beginnings for a (not a redemption) for Mirri's mother, but the beginning of their resolution. If anyone has any ideas on how to develop this further, I'm extremely open to suggestions. I never had this kind of resolution with my own father so... I'm a little in the dark about how one would go about having such a resolution. Also haven't been to therapy to begin unpackaging those complex feelings. So... I should probably tell you what my father and I have in common with Mirri and her dad. Well... kind of the same thing really. I just wasn't stabbed. Almost stabbed. But I wasn't.