Final Farewell|Malagard, Khelek

[Darastrix]

~What do you have against him?~ came the gentle question.

The answer was swift and sharp. ~Why are you supporting this?~

A mental sigh, one that spoke volumes of little sleep and much care, echoed softly across the connection. ~Because he doesn't need more people giving advice and pointing out flaws. He needs someone to believe in him. Confidence is as important to success as a well-laid plan.~

~He trusts you, Zira. You might be able to talk him out of this mess.~ Schuldig almost regretted his words as he felt a sudden twist of pain--not his own--throb in his chest. He rubbed the area above his heart, unaware of the motion.

~With as much as he's done, with everything moving forward, and with such stakes, all an attempt on my part to discourage him could do is foster doubt as he goes on. I don't know what may happen, but I am certain that he would go on even without any support. He's that determined.~ Zira sounded wretched and he knew it. He had a tendency toward taking things to heart, and the matter with Shyamal, who he'd begun to love as if he were his own son, was striking a painful chord. ~I won't leave him feeling betrayed. I can't do that to him.~

Schuldig's tone turned incredulous. ~But you can let him go to his death?~

~Schuldig, why do you even care?~ Zira's tone turned tired. ~You've made it clear that you think this is a lost cause and that Shyamal is an idealistic fool.~

~I'm beginning to think you are, too,~ Schuldig snapped. ~You are worried sick about him and they haven't even left the palace yet. I can taste it. It's an oddly addicting flavour, actually....~


It was, too. The fear Zira projected was unmistakable, dark and rich, with a sharp edge, like the blade of a sword. Schuldig bit his lip and tasted blood briefly before the cut closed over. Not quite the same flavour, though the metallic tang fit in somewhere. A drop or two of that, and...chocolate, maybe, unsweetened. Yessss...dark and rich and bitter. There was urgency as well, burning like raw ginger on the tongue. And underlying it all was...sweetness? Ah. Zira really did love the boy, he had to admit. And it did make the whole thing so much more palatable...

~How am I an idealistic fool?~ Zira finally asked. At his home in Anarlina, he poured himself a cup of tea in an attempt to get the flavours Schuldig had inadvertently shared out of his mouth, ignoring the suggestion that a red dessert wine could complement it better.

~You're scared to death for him and yet you're letting him walk off because of this tiny scrap of hope that wouldn't so much as cover a flea.~

~Then let me be a fool,~ Zira murmured. ~You're being oddly...kind about this,~ he added after a moment. ~Not as much vitriol as I would have expected.~ They had rarely spoken of the matter in Anarlina. When they saw each other, Shyamal was usually the last thing Schuldig would want to talk about, and when he had, well.

~I'm running low,~ Schuldig said, his tone wry. ~And I'm about where you are. Different reasons, of course, but I'm so fucking tired of this. I have the dubious luxury of not caring what happens, but this whole thing has dragged up so much shit that I never wanted to think about again. That takes it out of a person. And being that much of an asshole takes a lot of energy even if I do have natural talent there. I haven't even bothered the kid.~

~Good. He doesn't need that from you now. He didn't need it in the first place,~ Zira replied, though there was little heat in the words.

~For all the good it did, I guess not.~

~'Good?'~

~I am not the eternal optimist,~ Schuldig reminded him. ~I did my job, and as adviser, I couldn't exactly give advice I'm not going to stand behind. You have your views, I have mine, and I am fucking pushy with them. Now, what do you WANT? You didn't get my attention just to chat.~

---

After taking a couple of hours to rest, Schuldig grabbed a bottle of lavender oil and the makings of ginger tea for the inevitable headache he'd have later and stretched out in his room. He touched base with Zira first, then sent a thread of thought out to Shyamal.

~Hey, kid. Got a message for you. Come to my room; it'll be easier with one of you close as you can get.~

[Kender Bard]

Shyamal's response was not verbal; instead he sent wariness and skepticism towards Schuldig, quick as a flash and then gone again. Shyamal didn't trust Schuldig farther than he could bodily throw the man. But then, he couldn't risk ignoring a potentially important bit of news. He came to Schuldig's room.

He glanced around in a brief show of curiosity before reluctantly coming to stand near Schuldig. "Yes?" he asked.

[Darastrix]

Schuldig rolled his eyes at pointed at an empty chair, indicating that Shyamal was to sit. He himself was currently occupying the whole length of the couch.

"Normally, I applaud suspicion where situations like these are concerned," Schuldig commented as he rolled up a sleeve and tugged his bandanna down to sit around his neck, "but for all my attitude, I've never so much as raised a hand to you, so you can stuff the paranoia for now."

"I've been having a little chat with Zira," he went on, "and I've agreed to play the middleman and let you two have as close to a face-to-face meeting as you can with him still in Anarlina." He tapped one temple. "In my mind."

[Kender Bard]

Shyamal blinked, his expression turning to one of delight as soon as Zira's name was mentioned. That was dampened somewhat as Schuldig explained how but he gave a curt nod. "All right," he agreed, and lowered his outward shields somewhat. "Let me know when you're ready."

[Darastrix]

"Ready as I'll ever be," Schuldig replied as he lowered his own shields to allow Shyamal in. He put his arm across his forehead to touch his signs together, and added, "It'll take some effort to pull Zira in, so don't touch anything while I'm 'away.'"

[Kender Bard]

"Trust me, I won't," Shyamal murmured as the youth reached out to 'step into' Schuldig's mind.

Shyamal looked drastically different as a mindform then he did in person. For one thing, he was much older; easily in his mid to late twenties. But hovering about him was an overlaying ghostly image, or rather, two of them. One at the age he was now and one as a small little child. Added on top of that distortion, he still had some shielding up. He didn't want to go completely unarmed into Schuldig's mind and so an eerie blur covered his form except for his face. It was as though crystal pieces were pressing against his body in a protective barrier, or some sort of other blurring effect. There was the sense that something large was on his back, and that he had a weapon of some kind strapped to his hip, but beyond that was indiscernable. And from his chest issued a low, pulsing light, beating in time with his heart, its light muted by the shielding as well.

[Darastrix]

Schuldig's cluttered mindscape was, as usual, in flux (but not THAT Flux). In one space, a swan made of ice shifted into a map marked with notes and arrows, then into a shattered, crumbling altar to Taed, then into ripped black cloak fixed to the wall with a dagger, then Anarlina's emblem, then a long, white feather with the quill ending in a sword hilt, then a large green stone.

In another area, the bloodied half of an Efilian shrine broke away to be replaced by a multicoloured Soahcian shrine, then the whole thing came apart, breaking into feathery vines or...hair? with eyes peeking from the strands, then it became a pair of scales, weighing a pair of question marks, then that became a glass of spilled wine.

Everywhere one could turn, the objects on display in the gallery were constantly rearranging and transforming into other things, with the rare pause between shifts. Some items, rather than transforming, were swept aside as they appeared, being knocked from their places by an invisible hand to land under furniture or to be shattered against the stone wall. The only unchanging thing in the room was the chaise located on a dais dead-center in the chamber, and what appeared to be an open door that lead into a long hallway. The view through the door rippled like a reflection on the surface of water, then broke as Schuldig stepped through it, pulling Zira behind him by the wrist.

Both men looked much as they always did, though Zira seemed paler than usual. He trusted Schuldig to not harm them, and so had forgone any shielding, for which the telepath was grateful. It would be easier to keep him there without his shields.

"Thank you," Zira murmured, placing a hand on Schuldig's shoulder.

Schuldig waved his hand dismissively as he narrowed the door behind them. "Don't waste your time here talking to me. Kid's waiting."

[Kender Bard]

Shyamal perked up, smiling brightly. His shields dimmed a bit more at seeing Zira, revealing a toned and muscular fighter's body and a strange... mantle? on his back or shoulders. The weapon at his side became distinguishable as some kind of sword and the pulsing light in his chest grew a little brighter. "Zira?"

He came closer to Zira, a little wide eyed. "Zira.... I've missed you so much."

[Darastrix]

"Shyamal," Zira breathed, stepping forward quickly to envelop the boy in a warm hug. "You've been in my thoughts every day since you left. It may be foolish to worry so before you've even left Khelek, but I can't help it." He pulled back a bit and tilted his head. "You're older here," he noted.

Schuldig seemed to be ignoring them both, and crossed the room without a word to take his place on the dias, the seat of power within his mind.

[Kender Bard]

"I feel older," Shyamal admitted as he hugged Zira back. "Heh, if only I was this fit in reality. But no; I see myself like this because of my mental training." He tapped the sword at his side. "My strength lies in shielding but fa- ... Nissar made certain that I was able to lash out as well. Talk about a double edge sword, hmm?"

He glanced back at Schuldig but seeing that the man was politely ignoring them, relaxed. "I've thought about you often as well. As we grow nearer to the big day, I get more and more worried. But then I remember the things you told me and it's as though a little of that weight is lifted. It's... liberating. I'd tell you not to worry but I don't think it would help. So.... try not to worry too much, okay? I fully intend to survive this, if at all possible. Morilanta needs me, and so does my... family." He smiled warmly.

[Darastrix]

Zira smiled back and stroked Shyamal's hair fondly. "I'm glad that I've been able to be of some help," he said. "If not for my responsibilities at home, I would have tried to go with you." He carefully did not mention that Zack was holding up more things on that end than he should really have to. "My Mind training is far from extensive, and I'm best suited to empathy, I think, but I'm a decent sword arm."

There was no actual reply to that, but at Zira's words, there was a definite sense of 'If you really want that, it can be done.'

Zira glanced toward Schuldig. "I can't walk away from my duties any more than Shyamal can."

[Kender Bard]

"Nor would I ask you," Shyamal agreed. "And I don't think I would be able to live with myself if I asked that of you and you were hurt or killed in the process. If I could do this all on my own, I would. I also promise that as soon as the deed is done and I have a spare moment, I will inform Schuldig of my success and I'm sure he wouldn't mind passing the news on to you. Then, when there's time, I'll come back to Anarlina and we can have a great celebration."

[Darastrix]

Zira smiled and nodded, folding his large white wings around Shyamal. "I look forward to that," he said. "And to being able to really hold you again," he added, drawing the boy closer.

[Kender Bard]

Shyamal clung tight to Zira, silent in his yearning. He felt much the same. At their embrace his heart's light gave a bright flash, brilliant and brief.

"Wish me luck," Shyamal murmured with a tiny smile after lingering in Zira's arms a short while longer.

[Darastrix]

Zira was silent for a moment. He had a feeling that would signal the end of their brief reunion, and he was reluctant to part. He also knew, though, that they could hardly stay there indefinitely. Zira wasn't there under his own power, and he thought his staying must be taking some effort to maintain.

"Good luck," he whispered, and leaned down to kiss the top of Shyamal's head. "Is it time to leave already?" He glanced between Shyamal and Schuldig as he spoke, directing the question to them both.

Schuldig gave a slight, one-shouldered shrug. "Up to you two," he said, his voice distant as he turned his head towards them. The blue of his eyes was completely obscured by a white glow, and the shifting of the room had slowed with his concentration fixed elsewhere.