and my ears will listen

[truthwright]

Time goes by. Shura's mother lets her cut a cloudpine branch, and she and Helen go flying together.

Helen celebrates her eighth birthday by baking all her favourite people a cake again. And then she goes away with Kas, to Iceland and Russia and back by way of Alaska.

When they fly in, Kas on Petaal's cloudpine and Helen on her own, Helen is wearing blue jeans and a pink T-shirt.

Comments

[alicornucopia]

[Okay.]

[truthwright]

He sighs.

[alicornucopia]

Ranata hugs him again.

[truthwright]

He leans on her.

[carillons]

After she has gone flying with Shura, Helen looks for Inkeri.

[alicornucopia]

Inkeri is on her cloudpine, sitting in the sky among some treetops, watching clouds; Veravia is a crane at the moment, perched beside her.

[carillons]

Helen pulls up next to her and says, "Hi," somewhat uncertainly.

[alicornucopia]

Inkeri looks at her.

"Hi," she says.

[carillons]

That is encouraging. Helen brightens a little.

"Whatcha doing?"

[alicornucopia]

"Thinking about stuff," says Inkeri, shrugging.

[carillons]

"What kind of stuff?" wonders Helen.

[alicornucopia]

"I was thinking about people, especially my dad, but now you're here and I'm thinking about you instead."

[carillons]

"What are you thinking?" she says curiously. She's never bothered asking before.

[alicornucopia]

"Well, you're dressed differently, so I'm thinking about that because it's new and I haven't thought about it before."

[carillons]

"Yeah," says Helen. "Kaydi got mad and Shura got really weirded out and you're not doing either of those. I think I like your way better."

[alicornucopia]

"You aren't brandishing a bloody dagger or reaching for Veravia or trying to knock me off my cloudpine or announcing that you are the bearer of a prophecy about the end of the world," says Inkeri, "or doing anything else that would make that happen."

[carillons]

Helen laughs.

"Those don't sound like fun things to do. Well, maybe the prophecy about the end of the world. I could make one up and tell my spinach and he'd laugh."

[alicornucopia]

"Well, sometimes there are actual prophecies. I don't think I would like it if there were one about the world ending. Because then the world would end."

[carillons]

"Well, yeah," says Helen. "I like the world. Maybe if I make up a joke prophecy I'll make it so there's a way to save the world in it. Just in case."

[alicornucopia]

"Like, The Shade-Dreamer will return on the eve of the sixty-sixth year of her vanishment, and call on the magics of all the worlds," says Inkeri, closing her eyes. "Then I would be much less worried, wouldn't you?"

[carillons]

"Yeah," says Helen. "Yeah, I would. That sounded very prophecyish, do you read a lot of prophecies or something?"

[alicornucopia]

"...No," says Inkeri, "not really, they're very uncommon."

[carillons]

"I'm not sure I've even ever heard one before," she says. "But that sounds like what I think one would sound like if I did."

[alicornucopia]

"They can only be made by people with a certain birth blessing and not all of those," says Inkeri thoughtfully.

[carillons]

"...do you have that one?"