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

[subastra]

When Nicoa does settle, Shura's almost thirteen. Her trip to the Waste is scheduled for the next day.

[carillons]

Nicoa is little and poofy!

Kalavar turns into a chinchilla and gives him little poofy snuggles. Helen hugs Shura.

"Good luck."

[subastra]

Poof.

"Thanks," says Shura.

She gets white silks, for the walk across the Waste.

She is back a day later, unseparated, Nicoa huddled in her arms, to rest for a few days before trying again.

[carillons]

And Helen hugs her again, careful of Nicoa.

[subastra]

"It's really hard," Shura mumbles.

"What happens if we don't," Nicoa says, "what actually happens, why don't we know any witches who just never did?"

[carillons]

"I - I don't know," says Helen. "We can ask somebody. Is there somebody we can ask? Somebody old, who's known a lot of witches? Would that help, asking somebody?"

[subastra]

"Nnnnno probably not," sighs Shura, "they'd just - tell us, I guess, and whatever the answer is it can't be good if we've never heard of anyone who did it."

[carillons]

"Okay," says Helen, hugging her some more.

[subastra]

Hugs are good.

"At least I like my form," says Nicoa optimistically.

[carillons]

"It's cute," says Kalavar. "Want to snuggle?"

[subastra]

Nicoa bobs his head in a ptarmigany nod.

[carillons]

Kalavar turns into a long-haired cat and snuggles up fluffily.

[subastra]

Shura's second try, the following week, succeeds.

Shura gets home first. Nicoa is apparently flying back on his own.

[carillons]

...Is it time for Helen to hug her some more? Helen thinks it is probably that time.

[subastra]

It is definitely that time.

[carillons]

Hug hug hug hug hug.

[subastra]

Shura is quiet, but very huggable.

[carillons]

Helen is also quiet. And very huggy.

[subastra]

Nicoa doesn't fly as fast as a cloudpine, but he is seen on clan grounds a bit later. He lands in a tree within eyeshot of Shura, but doesn't come closer.

[carillons]

"What happened?" murmurs Kalavar. She's sitting with Helen and Shura, curled up next to Helen as a black dragon with silver-edged scales, but her voice reaches Nicoa and only Nicoa.

[subastra]

Nicoa picks up one foot, then the other. "We went to the edge. And she put me down. And she walked away. And I tried to follow her but I couldn't go, and I screamed at her to come back when it hurt too much and she didn't. And then it didn't hurt anymore and she left. And I left too after a while."

[carillons]

"That's sad," says Kalavar. "I want to snuggle you."

[subastra]

"She didn't come. I called her and I know she heard me and she didn't come back. They would have let us try again and she didn't come back."

[carillons]

"That's really sad," says Kalavar. "Will you come where I can reach so I can snuggle you?"

She goes to the very edge of her comfort zone with Helen, and turns into a viscacha. They are one of the snuggliest things.

[subastra]

Nicoa hesitates, but flutters down for snuggles.