Venli hummed to Anxiety as she kneeled next to her mistress, who laid unconscious on the ground. Right after Urithiru sprung back to life, Lady Leshwi and the rest of the Heavenly Ones had collapsed, the tower's defense mechanisms nullifying the Fused powers, enemies and allies alike, and after the initial moments of chaos, she and her friends had managed to separate Leshwi's soldiers from the rest of the singers scattered on the Breakaway market, lest they be mistaken as part of the enemy forces.
The Knights Radiants moved about, fully recovered and making preparations to remove the unconscious singers from the tower, but she waited patiently; her group would be given special treatment under the protection of Kaladin Stormblessed, and soon they would be deployed to the Scattered Plains through the Oathgate.
She was heading home, at last.
A group of Windrunners approached and began to infuse the four Heavenly Ones next to her with Stormlight, lashing their unconscious bodies to make them lighter so they could be easily carried to the gate platform. A young boy moved closer to Venli, and nodding to her as if asking for her permission, bent down and began infusing Leshwi's body.
"Wait."
Venli turned to look and attuned Surprise as Stormblessed himself approached them, his impressive shardplate shining with an intense blue light, strange windspren dancing around him. The young Windrunner looked up at him, inquiringly, and Stormblessed just nodded.
"I'll take her."
Glancing briefly at Venli, he bent down and testily took Leshwi in his arms, adjusting his lashing until her massive, muscular body, weighed no more than a regular human, and straightened himself with the least of efforts. Venli observed him anxiously; she knew that Stormblessed and her mistress respected each other, but she didn't expect him to carry her personally towards the Oathgate.
"Stormblessed," she called after him. "You should probably let one of your men carry her. Lady Leshwi, she-"
"She kept my family safe, didn't she?"
"She did," Venli said to Praise. "The Pursuer meant to kill them to lure you out, so she put them under her protection."
"Then allow me," he pleaded, as he turned to leave. "It's the least I can do."
Venli hesitated just briefly; it was as her mistress had said, this man followed Honor's code, even in such things. Timbre pulsed insistently. Tell him! Tell him!
"She thinks highly of you, Stormblessed," she blurted out before she could stop herself. "I believe my mistress has come to see you as a worthy opponent, if not her equal."
He chuckled softly. "Does she, now?"
Venli hummed to Reprimand; why did she have to tell him that? Her mistress would certainly chide her if she knew that she'd been sharing her thoughts without her permission, especially to this human. She didn't have much time to muse on this, though, as Stormblessed motioned for her to follow.
"Come. I would have you making her company while she recovers."
The Windrunners were already waiting for them at the platform when they arrived, Stormblessed carrying Leshwi firmly in his arms while another Windrunner carried Venli all the way to the Oathgate, descending her carefully onto the ground. Feeling a bit dizzy, she followed the group into the transport room and braced herself as one of the Radiants summoned his Shardblade, activating the gate. Timbre pulsed to Exultation; yes, one day Venli would be able to summon her own Blade, once the proper Words had been said.
Mere seconds later, the humid atmosphere of the Shattered Plains greeted Venli as they stepped onto the platform just outside Narak, and she allowed herself a moment to close her eyes and take a deep breath. She'd missed this place, despite the memories…
It's alright now , she hummed quietly to Confidence, and Timbre pulsed in agreement. Things will start to change for the better...
"Let's get them somewhere safe," Stormblessed said, and the Windrunners carried Venli and the unconscious Heavenly Ones towards one of the remaining buildings on Narak.
As soon as they landed, Venli moved closer to Stormblessed as he gently lowered Leshwi down onto the ground, and she kneeled next to her mistress, intently looking at her. She had a few bruises on her cheek and a nasty wound on her left shoulder, the result of fighting to protect humans and singers alike, and after a few moments of anguish, Venli hummed to Joy as Vodlight slowly but surely began healing Leshwi's wounds.
"It's working!" she exclaimed. "My lady is healing!"
She turned to look at Stormblessed and attuned Curiosity when she noticed his knowing smile, his eyes focussed on her mistress with an intensity that she couldn't quite understand. Timbre pulsed softly in her gemheart, and not for the first time Venli wished that humans could sing to the Rhythms, so there would be no mistaking their emotions.
"She's gonna be alright," he finally said. "One of my Windrunners will stay behind to control the Oathgate, should you want to return once she recovers her consciousness."
Venli nodded humming to Praise, and with a last glance to her mistress, Stormblessed soared toward the platform, his Windrunners following closely behind.
Leshwi stirred and groaned, slowly raising herself into a seating position as Venli hummed to Exultation.
"Venli," she said, her voice hoarse. "What happened?"
"The tower defenses, mistress," she said. "Odium's forces were disabled, though unfortunately that affected all of the Fused…"
"Of course," Leshwi said, rubbing her forehead and humming to Annoyance. "The Radiants…?"
"They're all safe, Ancient One. We won… sort of."
Leshwi eyed her but didn't say anything, and Venli understood that the concept of winning probably didn't mean the same to a Heavenly One who'd just betrayed Odium.
"Where are we?" Leshwi finally asked, looking around. "How… how did we…?"
"The Oathgate," Venli explained. "The Windrunners brought you and your soldiers here to recover, away from the tower's influence."
"The Windrunners ?" At this, Leshwi looked sharply at her, and Venli found herself attuning Tension.
Tell her! Tell her! Timbre pulsed insistently.
"Yes," Venli said hesitantly. "Stormblessed himself carried you here, mistress."
Leshwi opened her eyes wide, and for a moment Venli thought that she would snap at her in rage, though surprisingly she started humming to Abashment instead.
"It felt only right to allow him this honor, Ancient One," Venli excused herself to Anxiety. "He's really thankful to you for protecting his family."
"Is he, now?"
Suddenly, her mistress straightened up, hovering just slightly above the ground.
"Go back," she ordered Venli to Command, turning her back to her. "I'll keep watching the rest of my soldiers."
Not wanting to distress her mistress any more, Venli nodded obediently and ran off toward the platform, Timbre pulsing playfully in her gemheart.
" Shut up, you'll get us into trouble", she chided her, but the little spren just continued singing her happy song all the way back to the tower.
When Venli, Rlain and her friends returned to the Shattered Plains, Leshwi and the other four Heavenly Ones had fully recovered, and they were waiting for them just outside the platform. Her mistress hovered down until she was at eye level with Stormblessed - who'd activated the gate himself - and nodded respectfully to him.
"You could stay here at Narak," Stormblessed said to her mistress. "We'd welcome your aid."
Venli frowned; humans didn't sing to the Rhythms, but it seemed to her that the Windrunner had said his words to the human version of Longing .
"We fought against our own to preserve lives," Leshwi said. "We do not wish that to continue. We will find a third option, outside this war. The path of the listeners."
Suddenly feeling their eyes focused on her, Venli simply nodded.
"We'll find our way out there," she said to Confidence. "Somehow".
"Well, go with honor then," Stormblessed said. "And with the queen's promise. If you change your minds, or if you and yours need refuge, we'll take you in."
Leshwi didn't say anything but she and Stormblessed held each other's gaze for a while, and it was then that Venli understood that between them, there would always be rhythms left unsung, words left unspoken.
The Heavenly Ones took to the air, humming to Praise, and began lowering the listeners and their supplies down into the chasm for the hike eastward. Venli stayed behind just a few moments to say her farewells to Rlain, and then let herself be carried down by her mistress. Just before they plunged into the chasm, she turned to look behind at Rlain and Stormblessed, standing side by side on the platform. She was confident that Rlain would eventually come and visit the listeners, but she knew how much her mistress enjoyed soaring to the skies with the Windrunner. Would they ever see each other again?
"We will," Leshwi suddenly said.
"Ancient One?"
"You're wondering if we'll see the two of them again," Leshwi pointed. "We will, Venli. I'm sure of that."
Suddenly, Venli noticed small sparks of light swirling around her mistress, and soon she recognized the strange windspren that formed Stormblessed's Shardplate, dancing playfully around Leshwi before finally retreating back to their master.
The Heavenly One smiled and Venli hummed to Joy.
Her mistress, Stormblessed... They were already looking forward to their next encounter.
Author's Notes:
I just recently finished reading "Rhythm of War" and right now I'm absolute Kaleshwi trash. But either way, even if everybody dies in the next book and nothing happens between them, their chemistry is so amazing, the respect they show each other so endearing, that I just HAD to write this.
Besides, I think it's cute that everytime Kaladin sees a Heavenly One, he immediately thinks of Leshwi ;) (is it Leshwi? I hope it's Leshwi. I don't have time to see if Leshwi is there, etc...)
This fic was written to the Rhythm of Muse's Starlight, and for whatever reason that makes my gemheart sing to Joy.
As always, thanks for reading!