It was another great relief when I saw Oren and Astar working around their wagons. It was with a tired and sore heart that I brought them Seveya and Persephone. Though none of us were hurt badly .. we just needed that place to rest and find sanctuary .. just for a moment ... before moving on. Astar took Persephone and started to get her cleaned up and examined .. I brought Seveya down from the saddle .. to feel her in my arms was so overwhelming I did not even see Oren before she laid her staff along my calf .. reminding me to get Seveya off her twisted ankle.
I chuckled carried her to the steps and Ay came by .. to let Oren and Astar know where Mezoo was being held. He rose in my opinion of him for that. For taking the time to bring that knowledge to them in the middle of everything else he was doing. He has made a bond with Oren that will always be there .. no matter what. It is not bridged by Mezoo .. it stands solid between the two of them. Something that Ayguili himself had to build to repair his own mistakes. Something I see him still maintaining. Something I appreciate.
Of course Oren and Astar hustled off to be with Mezoo. Seveya collapsed in my arms laying her head upon my shoulder and I held her close to my chest .. feeling her cool touch against my heated skin. Feeling her heart's beat .. lulled by the frequency of it. It does not match my own. It does not even harmonize with my own. It is different and I am drawn to the independence of it. I could lay and listen to the rhythm for hours and never realize how fast the time was slipping by. Much like that night.
I did not want to leave them alone .. so I gathered Seveya up into my arms and I carried her .. Persephone's tiny hand on my thigh as we made our way through the wagons .. through the crush of people ... the horrific chaos of that night. It was Aod's wagon that I sought .. and found. The old woman seemed untouched .. unaffected by everything. Power of a Spex? Perhaps .. whatever it was .. her wagon was like a harbor in the storm ... the lee side of a wagon ... a place set apart from everything even in the very feel of it. It was an island .. and I delivered Seveya and Persephone into it with a relief I can not describe.
There is a woman I trust with my very life. A woman who saw me to the other side and back. You can not go with another human further than that .. and she proved someone with the strength of character to face it without hesitation. There is not a situation I can imagine that I would not feel privileged to have her at my back. I do not even know her name ..
she is Ogedaii's Bitch.
It was her that I sought .. her that I figured no one else would want... or trust. I knew I could have her undivided attention. I could have every bit of her talent for my own purpose .. should Ogedaii allow it. I knew he would ... I have come to trust Ogedaii and even Tao .. with nearly as much weight as I did Pacu. It was with the same assurance that I asked Ogedaii for the use of his Bitch that I had asked Ayguili for Seveya's bride price. Only it proved I knew Ogedaii better and he did nothing to surprise me. The Bitch was sent with me to tend to both Seveya and to Persephone. I am very grateful for that.. I will think of a way to repay Ogedaii. Some scrapes .. scratches .. bruises and some blisters on their hands. Seveya's twisted ankle. Aod presided over the entire thing as usual with her quiet and wise energy.
The Bitch and I do not speak much. I do not know if she speaks much to anyone .. perhaps Ogedaii. When her task was completed she was released to return to her master and whatever tasks he still had in store for her. I tried to take Persephone .. so we could go look for her parents. But she refused to leave Seveya's side. She tucked her little bandaged hand into Seveya's and just looked at me.. dared me to demand otherwise. I did not of course. Whatever bond was forged between them in the midst of all that tragedy ... I was not the man to attempt to break it. I left them there together with Aod to sleep and rest knowing she would watch over the two of them as I returned to the tasks still left to do around the makeshift Harigga.
It was not easy to leave her. Not after finding her. But it was that moment that I grabbed her up in my arms in the middle of all that smoke .. ash and chaos. That cut out picture ... that talisman ... that I carried with me when I did leave. The pristine quality of it gives the moment a kind of immortal clarity that I know will never tarnish or corrode. It has its own spark of life that takes no energy from either one of us. I want to find a way to connect to it .. to create a path to it ... so that I can find it any time I want to or need to. It is this formulation of intent that I allowed my thoughts to chew on as I pitched in with the terrible tasks that haunted and filled the next few days.
I do not think Asria even knew .. or knows ... that I know. She was to wrapped up in grief. I am not sure even Lei knows .. that I was there. Her focus is on her mother .. as it always has been.
