For so long she had been trying to make herself a part of his life, and every time she was able to wedge herself in he’d find a way to shut her back out.  It wasn’t his fault, it was that…family.  Their fault.  They raised him this way and it was because of them that she was having so much trouble getting close to him again.  And now, when he was coming to her, one of the very rare times where he came to her first, it was because he needed a favor.  Her first reaction was anger as well as annoyance.  But her second was relief that he was even trusting her with something like this at all.  All of a sudden she felt as if she were the younger sibling chasing after him, when in reality she was five years his senior.

But he had explained it to her, the reason for his urgency and such short notice.  He certainly had gotten himself wrapped up in something complicated.  Not once had he told her what the vial around his neck was for and now that she knew she couldn’t help but wonder if she would have tried to snatch it from him long ago. 

As it was, she was dressed in a more casual set of robes, her face clean from any of her make up other than winged eyeliner and a dash of red on her lips.  Luckily with her status as tayuu she was able to deny any pursuers for the night.  Seeing as it was a desert they were going to she was sure to wear a set of robes that she wouldn’t mind being sand torn.  When they appeared at the catacombs her hand went to her mouth from the scent of such stagnant blood.  So many women, so much dankness, she couldn’t imagine coming down here on a regular basis.

Normally she did her best to stay away from the affairs of deities, even if it only involved their children, but her brother needed her and that was what kept her from turning and leaving right then and there when she saw Angela Rose herself next to her lifeless daughter. 

She pulled her robes around her tighter, her eyes –normally the same shade of emerald as her brother’s- bled crimson at the sight of them.  Deities tended to make her…nervous.  But there was a much younger child and that kept her from letting out any sarcastic remarks to the situation.  Instead she tried to keep her focus as far from the child as possible, resisting the urge to move her hand to her own stomach.

Iva moved to put a flower into her sister's hair and she found herself pausing for a moment. "But momma if there are so many people in the world why Naota?" The child was beginning to get on her mother's last nerve. Her mother told her it was just how Holly preferred. "But why?" Again there was a deep sigh as the goddess patted the girl's head. 

"Okay Momma but why did Holly want to go to sleep? Why did she chose Naota? What is icky boy love and why is it so special? Why? Why Why." The questions kept coming as Iva kept her mouth just a going while Hirmoni and Naota appeared. Iva hopped off her chair and came over.

"QUESTIONS! IT IS NOT THE GODDESS YOU SHOULD FEAR BUT ME THE MIGHTY IVA!" She put her hands up like a monster and gave a roar. "Why is Holly here? Why is Holy asleep? What is love? Why is love so important? Why does the tree make deities? Why does this place exist?" There was hardly any breathing as Angela gave them a sympathetic look. A vine came down and picked the child up. "I'M NOT DONE ASKING THE IMPORTANT QUESTIONS! MOMMA!" Iva began to twist and turn in the vine until she was hanging upside down.

"I feel the blood rushing to my head momma. It's a funny feeling. Why does it feel funny? Why does blood rush to the head when you hang me upside down? WHOA Naota and his sister? LOOK TOTALLY AWESOME FROM THIS ANGLE. Are we going to get Holly today? Is she going away again? Can we give her presents? Will she snuggle with me again? What are her dreams like?" Angela covered her mouth. 

"Believe me when I say… I am so sorry," the goddess was honest as she said it and Iva was still trying to talk through the hand. The vine let her go in her mother's arms. She finally let her go when the questions stopped.

"HI I'm Iva." Iva waved to both of them and Angela groaned.

Convincing her to come here had taken more effort than he had anticipated, but he would never be able to show her how very grateful he was that she had agreed.  She’d given him a good smack when she’d found out and it’d taken it without protest.  But she was here, she would be able to help, and for the first time in ages he was at ease to have her near. 

Amongst all of this sadness having someone new to the mix had the potential to lighten the load everyone felt.  And luckily, aside from her relation to him, she had no emotional connection to any of this…hopefully that would make it easier for her.  She was kind, gentle, but had a very firm hand and was an expert in tough love. At least from the years he’d known her that’s what he had noticed. 

It was always strange to see her so delicate and fragile when it came to her clients, but so feisty when she was on her own.  All for show, but it got the job done.  He still couldn’t help the protectiveness he felt towards her at working in a courtesan house, but at least she was at a high enough rank to refuse should she want to.  Vampire or not, she was his sister, and that natural instinct was there.  She also felt the confliction of fearing for the men’s necks…What with her diet.

Once they were through the entrance to Holly’s area they were bombarded with questions and his eyes widened, looking over at Hiromi.  Her eyes were wide, but he caught their red hue just before they cleared into emerald.  Children was a subject neither of them ever breached and he spoke so that she wouldn’t have to, “There’s no need for apology…”   He shook his head and moved his hands into his pockets, a nervous smile forming on his lips if only for the little one. 

Hiromi, however, seemed completely content despite her surroundings and smiled for Iva, that natural charm that came from years of working as a tayuu aiding her interaction, “Hello Iva…Such a pretty name you have.  My name’s Hiromi, I don’t believe we’ve ever had the chance to meet before…”

Yes, it was good that he had asked for her assistance.  His eyes moved to Hiromi’s lips, unable to hold back the natural urge to check and make sure that her fangs weren’t elongating, but so far they weren’t.  “Hiromi’s going to help…”   He looked back to Angela, “Should we get started…?”

Iva squealed with joy as Hiromi addressed her. "My daddy told my momma before he died that it means life." She jumped around and looked over at Holly before looking back at her mom. "You are going to make me leave now aren't you?"

"You know it. Bryony I think I can handle the rest of this. Please take Iva outside and find some of the city's children for her to play with. By the mother I know she needs to be around children her own age more often. And stop listening into my conversations." She pet the girl's red hair and Iva was beaming.

"By Hiromi… and Naota you guys come play with me sometime okay?" She ran off with Bryony while Angela looked back at Holly.

"I've overseen some of these wake up rites before. It's not that hard and I would rather be here then leave with Iva. Holly is my daughter too and I've left her here alone for too long." She motioned to Holly's body. "Naota please take Holly and we'll go to the spring that's a bit deeper here. It's one of our more sacred places in Arri that we don't usually show outsiders. Water is life in the desert."

He watched as Iva left with the oracle, eased that she wouldn’t have to watch what was about to happen.  No matter what, he doubted there would be much pleasantness to the situation once she was woken up.  Without a word he moved over to Holly, remembering what he had been told thus far, how he would have to do everything from this point until she woke up.  Despite the arrangement that had been made he was still hesitant but forced himself past it to lift her up.  She was light, almost completely weightless, and either because she’d been so stationary for so long or because he’d grown that much stronger over the decades he wasn’t sure.

Once she was in his arms Hiromi was next to him, a hand resting on his arm and eyes filled with concern when she looked at him.  She was worried yes, but the line of her jaw was locked sternly and she spoke to him in their native tongue, “Are you sure you can trust any of this?  I’m here to help you but you can’t blame me for wondering if any of this could be a trick to trap you.  What if none of this can work and you’re just being told what you want to hear so that you’ll wake her?”  

The thought had crossed his mind, but he was trusting them because the chances of them being truthful held too much positivity.  It was the best outcome, and he had to go towards it.  Worst case scenario it would be him made to do all of this for Holly…and it would seal his distrust in the family enough to never have anything to do with them again when all of this was over.  He replied to her, keeping to their tongue, “You don’t have to trust them…Just trust me.”

That was all he had to say on the subject before following with The Mother to head to this spring.  Right now he couldn’t afford to have any more hesitation to any of this than he already felt.  If he allowed it then none of this would be able to get started.  As it was his heart was pounding, but he continued on: moving one foot in front of the other.

Angela listened to them for a moment before sighing. "I can understand you. Let me set your concerns aside. We have no reason to trick you. You are waking my child up, a princess of this country. We owe you for this and not only this if I wasn't an elder goddess I would be on my hands and knees thanking you. Holly trusted you with that vial for a reason and we trust you because of that. Otherwise don't you think I would have hunted you down and brought down the heavens onto you for this? I'm not an evil woman but if I was that would have crossed my mind. Instead I waited for you to be ready to do this because Holly trusted you." Angela felt comfortable explaining to them.

Taking them down into the spring she lit the torches. They seemed more like fireflies in a jar then fire. The water was almost glowing with a blue light. "This place is imbued with magic. From the times before The Wastes were desert." She turned her head to them. "Gods have always had their place in history and not all of us had good moments." She took her hand and blew all the magic torches lit in the area. "Normally only the oracles get to do this but Bryony isn't the nicest person to be around. Take her down into the water and give her the antidote. Hold on tight because this is where things get a bit rigid. Pain doesn't begin to describe what they go through. The poison she took… The child had little knowledge of it but we're about to start her body back up."

Hiromi’s lips parted to speak but he held Holly close in one arm and rested his other hand on his sister’s shoulder to keep her words held back.  She looked at him, her eyes trying to shift to red but resisting just around the pupils…the likeness was so similar to Angela’s iris that he was taken aback.  But the red faded back into emerald and he gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze before releasing it.  Not without pushing his thoughts into her head, “It’s as I’ve said Hiromi…you don’t have to trust them.  Just trust me.”

It was still asking a lot, her distrust towards anyone who had ascended was almost as strong for his of the vampiric race.  Unlike him she had not had years to ponder over this scenario and the entire situation was still raw.  But he didn’t want this to get any bumpier than it had to, they hadn’t even started yet. 

As they followed he took notice of how her eyes never left The Mother, not even to blink…her eyes needing no moisture to keep them healthy.  He was so accustomed to seeing her put on such a good show of humanity in her courtesan house - Kakusareta Jōnetsu no Ie- that any reminder of what she truly was always made his stomach tighten.  She was tense, this was apparent and now that the child was gone there was no need to hide it, but thankfully she held her tongue.

“All I need to do is step in and give her the antidote…?”   Although he knew it wasn’t as simple as that, he still felt compelled to ask as he moved towards the water.  The catacomb like setting that the girls were in was much cooler than the desert outside, but even with that it was still nice to feel the water soaking through his clothing the deeper he went in. 

His arms kept Holly close to himself, a natural reaction to her going into the water, as if she was able to feel the coldness from it.  He turned his head towards Angela, watching her and Hiromi on the edge as he awaited an answer and any further instruction that there might be.

Angela nodded, "I don't need to warn you to be careful. As strong as she should be… What time has done to her muscles has actually made her quite weak. She will be easy for you to control. It will make her tired though but try to keep her awake. We don't want her back in that dream world yet. From here on out the job is yours. While I can give instructions it comes down to the two of you."

The woman stepped away from the water and nodded to him. "Give her the antidote. I'll make the artifacts after you both are out of the water. Do not leave before I have the chance to do so or else her going with your sister isn't going to have its full effects. Alright?" Holly's body shivered as it entered the water. It was the properties of the water that gave the girl the first sign of life Naota would have seen.

"The water will help but only so much. Her consciousness is still gone. Give her the antidote and try to speak to her. Your voice will bring her out of it. The dream world has a hold on her much stronger than it does you are me."

Holly began to shiver and he looked down at her, lips parting.  He hadn’t expected her body to react and for some reason it made all of his much more real.  She had appeared dead, that was all and he knew that, but seeing her move even though it was so slight…no, it was more than real, it was surreal.  He nodded, listening to her instruction as he pulled the vial from around his neck. 

For nearly forty years it had stayed closed, and he felt oddly naked without it around his neck.  He carefully removed the stopper, keeping her cradled against his chest as he did so and then gently parted her lips with his thumb and tipped the liquid into her mouth.

Once it was all out of the vial he moved it back around his neck: the stopper also replaced into the top.  From here on all he could do was watch and wait.  There was nothing he could do now that the antidote had been passed along and his breath caught short in his chest as he waited and watched her features.  Angela said it would be her body coming back to life, it didn’t take knowledge of magick or this race to know that that would be quite a painful experience. 

For her sake he hoped that it wouldn’t last too long, but just in case there was a risk of thrashing he was sure to keep both arms around her.  She was kept close to his chest, arms around her with enough firmness to keep her steady just in case but gentle enough not to cause her any actual harm once she came back into consciousness.

There was a heartbeat first.

The quiver of her lips seconds.

That first gasp of breath.

The flutter of her eyelids as she tried to come back into the world.

Then there was pain.

She was thrashing about as her body came to life. She was no longer numb as she felt a stinging sensation around her. The water glowed around them as it tried to soothe and heal her pain. It would do nothing more than make her more numb as she kicked the water. Her fingers sprung to life and clenched Naota's wrist.

Naota.

Panic now set in as she screamed. Her scent filled the area like a flower's aroma. She stopped as she opened her eyes and leaned back her head. There was peace as she tried to remember his words. Her throat was dry and her voice had cracked several times. Her arms were so weak as she tried to pull herself up to him but she just couldn't do it. Her eyes were regaining all of its vast silver color. Life. Her skin pulsed a bit as it set about healing itself using the water's healing properties. "Naota…" Her eyes filled with tears. "Naota." Her hand came up and she felt his face and then his hair. "You really came for me."