The night was in full swing as the stars dimly shined above. The highlands were quiet with but the sound of wooden wheel to the rocks of the earth. Holly's silver eyes stared at Noata as her vision shifted to easily see him with the dim light of Canelux and Parvpora over top of them. Not even the other Rosenite's were talking as the wagon moved.

It seemed too unfriendly for them to be about. Finally the wagon stopped and they were picked up and set down on the ground by two muscular women. They said a few words to Holly as they stared towards Naota. It didn't sound like a warning but still they patted her head and pushed them towards the rose covered gates.

Pointing up the Rosenite warrior said but one name to Naota, "Angela."

Soon the caravan left them and the lights from their torches faded into the deep dark of the rolling plains. "We should go. It's dangerous out here." Holly whispered as she took his hand and helped him into the archway.

The scenery shifted and they were on the steps of the mother. The jade shined brightly under their feet but only for a moment before the steps disappeared and Holly and Naota began to endlessly fall into the abyss.

"Not this way, these tests are not for you two.”

Naota would feel energized once more as if the night had never happened. Holly felt that way as well as they climbed out of the mound of pillows. It was dark around them and the colors from the pillows illuminated in the dark.

"The first test of many that I have for you two. I shall show you a fate string. Your intertwined fates have always made me wonder and so I dove in and watched. I listened and I studied." Her voice faded as the place around them faded into the deep dark. Around them what appeared to be a modest home came into view.

A child came into the room. A girl of five who looked so much like Naota that it caused Holly to fall down. This was their fate string so could it be?

"Kaasan, Tosan! Masaki keeps touching me and he won't stop." The little girl was about in tears as the boy came in. He had to be a year older but he looked much more like Holly.

"I was not! Haruka is a liar!" His hair was so high pitched as he ran over and hugged Holly around the neck. His hair was so dark like Naota's as Holly's fingers came up and curled around a lock of hair. "What's wrong Kaasan?"

Was this a joke for them? The Goddess sat there in her study with a wine glass watching the two of them. Hopefully they would discover more of themselves in this place.

The children had on beautiful little kimonos. The girl's kimono had floral all over it and so beautiful with its obi. Holly had taken note that it looked a lot like the one her mother had gotten for her so long ago on one of her many trips to Parvpora. "Tosan?" The little girl ran to his leg and pulled on his shirt. "Why is Kaasan crying?" Was she? Holly lifted her free hand up and felt the tears rolling down her cheeks.

From the moment they first began their entry into Angela’s domain there was a strange feeling in his head.  Most likely it was Minasé reacting to such a holy place, but this was different.  To be honest it wasn’t often that he visited a deity’s temple so the feeling would have been foreign to him either way, but this stirred something a bit more.  As he took in the beautiful evidence of nature around them there was a strange, almost numbing sensation…He was too spent from the previous night and Minasé’s rampage, and whether he liked to admit it or not was beginning to feel relief at knowing The Mother would be aiding his healing faster than he otherwise would have been able to.  

Just as he had been promised, he felt rejuvenated as his energy rushed back into him after it was all said and done, and while there were still purification measures he needed to take when he returned to Ataiyo, he was at ease to know he had enough energy now to defend himself should the need arise.  It was a rare thing for his psionic energy to be completely drained, and it had been so long since his last attack that he felt like a child all over again from the vulnerability.

His lips parted at the idea of a test though.  He wasn’t sure how to take that, but was thankful that his power was restored, though he was unsure of how safe any test would be given that his power being full meant the same for his daemon…So badly he wanted and needed to go to Ataiyo.  But he wouldn’t let him hurt Holly, not his friend, and certainly not her mother.  Though he doubted The Mother would need true aid in protection since her strength was more than capable.  His fingers curled in, tightening his hands into fists before slowly relaxing them again.  Whatever test there would be, he’d be ready for it.  A fate string could mean any number of things, good and bad…

The room darkened for a moment and slowly came back into light.  Holly reacted first and he looked over and down at her quickly when she fell, instantly kneeling down to check her…but there was nothing there.  His eyebrows furrowed, standing and looking around them.  The room was completely empty…were these mental attacks of some kind?  Was something happening to her…?  He took a step away from her but that was it, eyes searching out the empty room.  He could see nothing, hear nothing, and smell nothing…which only led him to believe that it was something mental that hadn’t attacked him just yet.

What concerned him even more though was the silence in his head.  No word, no murmur, nothing from his daemon who should have been at least laughing by now.  He turned his head, eyes seeking out Angela, “I don’t understand…what’s going on?”

Holly stared blankly into the depths of the children's eyes. Masaki had her own silver eyes but it was Haruka who had her attention the most. "No, no, no. Please don't be upset." She could tell that Haruka had Naota's eyes. "Please don't cry." She could no longer tell what kind of fate string this was, but it didn't feel cruel.

Holly's silver eyes looked over at Naota's. "She has your eyes Naota, look." She reached over and brushed Haruka's hair back. It was loose curls of dark hair. She began to wipe the tears away. If this was indeed a fate string then she couldn't punish the children but again with this fate string she felt love for these children.

"Naota what does Tosan and Kaasan mean? That's what they are calling us." She took a moment thinking it might mean father and mother but she wanted to make sure. If this was their children she needed to know. Once more she took a deeper look and seen their race. It wasn't like they were half demons at all. No, it was something different. "Naota, their not half demon!" It scared the children at first as they jumped on her and knocked her over. An audible grunt left her lips as she hit the ground.

"We're not demons Kaasan we're good kids." They hugged her tightly as she laid on the ground. They were upset again. It hurt her heart.

Holly laid on the floor and frowned. "No, I know you are. I'm just telling him what good kids you are." She tried to wrap her arms around their lithe bodies and kissed the tops of each of their heads. "We would never call you little demons." She said something her mother would.

Using all her strength she pulled herself up and stood up holding one on each hip. At the time she had no  idea that Naota himself could not see. "Naota, meet your son and daughter Masaki and Haruka." She gave him a smile as the fate string broke her.

His attention quickly returned to Holly, lips parting in confusion and concern for his friend.  What could he do to help her…?  Why was this thing only attacking her and not him?  Protective anger began to form but as quickly as it came on did it slowly fade.  For a brief moment his eyes closed and he brought his hand to his forehead.  There was no pain, there was just…nothing.  His mouth grew dry and he swallowed against the cracking feeling in his throat as his eyes opened, looking down at her as she interacted with things that weren’t there.  Had he been angry…?  No he couldn’t have been, and why would he be in the first place? 

Mother…father…  She spoke the words to him in Ataiyan and he shook his head, stepping back away from her as the familiar words resonated.  It brought thoughts of his own parents, the distance he’d put between them and himself over the last few decades, and now someone was saying that to her…?  That would mean…No.  His hands shakily lifted up to his hair, but the moment they touched his scalp a gentle warmth passed through his skull.  It was as if he’d slipped into a warm bath, each anxiety and trouble that had started to bubble under the surface was soon gone.  He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt so pleasant, so content.  Why had he been upset?

Just as he began to lower to kneel next to her she stood up, her arms holding nothing on her hips as she looked back at him.  He straightened back up, looking at her with questioning eyes until two words, carefully strung and simple enough, wove in and out of his ears.  Son…daughter…  His heart began to pick up, the pain in his chest branching into a burning ache.  His breathing quickened and his head spiked as his hand returned up, only now pressing at the bridge between his nose.  Then…nothing.  His eyes opened, brimmed with moisture for a reason he couldn’t fathom. 

The lids of his eyes drooped, keeping his stare on her disinterested but still questioning as he gently shook his head, his voice eerily calm, “I don’t have children.”   He looked up, around the room as much as he could, the pace of his heart a gentle thrum in his chest.  It was as if he was there, but not at the same time…either way, they needed to leave, “It’s time to stop being childish Holly.  We need to leave…”   There was no anger or irritation to his voice, just calm simplicity.  “I thank your mother for her healing, but I have duty to attend to in Ataiyo and it’s time to take my leave.”   The green of his eyes slowly faded to a dull gray, only slightly tinged with emerald as he sought out The Mother, “Angela, I bid you let me go.  Please.”

Holly had been lost the moment he couldn't understand what was happening. It was the allure of it all that had her. Everything that she dreamed about was in that fate string. Her mother had known the weakness that both of them had but the newest development with Naota intrigued the goddess. Naota could not see the visions and instead was left to suffer the painful view of watching Holly lost in her own delusion.

"I think it's time we had a talk." With a snap of her fingers they were in her study. Holly was passed out on a chaise as Angela poured both Naota and herself a glass of her homemade wine. "Do not put duty above this Naota." Her green eyes were lost in his for a moment. "You couldn't see the fate string could you? What could be? You heard that you had children and you denied it… Is it because of him?" She lifted her wine glass and drank from it. "I know what you fear and can assure you that yourself in that realm feared it too. I had, have a solution."

She leaned back in the chair. "You are capable of being a parent but not by normal means. I think Holly seen that when she realized that the children had no blood of yours in them. She realized what I had done. Though if you two weren't so fond of ignoring things I would have said something from the get go."

She set the glass down and straighten out her mess of red locks. Standing up she gave him a sigh. "Over one hundred children I have of my own blood but most of them do not have a father. I create children of all creatures from mere dust or even… a life within a womb. I am the mother. That's what it means to be a god." She gave him a sigh.

"I've knocked her out for the time being but you should both relax for tonight. The wash room is open for you both as well as a room for you both to share. Today was about getting closer and I know that's something you both fear. It didn't work out as intended." She put her fingertip on his forehead. "Because something is blocking you from seeing it. Perhaps though it's best."

In a blink they were in a new place.  It smelled heavily of the goddess and his eyes moved around the room with mild interest before returning to The Mother.  He listened to everything she had to say, his eyebrows furrowing with a slight twitch as he took in certain details and commentary.  Something was wrong here, and while the normal guilt that would have formed wasn’t there, he knew well enough to hold his tongue.  That was probably out of self-preservation. 
 
His stance remained the same as she moved towards him, not even reacting to being touched by her though his gray eyes kept hers.  The numbness was spreading, hardly any emotion remained, leaving him to work and think purely on logic.  His eyelids drooped slightly, leaving his eyes halved as he spoke to her in a calm and soft voice, “I don’t want to have children with her.”  
 
Getting out of this room though, he knew well enough that in a deity’s temple it wasn’t always as simple as walking out.  Holly had wanted to visit her mother, had wanted him to be there with her when she did and while he wanted to keep true to his promise in doing that, he could tell that this was not the best time for a reunion between the two of them.  Holly had her own healing to do and he still needed to go to Ataiyo to complete his own.  Not having emotion…it was different, but since there was no fear he felt no worry.  If anything it would probably be more efficient from this point on.  And Minasé was silent, that was also good.
 
“Now then, can you help me to exit…?  Your daughter needs her rest and I have no need to stay.  There will be a time when I’ll return with her, but I have things to attend to in the meantime.  She loves you.  You should carry this concern in connecting the two of us to your own maternal bond with her.”   Smiling felt foreign, but he managed to upturn his lips, though the expression seemed bland and unnatural on his face, especially when accompanied by the dead state of his eyes.  People feel better when you smile.  He counted off three seconds, that seemed enough time to smile, and just as quickly as it had appeared, it dropped.
 

“What is the quickest way for me to leave?  Am I able to exit with teleporting, or would using gate travel suffice?”   He wasn’t learned on the ways one was able to leave her domain and wanted to make sure he could before attempting efforts that might end up fruitless.