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Wy
What had just happened?
In shallow breaths, Wy
As Wy
Wy
Another image of Lily surfaced in Wy
This time the recollection was clearly Wy
Four pups nestled around a creamy white mother with yellow-flecked eyes, each with its own varied shade of coat. Two males of silver-gray, and one more steely in tone, but the last little female was charcoal gray.
Moments and flashes came and went…
Four cubs wrestled and tumbled over a downed tree coated in moss and lichen…
Little furred bodies, grown stronger, ran with their white mother in the forest…
In hunts for wild hares, or strangely colored wrens, or the chocolate-toned squirrels, their legs had grown faster than their bodies. One of them took a horrible spill down a steep incline as it tripped over its own paws…
Each moment that came to Wy
A hazy image of Chap suddenly overlaid that moment, as if the memory of him wasn't quite perfect and didn't belong to the female.
And then Wy
She wore elven clothing, as she had during her time in that land—then suddenly her garb changed to the gray robe of her guild.
Both these last images of Chap and herself were not as clear and crisp as the ones of the pups' lives. Perhaps these were secondhand, passed from mother to child. Wy
She couldn't help the tears.
Wy
The eyes of Chap and Lily's daughter, sent from half a world away.
Wy
Lily had been pregnant when Chap left the Elven Territories. He must've arranged all this through her.
In leaving to guide Magiere and Leesil onward, Chap hadn't wanted Wy
Wy
The majay-hì whined, sounding almost frustrated. Wy
Chap could speak his thoughts directly to her—another aberration of the taint left in her by dabbling with a mantic ritual. Perhaps as his daughter, this young one shared some manifestation of her father's singular qualities. He was Fay, who'd chosen to be born into one of the Fay-descended majay-hì.
Too many complications and guesses, yet it was the only explanation Wy
A memory of the hunt for the undead sorcerer, Vordana, had suddenly entered her head. She'd run into a crowded street, searching for Chap, and something had brushed her leg. Another memory had come, as if she were looking through his eyes. But the first unsought recollection hadn't come from any contact.
Confused, Wy
She had to try something that might gain her more answers. Could Chap's daughter communicate with her from afar, without touch, as her father did?
The recollection of hunting Vordana stuck in her mind. In the river town plagued by that sorcerous undead, Wy
The young majay-hì stared at her without moving. And with a sigh, Wy
Obviously she couldn't transmit a memory to this one any more than she could speak back to Chap through thought. That left only one other thing to try, and she scooted forward on her knees. She moved oh so slowly as she placed her hands upon the sides of the female's face. Using touch, she tried again.
She recalled the memory of the wolfhound standing beside Chap in the courtyard of the manor house outside of the river town.
The female's ears pricked up—and the memory echoed back to Wy
She hadn't been there when Shade had roused Chap from a phantasm cast by Vordana. But Wy
The female remained silent and still, poised in waiting.
Wy
She recalled the female's own recollection of playing in the forest with her siblings.
The female sniffed wildly at her. A maelstrom of like images, sounds, and scents whirled up in Wy
"Wait—not so much!" she squeaked, and jerked her hands from the dog's face.
She clamped a hand over her mouth and buckled as her head finally emptied of memories.
Wy
A knock came at the door, sounding too loud in Wy
The female snarled, turning toward the door.
Wy
"You are finally awake," someone called from outside.
The familiar voice was far less than patient. Wy
The instant the door cracked open, il'Sänke pushed it wide, not waiting to be invited. Shooing Wy
Wy
Entranced by the majay-hì, she'd forgotten even to check for the staff. And if il'Sänke had it…