KAYA
The green-scaled Queen of the Golgari Swarm sat high upon her throne—reclined, really, one ankle brought up to rest casually over the other knee. The tendrils where her hair would be if she was human slithered like black snakes atop her head. She stared with yellow eyes and the hint of a smile as Kaya approached, escorted by two heavily armed Golgari associates. Wary of the gorgon power of petrification, Kaya was always careful not to look directly in her eyes, although Vraska had no reason to turn her to stone—yet.
"Kaya," her husky voice bit through the silence, "what an unexpected pleasure. Here on guild business, I presume?"
"Gatewatch, actually," said Kaya, after a respectful nod.
Vraska's welcoming expression turned bitter. "What business do the Golgari have with Jace's little band of heroes, hmm?"
"Can we…talk somewhere else? This requires strict confidentiality."
The gorgon turned her fearsome gaze away and looked off into one of the dark corners of the vast hall. "I don't come at anyone's beck and call. If the Gatewatch needs to meet with me in confidentiality, then Jace can send a formal invitation and I will come at my earliest convenience."
Kaya heaved a sigh. "It's kinda a matter of urgency. Thus, the lack of formality."
"Nevertheless, I will not be bothered with Gatewatch business. Send Jace my regards."
When the Golgari associates tried to shoo her away at the wave of their queen's hand, Kaya stepped forward, and asked, "Have you ever heard of the Phyrexians?"
Vraska's yellow eyes turned on Kaya of a sudden. Her jaw tensed but she seemed to try to play it cool. "Phyrexians—who hasn't heard of them? What of it?"
Kaya was about to speak, then Vraska's deep voice came with a laugh. "Ha! Don't tell me the Gatewatch thinks they can go up against the might of Phyrexia? What new madness has gotten into Jace now?"
"Actually, it's not a matter of us going after them—it's more a matter of them invading planes all across the Multiverse, and if we don't do something now before it's too late—."
"Listen," Vraska cut in, "this is all very noble and very…Jace. But honestly, until the Phyrexians become a more imminent threat, I'm not about to risk the Golgari on some wild goose chase across the Blind Eternities in search of Phyrexians to kill. That's a war one can never win."
"That's not what we're doing, though," Kaya insisted, growing more passionate than she had intended. "There is a known plan for a large-scale Phyrexian invasion threatening the plane of Lorwyn, and if we don't do something it's going to become the next New Phyrexian plane for them to use as a jumping off point for even more invasions. They're spreading like a virus and we have to do SOMETHING or they will overtake us all before we know it!"
Vraska raised her brows and regarded Kaya thoughtfully. Then she said, "I'm impressed. And you've intrigued me. A long, endless war is something I want nothing to do with—but this is something more distinct. All right then. I will come to discuss a possible alliance with the Gatewatch. But I am not promising anything and I will not make any decisions until I have heard all the details and had time to discuss it with my associates."
Kaya nodded in understanding. Then she said, "There is more."
The Golgari queen raised her eyes to the ceiling, and said, "What more?"
"It's…a matter of confidentiality. I'm not at liberty to discuss it with you here."
"Then I'm not at liberty to hear it. Tell Jace to send me word when he would like to have this meeting to discuss the possible involvement of the Golgari Swarm, and I will arrange to be there, if there is nothing more pressing at the time. Until then, I am needed here."
She waved again and this time Kaya held out her hands to concede. When the Golgari associates tried to take her arms, though, she yanked them away and escorted herself out. She was NOT about to be treated like some inferior when she was, as a fellow guild master, the equal to Vraska. Not to mention her true noble lineage back on her home plane… She would not bow and scrape, and she would definitely NOT be escorted out like some common ruffian!
CHANDRA
Well, at least Arlinn's here, thought Chandra, as she led Arlinn through Jace's house toward his sanctum. Sorin, on the other hand, was being…typical Sorin.
"It's a lot easier gaining entrance with you than it was when I came here myself before the last time," Arlinn observed.
"Heh, yeah," Chandra agreed. "Jace does a little overkill sometimes, I think, but at the same time it's probably necessary. Especially now that…well, you know."
"The necromancer?"
"Yep," said Chandra with a smirk.
Then, as though she was answering a summons, Liliana herself came around the corner and nearly bumped into them. Or they nearly bumped into her. Hard to say. Either way, she was definitely lost in her own world until the moment she and Chandra nearly collided.
Naturally, Liliana directed an icy sneer at Chandra, and growled, "Watch it!"
"Whoa," said Chandra, holding up her hands. "Nice to see you, too."
Liliana sighed and rolled her eyes. "Sorry. Just…be more careful."
Chandra noted the necromancer was looking particularly tetchy. What the heck was up with her lately? Geesh…
"Yeah, you too," Chandra retorted, as Liliana moved on. She and Arlinn watched Liliana drifting like a specter, until she disappeared around another corner. Then Chandra turned to Arlinn with raised brows and a grimace. "Well, so much for introductions. Arlinn, that was…"
"Liliana Vess?"
"One and the same."
"I thought you said she was actually a nice person?"
"Well, apparently we caught her on one of her off days. Like I said, she's complicated… Come on. She must have just left Jace's sanctum, so it's the ideal time to catch him before he gets too caught up in something else."
When they came upon Jace in his sanctum, he was standing at a table, pondering what looked to be a large map. He had that look of deep concentration he always affected and Chandra almost laughed at how serious he was.
"Hey, Jace," she called. "What'cha doing?"
He looked up, his eyes still half-glazed, and said, "Contemplating the area of Lorwyn most likely to be the center of the invasion, at least according to my sources. I'll, ah, need to catch you up. Good to see you, by the way. And I see you've brought Arlinn. Welcome to my sanctum."
"I've been here before, but you weren't around," said Arlinn with a grin.
He smiled vaguely, and said, "It's good to see you."
"You, too," she said, studying him curiously.
Jace seemed to notice the way she was studying him. Even in human form, her lupine gaze was intense enough to make him visibly shiver, but to his credit he almost laughed. "What?"
"Oh, nothing," said Arlinn, as if she hadn't meant to stare. "I was only thinking about how we just met your…ah…wife?"
"Oh," he answered, and his expression darkened somewhat. "Lili? Is she out?"
"Out?" asked Arlinn.
"She was in the hallway," said Chandra. "Has she not been out recently?"
"Not much, no. She's still not…feeling well. Anyway, that's not…well, it's not for you to worry about."
"Hey, is everything okay between you…?" asked Chandra.
"Me and Lili? Oh, yeah, we're fine. It's just…she's going through a rough time right now. I…can't really talk about it, but we're fine."
"O-kay," said Chandra raising her brows and looking at Arlinn with widened eyes. "Well, anyway, Arlinn's here but, as you can see, Sorin's not."
"I…kind of figured," said Jace. "Thank you for trying, at least."
"Well," Chandra explained, "he did promise to come when we actually have a plan on how we're going to stop the invasion of Lorwyn."
"That's impressive," said Jace, clearly trying to be optimistic. "Whether or not he'll actually show up is another matter, but at least we have something."
Arlinn sniffed. "We all know how reliable Sorin's promises are…"
Chandra smirked. "Especially when it involves any plane other than Innistrad."
"I hope you made it clear this may affect everyone," said Jace.
"Oh yeah," Chandra confirmed. "Did the best we could to explain it, which is the only reason he was even vaguely interested."
"All right, well, thank you for taking on that diplomatic mission," said Jace. "Can I help you with anything else?"
"Nope," said Chandra. "I'll get Arlinn settled in her new quarters. Lavinia already has a room for her prepared. I just need to show her the way."
"Great," said Jace. He was clearly eager to get back to work. Or something. He was very distracted.
Chandra wrinkled her mouth, and said, "Arlinn, would you mind waiting for me in the hallway? I just need to ask Jace something."
"Yeah, sure," Arlinn answered with a smile. Then she made her way out and Chandra turned back to Jace with a single eyebrow raised.
"What's going on with you and Lili?"
"What?" Jace made what was clearly meant to be a forced laugh, but it was far from convincing. "Nothing's going on with us. I told you, we're fine."
"Well, clearly she's not, because she's been in a bad mood since at least the last time I was here and, by the looks of it, that hasn't changed in all the time I've been gone."
Jace heaved a sigh. "I take it your encounter in the hallway wasn't pleasant?"
"Um, no. Not at all. Let's just say she didn't make a very good impression on Arlinn's first time meeting her, especially given her over all reputation both here and on Innistrad…"
Another sigh and Jace was looking down at the floor, his hands hanging loosely at his sides. He seemed broken. Suddenly, Chandra felt bad for confronting him, and yet she needed some answers all the more.
"Sh-she…had a…miscarriage."
Chandra's mouth dropped. Literally. Like, if her jaw could hit the floor, it pretty much would have. "A…wait, she was, like, pregnant? You were gonna have a…like a person? A child? A fricken baby?"
"We weren't…trying to have one. I mean, we want to eventually, but now is definitely not the time for all that." He paused, and then said, "Don't…tell anyone, okay?"
"Wouldn't it be a good thing if they knew? I mean, then they'd all understand why she's being so…"
"She'd rather them think she's being typical Liliana."
"That's…not what I was going to say, but sure. I guess you can put it like that."
Jace pressed his lips into a line and sighed. "She's not ready to be seen this way."
"What, you mean, normal?"
"She doesn't think anyone will accept that she has a maternal side," he explained. "She thinks they all think she wouldn't make a good mother and that they'll think she's weak for wanting to have a family, and...it's…really complicated."
"Obviously," Chandra replied. Then she said, "Jace, she's in pain. She needs everyone to understand, so we can comfort her and offer our support."
"I know," he agreed. "But it's her decision. She's the one who is going through this, and if she decides to go through it alone, then that is her right. I'm not going to force her to talk about it. To open up to everyone else, when she's still trying to adjust to being back here in the first place."
"It might make them like her more, if they see that she's actually got a heart."
"Chandra," he said steadily, "please. Respect her wishes. Keep this between us. I wasn't even supposed to tell you."
She placed a hand on his shoulder, and said, "Hey, we're a team. And we're here for you. Both of you. Just…let us know if you need anything. And I'm…sorry you guys lost…"
For some reason, she couldn't finish the sentence. It still seemed so unreal.
"Thanks, Chandra," Jace mumbled. Then he sighed again, and said, "Well, I need to get back to work now. There's a…meeting in the morning. Until then, just make sure Arlinn is settled and…again, please don't tell anyone."
Chandra stood with her hands behind her back, crossing her fingers, and said, "Yeah, no worries. I won't say a thing."
Then she scuttled off to find Arlinn.
NISSA
It was so peaceful and quiet. The rooftop gardens were a safe haven for Nissa, where she could get away from the confines of stone walls and just breathe the almost clean air. If it wasn't for the sounds of the city below, she could almost believe she was back on Zendikar, or the forests of Lorwyn, from which she had only recently returned. When she meditated, if she went deep enough, she was almost able to feel her home plane—to stretch her awareness across the Blind Eternities in order to connect. She had been working on this ever since she returned to Ravnica and, with help from Jace, who was happy to do some research and give her advice, she was finally able to do it. Until Chandra returned…
"Oh Nissa, there you are! I've been looking all over for you!"
Nissa felt a sort of whip-lash sensation, as if she had been yanked back to Ravnica by a rubber band, and her head ached. She opened her eyes slowly, as Chandra continued, "I've been holding this back ever since he told me and I NEED TO TELL SOMEBODY, before I just explode!"
Nissa took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, attempting to realign her spark with her physical form. Chandra stopped and fell silent, looking at her with a cocked head. "I'm…sorry. I just interrupted your meditation."
"It's fine," Nissa said calmly, even though her insides were still screaming from being pulled back so forcefully. "What's wrong?"
"Okay," said Chandra, trying to be calmer. "So, I've figured out why Liliana's been in such a bad mood lately."
"Isn't she always in a bad mood?" asked Nissa, without a hint of sarcasm.
"Well, maybe…I mean, I wouldn't say she's always in a bad mood—more like, sarcastic and jaded and basically over everything—but you know what I mean."
Nissa waited patiently for her to continue.
"So, remember how I thought there was something going on with her and Jace?" She didn't wait for a reply before she continued. "I finally confronted him about it, and he told me she had a miscarriage."
Nissa's eyes grew wide. "Wait, isn't that when a woman loses a…pregnancy?"
"Um, yeah," said Chandra, as if it was obvious. Sometimes she forgot Nissa was still not wholly familiar with the nuances of human language.
Nissa thought about that night on the rooftop. "That's what she meant."
"What?"
"Before she turned into her old self again…she was quiet. Brooding. Sad. She asked if I was good at keeping things alive. I think…she wanted to ask me for help."
"With the baby?"
"Yes," Nissa confirmed. Then she looked down at her hands, still resting in her lap.
She suddenly felt a wave of deep sorrow and, for a moment, she allowed herself to connect with Liliana. She couldn't connect with her mind, the way Jace could, but she could feel her—the way she could connect with the forest, with her elementals—the way she felt the soul of Zendikar. No words could describe what she felt—the despair, the emptiness, the sense of inadequacy… It was so intense she had to pull away, to return to center, or she might get sucked into the void. She felt herself pulled into it all too easily.
She shivered.
"You okay?" Chandra's eyes were like two enormous saucers, regarding her with concern.
"Yes," Nissa replied, although she still felt the black tendrils of Liliana's spark clinging like vines to her own. She had made such connections before, but she had never found connecting with another person's spark this easy and that disturbed her. She didn't want to worry Chandra, though, so she forced a smile. "I just feel very sad for her."
"Wow," said Chandra with a smirk. "That's something I never thought I'd hear from you about Liliana."
Nissa got up. "Don't think too much into it."
Chandra smiled.
"What?"
"I think you meant…" She paused and looked at her with so much love. "Never mind. I know what you meant."
"What?" asked Nissa, more forcefully.
"Nothing," said Chandra, slipping her arms around her waist and pulling her into a kiss. "I've missed you, that's all."
Nissa smiled. "I missed you, too."
And the thing was, even though Chandra's larger-than-life return had startled her to no end, she really meant it.
JACE
Everyone was dragging when they assembled for the meeting the next morning, but everyone was there—save for Ajani and Teferi, who were both still gone in search of Karn and Jaya, respectively. Jace wasn't really all that surprised they were taking awhile to find those two, as they both had a bad case of wanderlust and a knack for getting involved in interplanar matters wherever they could find them. Once they were located, he knew they would only be all too eager to help out in the anti-Phyrexian cause.
Those present were in their usual places at the table, with Arlinn now filling what had once been the empty seat between Chandra—placed strategically at the other end of the table, very close to a water font—and Rowan, who sat with her feet on the table. Liliana had definitely rubbed off on the girl, in more ways than one.
Walking past on his way to the absolute head of the table, Jace tapped Rowan on the top of the head with his pencil, and said, "Feet off the table. What would your father think if he saw you like that?"
"My father's not here," said Rowan, with a smirk. Then she saw Liliana's firm gaze cast in her direction and she quickly sat up with her feet on the floor where they belonged. It was impressive, how well the girl obeyed Liliana when no one else seemed to have much of an effect.
Jace shot his wife a quick look of thanks, which she acknowledged with a brief nod. He was glad she had, at least, decided to attend the meeting that day. It was the first meeting she attended since…
Clearing his throat, he pointed with his pencil, and said to Rowan, "You're going to clean and polish that if you get dirt on it or scuff it up."
"Sorry," she answered sheepishly. Then her eyes met her brother's gaze from across the table and she stuck out her tongue at him.
Jace rolled his eyes and shook his head. Then he gave a single nod to Lavinia, who stood at the ready, and tapped the side of his glass. "Okay, now that we're all assembled, the meeting is adjourned."
"Ooh, such proper language," teased Kaya with a smirk. "Showing off for our new member?"
Pursed lips and a heavy-lidded gaze directed at her wiped the smirk off her face, and then he continued, "Yes, well, as you can all see, we have a new addition to our table: Arlinn Kord, protector of the Ulvenwald, from the province of Kessig, Innistrad. Kaya, Chandra, and Teferi are already familiar with her and worked closely with her during the crisis that affected Innistrad a year or so ago. She came to us, seeking our aid, and now she is joining us in our time of need. Please make her feel welcome."
Rowan turned to Arlinn and held out her hand, "I'm Rowan Kenrith, and that's my kid brother, Will."
"Hey!" protested Will. "I'm actually her twin brother."
"Yeah, well, I'm older by like two minutes, so it still counts."
Will crossed his arms and scoffed, but otherwise fell silent as Rowan smiled proudly and turned her attention back to Arlinn. "So, yeah, anyway…our father is the High King of Eldraine and we just graduated from, like, the best and most prestigious university in the Multiverse, where we were able to study under the likes of Professor Vess herself."
She held her chin up proudly, ignoring the dry gaze of Jace, while Arlinn turned to Liliana and regarded her with some curiosity. "Professor Vess…?"
Liliana gave her a sharp gaze and a serpentine smile, speaking austerely, "Professor of Necromantic Arts, Strixhaven University."
Arlinn smiled somewhat awkwardly. "Hmm, Chandra forgot to mention that. You are a…woman of many talents and surprises. And…I hear congratulations are in order?"
Jace instantly felt the room grow cold as Liliana cast Arlinn an icy gaze, before turning her head to look away. Only he saw the tears well up in her eyes and he inhaled deeply, wanting to reach out to her but keenly aware that was the last thing she would want him to do in front of everyone else.
Meanwhile, an uneasy silence fell over the table. He notice Nissa's eyes wide with horror—clearly Chandra had told her, even though Jace had asked her not to tell anyone. He should have known that was going to happen. Then Chandra discreetly shook her head at Arlinn, who was none-the-wiser. The twins cast a look of confusion from face-to-face, while Kaya had a look of general disinterest.
"Thank you," said Jace, trying to smooth over the awkward moment. "And, ah, thank you for coming."
"Of course," Arlinn replied awkwardly, probably wondering what she had done wrong. Nevertheless, she carried on. "I promised I would always be here to help you guys whenever the need arises. I'm not about to break that promise."
"Let's hope Sorin feels the same," Jace said wryly. "This time, anyway."
He paused to clear his throat, then went on. "Okay, so Teferi and Ajani are still in search of Jaya Ballard and Karn, and there's been no word from either of them but I'm fairly confident we'll hear back from them soon. So, Kaya, how goes your assignment?"
"Oh," said Kaya, coming to attention. Jace took no small pleasure in shining the spotlight on her now, and he barely managed to conceal a smirk as she sat up and cleared her throat. "Um, I still need to find Teyo Verada, but I have the Orzhov searching for leads. And…Vraska promised to come and meet with us here when she has time, but was pretty clear about her unwillingness to make any promises beyond meeting with us to learn more details about our mission."
"Not surprising," said Jace with a shrug. He would deal with that later.
He noticed Liliana giving him a questioning look, and sent her a quick mental note: It's nothing like that—it was Kaya's idea. I'll explain it to you later.
She frowned and crossed her arms, looking away and saying nothing, neither mentally nor aloud.
Jace sighed and went on, moving into the Lorwyn problem and introducing all the new information he had received from Nissa since she returned, as well as going into the preliminary stages of developing a strategy. There was a long way to go, of course, but at least it was a start. Now, if only they could have the rest of the gang back together so they could get some real work accomplished.
ARLINN
Walking back to her quarters after the meeting, Arlinn was intercepted by the pyromancer. Chandra took her by the arm and pulled her aside. "Okay, so, I wanna explain to you why that was a bad idea."
"What, you mean trying to make nice with Liliana by congratulating her and Jace? I have to be honest, Chandra, I'm having a really hard time seeing anything but the handmaiden of Bolas and the destroyer of Ravnica in her."
Chandra heaved a sigh and Arlinn wondered why it seemed so important for her to be convinced. "Okay, I get it, but there's something you need to know…because it might help you know how to navigate the whole Liliana thing from here on out."
Arlinn wrinkled her brow skeptically.
"You have to promise not to tell anyone. Got it?"
"Yeah, okay," Arlinn replied, even though she was still completely baffled.
Chandra glanced around to be sure they were alone, and then she took a deep breath. She looked as if she might explode if she didn't get it out. "Okay, so, apparently Jace told me Liliana had a miscarriage. Which explains a LOT about her moodiness, lately, because let me tell you she has been a REAL witch ever since I tried to talk to her about Nissa, before I came back to Innistrad to look for you. Like, I'm not even joking. Even Kaya said she's been unusually ornery, to the point that she almost lost her temper and could have killed Liliana while I was in Innistrad getting you and trying to get Sorin to come with us. And Kaya actually likes Liliana better than most people do, so that's really saying a lot if she wanted to stab her that day."
Arlinn blinked slowly. "Wait. Am I hearing correctly? Liliana was pregnant?"
"Yeah, that's what Jace was telling me. So, she's been really upset and I guess she doesn't want anyone to know about it, so she'd rather everyone just think she's being her mean old self when, the truth is, she's just…really hurting right now, you know?"
Chandra gasped suddenly, and said, "Oh, but you've got to promise not to say a word. I wasn't supposed to tell anyone, and now I've told two people, and if Jace or Liliana find out, they're gonna kill me and I don't like either of their methods."
Arlinn thought for a moment, and said, "Liliana I've got figured out, but what's Jace's method?"
"You don't wanna know. It involves getting into their heads—like, literally, using his mind, and then it turns into this whole thing where they go insane and then, like, their head explodes or something."
Arlinn's eyes grew wide.
"Well, not literally exploding like a bomb," said Chandra. "More like, a brain aneurism or something. I dunno. Anyway, I've seen him do it to a few enemies and it's, like, really crazy. I think I'd rather die from one of Liliana's zombies or something—ooh, but not her torture. Gods, I don't even know which is worse, when I think about it."
"Remind me never to get on his bad side," said Arlinn with a grimace. "I guess I'm already on hers."
"Oh, I don't mean you need to worry about either of them!" Chandra quickly put in, running her fingers through her ochre locks. "I mean, you know Jace. And Lili's really not that bad, when she's in a good mood…which isn't often, I guess. But they won't kill anyone who's on our side. They only go after the bad guys. Well, I guess that doesn't go for Liliana, when she was working for Nicol Bolas—but I've already explained all that to you, so you know that wasn't really her wanting to hurt anyone. Okay, I'm gonna stop talking now, because I'm totally messing this up."
Her cheeks turned red and Arlinn chuckled. "It's okay, I get it. I…think, anyway. I'll take your word for it. I'm definitely going to tread more carefully around the necromancer, though. I've got pretty tough skin, but she gives me the creeps, if I'm honest."
"She does that to a lot of people," said Chandra with a shrug. "Okay, well, I need to go find Nissa. We're going out for lunch together. I'd invite you to join us, but it's kind of a special thing we do…"
Arlinn shook her head and held up her hands. "Really, it's fine. I'm kind of tired anyway. I think I'm just going to take a nap, to be honest."
"Oh!" Chandra's voice rose with her excitement. "Okay, well, sounds great! I'll see you later, then. Bye!"
With that she was off, and Arlinn shook her head as she walked back to her bedroom. She was fond of Chandra, admired her enthusiasm, but was somewhat relieved to be left alone. She really was tired. A part of her was somewhat sad to see her going off with Nissa, even though she was happy for them and thought of them both as young pups compared to herself.
She thought back to their time on Innistrad, though, leading up to and during the endless night and that awful vampire wedding they had to crash. She had grown close to Chandra then, like an older, wiser sister. Now, after only being on Ravnica for a day and a half, she was already feeling the sting of rejection as everyone was always too busy or preoccupied to visit. It was hard being the lone wolf in somebody else's den.
Just when she was taking off her overcoat, there was a knock on the door. Opening the door, she was surprised to find Kaya leaning on the door frame with that characteristic grin she had always admired. Now, Kaya was someone a little closer to her in age, and certainly far more mature than the pyromancer.
"Hey," said Kaya, "want some company?"
"I'd love it, actually," said Arlinn, welcoming her inside and closing the door. "Everyone else seems so wrapped up in their romances, I'm kind of feeling a little…"
"Left out? Like a third wheel?" Kaya suggested.
"Something like that," said Arlinn, gathering some plates and cups to set the table. Like all the bedrooms in Jace's house, there was a small table, big enough for no more than two, maybe three, people to dine at any given time. He may have been too busy to entertain his guests, most of the time, but he was generous in making sure everyone had whatever they needed.
Kaya slung herself into a chair, and said, "So, how's Innistrad these days?"
"Much better, thanks to everyone's efforts and…sacrifices," said Arlinn, setting down a plate of fruit, cheese, and crackers she had barely touched at breakfast. It wasn't her first choice in food, but it was something, and at least she wouldn't leave Kaya going hungry.
She sat down across from Kaya, watching her pop a few grapes into her mouth.
"So, how've you been?"
"Busy," said Kaya. "Between my involvement in the Gatewatch and running the Orzhov Syndicate, there's not much time for rest, you know? I guess it's been quiet the past few months, compared to previous years…"
Arlinn smiled knowingly and picked at a cube of cheese. She wasn't all that hungry, even though she hadn't eaten since the previous night.
"Sorry you had to face Liliana's wrath, by the way," said Kaya. "She can just be downright nasty sometimes, and for no reason."
"If that's her wrath, she can't be all that bad," Arlinn attempted a joke.
Kaya turned her mouth sideways, and said, "Well, I guess not. She's just been weird lately. I dunno. Jace says she's just 'going through a hard time', but I don't know what could be so damn hard—I mean, she's got everything right now, as far as I can tell. She's got Jace wrapped around her little finger, she's got the support and friendship of the Gatewatch, despite her less than savory past, and she's got her fawning sycophants."
"You mean the twins?" Arlinn asked with a smile.
Kaya clicked her tongue and shot Arlinn a point.
"I thought you liked Liliana?" asked Arlinn, mindlessly plucking a grape from its cluster. "I mean, you are the one who let her go and even spent some time with her after…Ravnica." She popped the grape into her mouth and bit down. The juice was both sweet and sour as it ran across her tongue and dripped down the back of her throat.
Kaya shrugged. "I dunno. I'm not sure how I feel about her, honestly. It changes day to day, moment to moment. One minute, I think she's actually a really sweet person underneath that…death mage thing she's got going on. The next minute, I think she's a selfish witch who can't really be trusted. And lately—I don't know what's gotten into her, but I've wanted to run her though more than a few times."
Arlinn thought about what Chandra said, but decided it was for the best if Kaya knew something. Lowering her voice and leaning in, she said, "I don't like to gossip, but Chandra explained something to me that Jace said, and I think it actually puts a lot of it into perspective. I mean, I'm not exactly fond of her just yet—what little I know of her isn't great, even though everyone keeps telling me she's actually a good person underneath…"
Kaya sniffed in amusement and picked at the skin of an apple before taking a bite out of it.
Meanwhile, Arlinn went on, "So, according to Jace—and this is according to Chandra—Liliana had a miscarriage and that's why she's been so...disagreeable lately."
Sitting up and nearly choking on the apple, Kaya swallowed, and said, "Wait, hold up. Liliana was pregnant? Gods and monsters! Why would they even consider bringing another person into the Multiverse right now? I mean, with the Phyrexian invasion ramping up, the last thing anyone of us needs is to have a…a…child on our hands! They've lost their minds entirely!"
Arlinn shrugged. "I don't know what they were thinking, if they were even thinking. These things happen by accident, too, you know? All I know is what Chandra told me. But she wasn't supposed to say anything, and neither was I, so can you just…keep this between the two of us?"
"Yeah, sure," said Kaya with a shrug, slinging her arm over the back of the chair again. She took another bite out of the apple and chewed thoughtfully. Then she said, "Jace has been so weird ever since Liliana came back. I've never seen the man so…brainless. I mean, seriously. He's a great leader and strategist—don't get me wrong. I trust him with my life and all, but…boy, being in love really messes with a person's sanity. If that's what it does to people, I want nothing to do with it."
"Have you never been in love?" asked Arlinn, suddenly curious.
Kaya fell silent. Then she shrugged. "I dunno. I guess I thought I was, once. I was just a stupid kid, though, you know? Kids are always stupid at that age, and they don't have a clue about what real love is."
Arlinn sat up and leaned her elbows on the table. "Well, tell me about it. Who was he? Or she?"
She smiled playfully and Kaya met her gaze from the corners of her eyes, also smiling.
"Well, there was this one girl I used to like. I mean, we were crazy about each other and she used to come with me everywhere. I was so infatuated with her I even named my cat after her."
They both sniffed, though Arlinn tried not to laugh. Then she said, "Okay, so tell me about her."
Kaya heaved a heavy sigh. "Her name was Janah. She was…beautiful. I mean, like, really gorgeous. She was a lot of fun, too. But once I really got to know her, she wasn't really such a nice person. And even though I miss the feeling of…you know, being in love—or, what I thought was love—I don't miss her one bit."
Arlinn chuckled at Kaya's tone and the two shared a silent moment, meeting each other's gaze. Then Arlinn looked away, and Kaya asked, "What about you?"
With a shrug, Arlinn said, "I mean, I was pretty cloistered until…well, you know."
"The whole werewolf thing?" asked Kaya, with a playful grin.
Tilting her head, Arlinn said, "I was pretty close to a couple people over the years. One was one of my sisters. Well, not 'sister' as in the same parents or anything weird like that—we were sisters in the order and I think it's safe to say I was in love with her. But she was…killed. During a raid. Werewolves. That was before I was turned, and I always hated werewolves, but I hated them especially after that."
"I'm…sorry," said Kaya, her expression somber. "That must have been really difficult then, when you were turned."
"I lost a lot of people I cared about to werewolves so, yeah; it wasn't easy to accept, at first."
"But you're used to it now?"
Arlinn nodded. "Yeah, I'm used to it. Definitely has its perks."
"Doesn't everything?"
The two shared a smile and then fell silent again. Arlinn chanced to look up at Kaya for a moment and found her doing the same. They smiled again and Arlinn's stomach fluttered. It had been a long time since she'd felt that way with anyone, but she wasn't about to assume Kaya felt the same. She hoped maybe she did, but she knew better than to get her hopes up without any certainty.