Even without a heart, a person can still bleed. This type of injury is just not as apparent to the naked eye. The blood that seeps from it is not red, but invisible. Hidden within an individual's actions, the wounds of the soul weep in place of the heart. It is an illness that only the foulest of enemies would wish upon one another, and yet Natsumi suffered from this ailment because of her own shortcomings.

After Saya and her guardian had disappeared, the arctic angel spent months looking for them. She scoured Revaliir in search of some sign of their continued well-being, but the only thing her investigations revealed was dust. The hole in her chest reminded to remind of her of loss, even her heart's absence did not prevent her emotional suffering.

Stone cold eyes now watched a hut on the Kirika lake side. The Goddess had been drawn to a piece of history similar to her story, and so she made her way to the remains of Angela's ancient cottage. The edifice was overgrown with vegetation, its remains held up by tree branches and vines. No one had lived there in years, but still the ghosts of the past lingered around its perimeter.

Hidden from the view of those unable to view history with their own eyes, the once happy family of mortals who had occupied the cabin remained present to Natsumi. The husband reminded her of the masked individual that had tried to save her daughter, while the wife reminded her of herself. The situation was not idyllic, of course, considering that Natsumi despised the idea of marriage, but the daughter's appearance was what truly cracked the stoic facade.

"Saya," Natsumi spoke aloud when the ghostly image of Lyre appeared from the inside of the cabin. Her words had slipped out even if her mind bade them not to because Angela's late daughter appeared just the same as Saya. Their resemblance was striking enough that Natsumi tried to reach out and grab Lyre's shoulder. Tragically, however, the fantasy vanished once she did so. The illusory fabric she grabbed in her hand disappeared and only sand remained in its place.

Regret and anger sat in the woman's soul when she realized the trickery her mind had played on her. She tossed the sand to the ground in rage and then put her deity mask back on in preparation to leave. She stopped just before opening a portal, of course, but only because she could feel another's gaze on her.

"I know you're out there, Angela," Natsumi calmly said without turning to face the approaching Goddess. "My domain is secrets, even if it's quite obvious I'm not up to keeping personal burdens a secret today."

A heart knew no bounds when it came to pain. Time could hide it and dull it but still, when one relived it the heart ripped the stitches right out. The Lady of the Land never liked having the others snoop near where she ascended. That was the one place she felt mortal. That was where her pain was the greatest. Still this one was different.

The sun shined with such beauty over near the cottage. It was after all the reason her and her husband had picked the spot to build on. They had done it with their own hands. Soon finding out that they were to need the space after all. A gentle stroke of her hand went to her womb as she thought about the only child she ever had while mortal.

It hadn't been fair to anyone. Her husband probably had no idea what happened as the roof caved in and crushed his fragile body. Her baby… had no chance. She bit her lip softly as she watched the scene unfold. She was a goddess and she too could see the scene unfold. Angela had been so young when Lyre had been born.

Coming out of the earth she came to the new goddess. "So you know my name. You know part of my story." Ivy eyes turned to the cottage as she put her hand on the old stone. "A tale of time… A story from over two hundred years ago." There was a tiredness to her voice. "Who is Saya, I wonder. You who seen my Lyre and so desperately tried to reach."

There was a coldness in her but she tried to shake it from her. "Forgive me, this place brings out the worst in me. Dearest sister of mine who's heart is clearly hurting. Lend me your story and I shall lend you mine completely."

Perhaps Natsumi just didn't play well with others, but she was awfully quick to display an acerbic attitude toward Angela. The deities thus far had irritated the Stranger in some way, even if they hadn't intentionally done anything to merit her distaste. In Angela's case, the offending action was simply trying to appear like family to Natsumi when the woman hadn't given permission for that association. No one would ever be on par with her biological sisters for Natsumi, and trying to pretend otherwise was a disgusting action for her.
 
"I'd prefer you just call me Natsumi rather than sister. I don't use that word lightly," spoke the cold woman while turning around. She temporarily shifted her clothing to display the hole in her chest during this action, and allowed Angela to look right through her for a few seconds. "By the way, I have no heart left."
 
There was clearly an air of tension for the moment, but Natsumi eventually refrained from further confrontation. She was being rude to someone who suffered the same pain as her.  Perhaps worse, Angela had been dealing with the pain for far longer than Natsumi while also living with the knowledge that she couldn't easily reverse what she had done. Therefore, with a sigh, the Ice Queen relented while trying to clear the air.
 

"Apparently this place brings out snippiness in me as well. Here I am being an ass when I've so rudely eavesdropped on your memories without giving insight on mine. I always demand equivalent exchange in my realm, yet I tried to slight you in this instance. I already know your story and your name, Angela, because that is part of my domain of secrets. You see the past in this case because it is your past and it happened on the earth.  However, I see everything: life, death, air, sea, memories, dreams, information in general. The past and present are my domains regardless of landscape, and it is rather fortuitous that this story of yours is similar to my own." Pausing, Natsumi turned back to the ruined cottage from before. She crossed her arms under her breasts, and hid her empty gaze before continuing. "We have both lost daughters upon our ascension that look remarkably similar to each other. Saya is my Lyre. She disappeared on the day of my ascension, and this place called to me as a potential way of finding her. But I am no fool. The only reason I was drawn here was because of false hope, not because of there actually being a key to finding her in this place. My search continues, but who knows for how long. It is one of the few secrets that have been concealed from my sight."

For a few minor moments the goddess was lost on Natsumi but the goddess shrugged her off. "It's been a long time since I haven't used the phrase at all. I remember being welcomed with the same words into the conclave through my tears."

Angela allowed the young one to get out her harsh words and once more shrugged them to the side, she had teenagers so she understood greatly. "You don't have to explain your spot to me Natsumi, I understand. I may not have invited you here but I am not restricting anyone from coming here. It's a ruined home, a ruined family, and something I've come to deal with over the years."

Moving forward she moved inside the broken frame of the Tudor cottage and pulled something from the ruins. It was an older blanket of sorts, the type that shouldn't have been able to survive being abandoned for the past two hundred years. "People always find a way in. It's good you continue your search because your's isn't a dead end. Mine ended a long time ago." Her fingers ran over the fine stitching of the dirtied blanket. "Timedeath restored some old things here." Angela cleared a tear from her eye.

"Saya was much older than my Lyre I bet. I may not be able to see your past but I know a mother's heart. You say it's gone but it is with Saya, Natsumi. If you were to see her in front of you in trouble that heart of yours would kick in the door to save her because that is the love we mother's have. If I could have traversed the underworld for my daughter and husband I would have. Sadly there is no way to bring back souls that don't want it."

Bending back down she put the blanket back. "Lyre had just started to crawl. We were so proud of her and we showed her off to everyone. She had his blonde hair and such fair skin. I remember her still but Wyatt is much harder to remember. The years have washed his features away from my mind… and it terrifies me that one day she will be gone too."

Angela may have been the Mother and a beloved member of the conclave, but her personality did little more than drive a wedge between the two goddesses than anything else. The shrugs and miniature pity party of Earth's champion did little to endear her to the fox. Even if those actions had been unintentional, they spoke to the true state of Angela's subconscious, and Natsumi was anything but pleased.
 
"I have no time for tears," was all the cold-hearted Ice Queen said once Angela regaled her of Earth's welcoming into the conclave. Unimpressed, the Fox just looked frigidly at the auburn haired woman, and continued without heeding the annoying shrugs. "Nor do I wish another family. A co-worker I can deal with, and that is how I see the rest of the conclave. I will never acknowledge more siblings no matter the experiences of others."
 
She wanted to say "your experiences" at that moment to point out that it was actually Angela she was calling out, but the young woman decided against that action once she saw the blanket. Now wasn't the time to poke fun at someone who was clearly hurting just from proximity to a cabin. Angela may have annoyed Natsumi, but she didn't deserve such emotional torture. The Goddess was especially averse to causing harm to someone whose situation was so similar to her own, so she stayed her hand for the moment.
 
Still, that didn't stop the Masked Stranger from chuckling when Angela said something that was only half right as if it were the whole truth.  
 
"Depends on your idea of bringing back. There are ways to force the dead from their slumber regardless of their will, even to the point of resurrecting them entirely as if the death never occurred. However, the side-effects of these lesser known methods are often random and, I might say, unpleasant. Neither you nor I would be very willing to commit them against those we cared about." Turning her amusement down a bit, the shadow continued. "You are correct on both counts for Saya, though. She was older than Lyre and my heart is with her, but not in the metaphorical sense that you're thinking of. In order to find my daughter, I need to find my physical heart as well. The search has proven difficult, though I suspect both the heart and Saya lie somewhere in my realm. The only problem is that there are doors within that place that even I can't unlock. If I'm to search the depths of my domain, I must find the keys to that doors that bar my way."
 
Angela brought up something interesting beyond this point. She mentioned her failing memory, which Natsumi was well aware of, and how it frightened her that one day she might lose the memories of Wyatt and Lyre. The crafty fox saw an opportunity in this confession, and capitalized on it in hopes of extracting a future favor.
 

"If you'd like, I can restore the memory of Wyatt and crystallize both his and Lyre's memory within your soul so that you never forget about them. That is within my power to do, and it will last even after I fall. I leave the choice to you, of course."