She emerged from the Ocean of Milk.
Fully dressed, with the body of an adult and flowing purple hair, she stepped out of the ocean, gently placing her foot on the uneven ground. She paused for a moment, finding her balance. She had never left the Ocean of Milk before, her body had spent weeks, even months, forming in the ocean. The milk crafted every nook and cranny of her consciousness, and instead of being born from a mother of flesh, the ocean had nurtured her, created her.
She looked around. The air was cold, the wind lightly blowing. This place seemed so strange to her, yet, so familiar. It was as if she had been here before, but she couldn't recall when or why.
She took a few steps farther onto land. The ground beneath her feet was gravelly, dirty and impure. Up ahead, she could make out some buildings, and an unknown force seemed to pull her toward those buildings. Even if the air up ahead was smokey and polluted, she still had the urge to explore.
She walked, reaching the buildings. It was slightly drizzling, the sky gloomy. The buildings were strung with bright neon lights, and the maze of streets and alleyways was almost dizzying. However, she knew exactly where she needed to go, even if she didn't know why.
A tall woman stood in her bath house. Her long, dark hair was filled with healing water, which she used to heal the ailments of anyone who came to her bath house. While it was tiring work, it was more than worth it.
This woman was named Thorani. She was a Deva, who had been cast out from Mt. Sumeru when the goddess Kala made it her home almost 18 years before. Now, Thorani resided in Tai Krung city. While it wasn't the ideal place in terms of scenery, the people there needed her, so there she would stay.
Thorani wasn't alone, however. She had friends who visited when they could. One who particularly stood out to her was a Pirate named Baozhai. When she wasn't sailing the seas, she was hanging out with Thorani at the bath house. Baozhai had feelings for Thorani; she could tell. Thorani couldn't help but feel soft when thinking about Baozhai as well.
The door to the bath house opened, and in walked the Pirate. Even if it had been almost two years since they had met, Baozhai still couldn't help but stutter and blush around the beautiful Thorani. There was a certain charm Thorani possessed that made Baozhai weak in the knees.
Upon seeing Thorani, Baozhai's face turned bright red. "M'lady…" Baozhai tipped her hat, and Thorani smiled and gave a soft chuckle.
"Back so soon, Baozhai?" Thorani asked. It had only been a few days since Baozhai had left. Thorani thought she had important business to take care of.
Baozhai crossed her arms and avoided eye contact. "I-I finished my business." Baozhai responded sheepishly. "I came to see if you needed help handling this place?"
"How kind of you, Baozhai," Thorani responded, holding her hair. "However, I recall you saying that the past few times you've visited me."
Baozhai's eyes grew wide and her mouth opened, seemingly at loss for words. Thorani found her bashfulness cute- the great, stoic pirate could never seem to articulate her words well around Thorani.
"I-I…" Baozhai stuttered, then sighed. "Alright… how could I not tell you the truth?" She stood tall, but the blush still played on her face, and her body slightly trembled. "I came because… I enjoy spending time with you." Baozhai lowered her hat over her face in shame. "Forgive me for lying, m'lady."
Thorani smiled. She knew Baozhai felt this way; Thorani was a natural empath. She wasn't upset with Baozhai for lying. "It's quite alright, Baozhai." Thorani responded. "You are free to spend time with me whenever you like. I enjoy your company too."
Baozhai's eyes lit up and she nodded her head, smirking. Thorani looked around- it had been a slow day with not many guests. Maybe she and Baozhai could sit and have a drink.
The two women sat outside of the bath house. They drank and chatted, catching up on what had happened the past few days. Thorani had been busy healing people, and Baozhai had been visiting friends across Loka. Then the topic came up.
Ajna.
The girl had such an impact on the women's lives. Thorani cherished Ajna and thought of her as her daughter. Baozhai loved Ajna's spunk and tenacity. It had been almost a year since they had last seen Ajna, and while they missed her, they were happy to have known her and helped her on her journey. They didn't exactly know what happened to Ajna after she went off to fight the goddess Kala, but the world was fine and hadn't been destroyed, so they knew Ajna had succeeded.
The two sat silent for a moment. Their minds wandered to thoughts and memories of Ajna. The girl has grown so much in the short time they had known her. She had made mistakes, she had angered and hurt people, but in the end, Ajna atoned for her shortcomings and managed to save the entire world. She was the bravest person they had ever known.
Thorani was especially saddened by her departure. Ajna was her daughter, her little bird! She knew Ajna had to leave to save them, but her heart ached at the thought of not being able to hear Ajna's voice again, to see her smile.
The last words she said to Ajna played over and over in her mind:
"Even if it takes me 1,000 years, I will find you."
Thorani had existed for thousands of years, and time seemed to have flown by. However, this last year without Ajna seemed to have inched by painfully slow. If it was going to take a thousand years to find Ajna again, those thousand years were going to feel like an eternity. She just missed Ajna so much.
"Thorani, it seems you have a guest."
Thorani snapped back to reality after hearing Baozhai's voice. Thorani gazed over at the newcomer walking slowly toward the bath house, and her heart seemed to stop in her chest.
This woman… She looked like Ajna!
She was taller than Ajna was, her hair was a light purple, and her eyes were golden rather than dark brown. However, she was dressed similar to Ajna. There were slight differences; this woman wore a tank top and a long skirt, but the red sash was there. One thing stood out to her the most; it was something she had never seen on anyone except Ajna.
The red beads and tassel that the woman held in her hand. Ajna has worn it on her head, and it was such a crazy coincidence that this woman had the same exact beads. Thorani couldn't help but stare.
The woman stood and gazed at Thorani and Baozhai. She didn't know who these people were- a Pirate, and a woman with wet hair. However, something told her that she needed to see these people. She had trekked through the big city to find them, but their intense gazes on her made her slightly uncomfortable. It's as if they knew who she was.
"...h-hi?" Baozhai stuttered. She noticed the similarity between Ajna and this woman as well. It was almost frightening; she looked almost just like Ajna- so similar, but so different.
"Hello…" the woman murmured. Her voice was lower than Ajna's.
Thorani sat quietly for a moment before shaking off the odd feeling. This woman wasn't Ajna, that was impossible. She couldn't just stare and be rude. Getting to her feet, she approached the young woman.
"Hello my dear. My name is Thorani. Welcome to my healing bath house." She greeted, trying to keep her voice from shaking. The woman dipped her head timidly.
"I'm Akhila." The woman responded. Akhila didn't know how she had gotten that name- she never had any parents to name her, and she had been "born" just a half hour ago. However, the name seemed to fit, and she knew it belonged to herself.
As Thorani got closer to Akhila, she stopped dead in her tracks. Those eyes… despite being golden, she knew those eyes anywhere.
Akhila was looking at her with Ajna's eyes.
Tears brimmed Thorani's eyes and she held her hands to her chest. "Luksao… you came back!..." Thorani wept.
Baozhai seemed to know it was Ajna too, as she got to her feet and smiled. "Welcome back, Hayseed. Good to see you again!" Baozhai grinned.
Akhila stared at the two women, confused. Why were they acting like they knew her? She had never met them before! While she didn't sense any malice from them, she was so lost. She knew she had to find them, but she didn't know what to expect. Everything was so new and confusing, yet, it was as if she had been her before. Akhila tried to remember this place and these women, but nothing clicked in her mind.
Thorani could sense the confusion in Akhila. Taking a step back, she raised a shaky hand. "Please excuse us for a moment, dear." Thorani said. She grabbed Baozhai's hand and pulled her into the bath house. Baozhai blushed deeply, but followed.
Thorani and Baozhai stood in the bath house, unable to comprehend what was going on. That was Ajna, they knew it! But at the same time, it wasn't.
"What the hell is going on?!" Baozhai asked, rubbing her temples. "Ajna is back! Why does she look so different? Why doesn't she remember us?"
Thorani closed her eyes and held her hands together in front of her face, thinking. This woman was Ajna, but at the same time, she wasn't. She tried to make sense of it all, and finally, after moments of pondering, she came to a conclusion.
"Kala and Ajna must have fused and reincarnated as one." Thorani said. Baozhai cocked an eyebrow and looked outside of the bath house. She could see Akhila looking around at the buildings with a child's curiosity.
"So, that girl is both Kala and Ajna combined?" Baozhai asked, unable to wrap her head around it. Thorani sighed.
"It's a little more complicated than that… that girl… she is something entirely new." Thorani responded. Baozhai didn't entirely understand, but she trusted Thorani to know what she was talking about. Thorani continued to talk.
"She is both Ajna and Kala, but she is also her own being. She doesn't remember us. Her old memories- both Ajna's and Kala's- must be lying dormant." Thorani was speculating at best; even she didn't understand the situation fully. However, this was the best explanation she could come up with for this new girl.
Baozhai crossed her arms and let out a huff. "Well… should we tell her?"
"No. I'm not sure if Kala can reawaken inside Akhila, and destroy the world if she wants. I wouldn't want to risk it. Besides, there are scars we wouldn't want to reopen for her." Thorani explained. Baozhai nodded, rubbing her chin.
"What should we do then?"
Thorani gave a soft smile. "We'll be her mothers. We'll raise her as our own. We'll guide her, nurture her, show her all this world has to offer, and all the people who make it worth living in."
Baozhai gazed softly at Thorani, blushing. So they would be Akhila's mothers… Letting out a hearty laugh, she put her hands on her hips.
"Never fancied myself a mother, but I'll do it for you, Thorani." Baozhai responded. Thorani smiled sweetly and looked back at Akhila outside the bath house.
"Come on, let's go properly introduce ourselves." Thorani said. She turned and headed back outside, and Baozhai grinned and followed, laughing to herself.
The two women approached Akhila. Her golden eyes flickered over to them. Thorani sighed, holding her hands together, and she smiled.
"I'm sorry about earlier, Akhila." Thorani apologized. "Let us start over, shall we?" Her eyes were bright with joy. "My name is Thorani, and I run this healing bath house."
"I'm Baozhai, and well, I'm a pirate, as you can probably tell." Baozhai winked. Akhila nodded slowly.
"Now Akhila, why don't you come inside with us and tell us a bit about yourself?" Thorani suggested, gesturing toward the bath house.
Akhila thought for a moment. The interaction with these women earlier confused her, but she didn't sense any negative energy from them. Besides, something told her to come see them, so she might as well trust them. Giving a nod, she followed Thorani and Baozhai inside.
They stood inside. Thorani resisted the urge to hug Akhila and smother her in her love. Even if she wasn't the Ajna she knew before, she still thought of Akhila as her luksao. Taking a deep breath, Thorani started.
"So, Akhila, where are you from?" She queried.
Akhila tilted her head to the side. "The ocean." She pointed. "That way."
Thorani and Baozhai exchanged glances. She was from the Ocean of Milk! That explained why she appeared so old, despite having fused only about a year ago.
"So you're the real deal…" Baozhai whispered.
Thorani cleared her throat. "So Akhila… do you have parents? A family?" Despite asking, Thorani knew the answer.
Family… Akhila knew what the word meant, but she herself didn't have one. She had been born from the ocean; these women were the first people she had interacted with. She shook her head.
"No… I don't." Akhila replied. Thorani and Baozhai smiled warmly.
"Well, Akhila…" Thorani started tentatively. "I know we just met, so forgive us if we're coming on too strong." She got closer to Akhila. "However, I can sense that you're confused and alone. Baozhai and I… we want to be your family." Thorani explained.
Akhila's eyes shot from Thorani to Baozhai. She didn't know why, but she trusted these women, and the thought of having a family all to her own…
She tightened her fists and nodded her head, grinning. "Y-yes!" Akhila shouted out. Baozhai laughed loudly, holding out her hand.
"Welcome to the crew, Hayseed!" She beamed. Akhila grabbed her hand, and Baozhai gave it an earnest, vigorous shake. Akhila grinned and laughed, and Thorani felt tears swell up in her eyes.
"Oh, my luksao!" She whimpered. Akhila looked at her, and she wrapped her arms around Thorani. The Deva cried harder and hugged her tightly. "My baby!"
Akhila drew back, smiling. Thorani gazed into her golden eyes- Ajna's eyes. She didn't need to wait a thousand years to find Ajna; Ajna found her on her own, even if it was in this form of an entirely new person. Thorani's heart soared with sheer joy.
"Oh, Akhila." Thorani wiped her eyes with her hands. "I promise, we will guide you, we will protect you. There is so much beauty in the world for you to experience, and we will be there with you every step of the way."