AN: hello again! Just dropping by to remind you I'm not making money out of this and that I love your continued support.
CHAPTER 10 – Crashing wave
Much like Ajani and Dumbledore had pointed out, Chandra's actions both in the arena and right after the task won her the last place in the Tournament and the Daily Prophet's first page. Again. Exactly as the previous time, she was decidedly less than happy about the press coverage: freeing a dragon next to a school and threatening a ministry official tended to attract the wrong kind of attention, after all.
The article had presented her as dangerous and unstable, arriving to the point of asking for her expulsion from Hogwarts. Now, the pyromancer would be the first to admit that she was a very emotional person, and that her particular brand of magic made her dangerous under any set of circumstances, but from there to mental instability it was a bit of a long shot in her opinion.
Also, she couldn't get expelled since she wasn't a student.
In the end she didn't really care.
No, what stoked her flames were the looks and the whispers. Random students in the corridors would stare at her like she was about to throw fireballs around and, when they thought she couldn't notice, they'd start to whisper some concern or some lie. There were, of course, some less subtle than the rest –like Malfoy and his green trimmed ilk– who would grab every opportunity to make fun of her from what they perceived as a safe distance. They were deluding themselves, of course: it was safe only because she had promised Dumbledore.
Only Hermione, Luna and that weird younger boy with the camera seemed to be on her side throughout all the student body, while the professors seemed to be largely uninterested in her plight, with the exception of Hagrid, Lupin and the headmaster.
One individual in particular stood out though, for he neither ostracized nor supported her: professor Severus Snape. Chandra caught him staring at her more and more frequently with curiosity and something akin to regret, and she sincerely didn't know what to make of him. On her part, Liliana found him a bit creepy.
Deciding to treat the problem in one of the only two ways she knew ‒that is to say burning or ignoring them‒ Chandra turned her attention towards solving the clue hidden in the golden egg. Or rather, bother someone until they solved it for her. Normally, she'd ask her friends, but Liliana wasn't the type to spend any time on such things, while Ajani couldn't help her as per tournament rules and Hermione found it to be cheating and didn't want to have anything to do with it. This left her with precious little candidates left, especially since Luna could only be found when she wanted to.
Jace, you there? she sent through their shared mind link.
Just because he wasn't there, it didn't mean that he wasn't one of the smartest individuals she knew. Also, he loved this kind of things.
What is it Chandra? came his less than cordial response I'm trying to fathom Bolas' plan here...
Sheesh Jace, I just asked a question!
You're right, sorry, said the mind mage with a mental sigh It's just so incredibly frustrating trying to outsmart Nicol Bolas!
Jace Beleren admitting he's wrong and saying he's sorry? I'll have to remember this day...
If you called only to get a laugh out of me... He let the threat linger, not needing to conclude it.
No no, it's something serious relating to the tournament!
And with that, the pyromancer explained the situation to her friend and opened the egg to send him a couple of memories of the same event.
Interesting, admitted Jace analyzing both scenes in his mind I think I recognize this language, but I cannot translate it. I'll send an expert over, ok?
Are you telling me those screeches are a language? wondered Chandra scratching her head And what expert are you talking of?
But Jace didn't reply. The redhead cursed at him and "his blasted cryptism".
She got her answers anyway some hours later when someone knocked on her quarters door.
"Oh, so you can be decent sometimes," commented Hermione once Chandra opened the door.
"Had a change of heart and came to help with the egg?" asked the redhead ignoring the barb.
"No, you're needed at the gates. There's someone asking to see you."
"Oh, it must be the expert Jace mentioned!" she said leaving her quarters and closing the door behind her back "Let's get to it then, so that I can solve that stupid egg."
"Your telepath friend is helping you cheat?" asked Hermione stopping in the middle of the hallway and raising a challenging eyebrow.
"Nope, the egg's screams are a language of some kind, Jace only sent someone he thinks might know it."
"You should be doing it alone."
"I went as far as I could with my own legs, Hermione, then it was either melting the blasted thing or asking for help," explained Chandra in a tired tone "There's no dishonor in asking a friend to give you a hand."
"Another quote stolen from one of your friends?" asked the bushy haired witch resuming walking.
"I prefer borrowed, and no, nobody ever said those words to me directly, but it's a feeling I frequently get from Gideon. He's big on helping others."
The rest of the walk was spent in silence as Hermione ruminated on her friend's words.
Once at the gates, Chandra saw that, much as when Liliana and Ajani had arrived, a decently sized crowd had gathered to see the new arrival. She found she could hardly hold it against them: if Ajani had been an exotic, albeit intimidating, sight, the new arrival that was conversing with Dumbledore wasn't any more human than the leonid but decidedly easier on the eye, as demonstrated by many male students that were anything but subtle in ogling her.
She wasn't particularly tall, even counting the gravity defying ensemble of azure fins making up what could be considered her hair. Kiora's blue skin was just as exposed for all to see as it had been on Zendikar, covered only by strategically placed pieces of rust brown armor that still gave the impression of her being completely naked. It was hard to guess her age from looks alone, especially considering she wasn't human, but she could have been in her late teens or barely twenty. Her endless curiosity shined in her almond shaped eyes as she discussed with the headmaster, animatedly gesturing at everything in sight, Thassa's bident left forgotten against the gates themselves. On her forehead was a large blue gem, like a tiara without mount.
"Great, another one. Are all your female friends exhibitionists?" asked Hermione in a huff, wrapping her cloak tighter around herself.
The pyromancer's only answer was a chuckle.
"Oh, hello Red!" half shouted Kiora excitedly waving at her "Jace never said this place was so incredible! Did you know they had merfolks here too?"
"Hello Fishy," said Chandra offering the mergirl a warm smile "How's Turi? I guess you're the expert Jace mentioned."
"Can't get any more experience on merfolk language than me, can you?" replied the other with a big smile of her own and a wink "And my little sister is fine."
"Am I to deduce you know this delightful girl, miss Nalaar?" asked Dumbledore once the greetings seemed to be out of the way.
"Sure thing," said Kiora nodding "Met her on Zendikar, we fought the Eldrazi together. By Cosi, I wouldn't have a home anymore if it wasn't for Red here and her pals."
"It's true. She's not part of the Gatewatch but she's a friend nonetheless," confirmed the redhead "Hermione, headmaster, meet Kiora. Fishy, meet my friend Hermione Granger and Albus Dumbledore."
"A pleasure Miss Kiora," said the elder wizard in his patented grandfather-y tone "I'd better open up the gates then."
The two planeswalkers and Hermione then proceeded towards Chandra's quarters while the bushy haired witch tempested the mergirl with a barrage of questions and Kiora looked around, awe in her eyes.
"By Cosi," she said sitting on Chandra's bed with Hermione "This place is incredible!"
"I've seen better," dispassionately commented Liliana appearing in the doorway "You must be Kiora, the one who fought the sea goddess on Theros, right?"
"What do you mean she fought a goddess?" protested the bushy haired witch "Gods are just imaginary constructs created by humans to explain natural phenomena."
Kiora looked at the girl with what could only be described as a mixture of pity and longing before explaining: "I used to think like that too, back when I was a little kid and the elders told us stories of Ula, Emeria and Cosi. Stupid tales to teach us something, that's what I thought they were. And then, those three gods came out of their ancestral prison and started razing my plane."
"Remember the memory I showed you all? The one with the Eldrazi?" added Chandra in a soft tone "That was Ulamog, that the merfolk knew as the god Ula."
"But..."
"Hermione, you know I appreciate intelligent conversation and you are one of the precious few who can provide me with that around here, but you can be really stupid sometimes," said Liliana sending a glare at the girl so cold that it killed any reply "I mean, you can accept that you can use magic, that we came from other worlds, but you cannot imagine that gods might actually exist?"
"Liliana is right Hermione, even if a bit abrasive as always," said Chandra placing a hand on one of the witch's "You have to open your mind to new possibilities."
A long silence descended on the room as everyone waited Hermione's reply while the girl herself only stared at Chandra. In the end, she nodded her head.
"Good," jovially said Kiora clapping her hands before turning to the necromancer "Now, about your question, yes I fought Thassa and stole her bident. You must be Liliana Vess. I heard things about you..."
"Hopefully, you heard them from Jace or you might have a pretty low opinion of me," chuckled the raven haired woman.
Kiora stared at her for a moment before raising what passed for an eyebrow and asking: "An angel?"
"I had a very good reason."
Hermione was still too lost in her musings to question the statement.
"Liliana's infamy aside," said Chandra retrieving the egg and passing it to Kiora "Here's the clue. There's a latch on top."
As soon as the mergirl's fingers fond how to open the shell, the remaining planeswalkers hands flew to their ears. Hermione was still distracted, but soon realized her error and went to do the same.
"I see, interesting..." commented Kiora once the screeches had ceased "It's a little poem in mermish. I'll spare you the details, it essentially says that they'll take something you're attached to and hid it somewhere underwater, probably near a merfolk village. Oh, and you'll have only one hour to recover it."
AN(again): in case you were wondering, Kiora's and Chandra's nicknames for each other are completely made up. There isn't any real indication they even ever met on Zendikar to be honest.