Chapter Text
The train ride to Kurain leaves ample time to find something to say, but by the time he reaches the sweltering, stifling village, his mind is still empty. He’s got nothing.
That’s fine, he thinks. He’s used to winging it. He’s more or less made a career out of it. He’s faced down murderers without a plan. He can deal with his best friend.
He garners strange looks, and he remembers that most of the men live outside the village. He isn’t sure where he was going to find Maya. He’s really hoping she isn’t under some waterfall.
He is on his way to Fey Manor when he hears a voice cry out.
“Mr. Nick!”
Finally, a familiar face. He smiles widely at Pearls.
“Hey, Pearls. How are you doing?”
Pearls’ eyebrows scrunch together. “Fine, but how about you? Is something wrong? Why did you come all the way up here, Mr. Nick?”
“It’s Maya’s birthday,” he says, in a tone far too somber to be associated with birthdays.
“Yes, but…” He can tell he’s only confusing Pearls more. He can see her struggle with the question – why was he here now, when he hadn’t visited for any of her past birthdays?
“Maya is 28 today,” he says, but of course this doesn’t help answer any of Pearls’ unasked questions. She had only been a child, incredibly, unbelievably sheltered. Of course she wouldn’t know the significance of 28. “How has she been, today?”
“Well…” Pearls’ brow seems to somehow furrow even more. “Mystic Maya has been very busy lately. She hasn’t stopped today. She is working even harder. It is as if she has forgotten it is her birthday.”
Not likely, he thinks.
“Maya is 28 today,” he repeats. “Mia died when she was 27.”
Pearls’ hand comes up to cover her mouth, eyes wide as she stares at him. “Oh!” She says. “Then Mystic Maya is now –”
“Older then her older sister.” He remembers his 28th birthday and how, amidst everything, he had to deal with that suffocating knowledge, that every birthday from then on would be one more birthday Mia hadn’t gotten. If he recalls, he had gotten incredibly drunk. Maya had stayed with him all night.
“Where is Maya now, Pearls?” He asked. Pearls sighs.
“Mystic Maya has been everywhere today, even though it’s early. But she should be back at the Manor soon. It’s almost lunch.”
Phoenix nods. “It’s a dark day in hell the day Maya misses lunch.”
Pearls brings him to the Fey Manor and he waits, trying not to remember the last time he was there. Sure enough, in only a few minutes, Maya comes in, looking much the same as the last time he saw her. No sign of what this day must mean, only the way the sweat gleams on her forehead and her slightly dirty robes the only indication that she has spent the whole day running away.
He hadn’t been expecting their usual reunion, and sure enough, rather then a smile and friendly punch on the arm, Maya’s face closes off as soon as she sees him.
Phoenix understands. If Maya had spent the whole day running from the memory of her sister, Phoenix was likely an unwelcome intruder, bringing Mia’s death back into Kurain.
Pearls must sense the tension because she says nervously, “Mr. Nick came up for your birthday, Mystic Maya! Isn’t that great?”
Maya continues to stare at him for a few moments before she sighs. “I should have known,” she says, coming over to sit next to Phoenix and resting her head on his shoulder. “Where’s the rest of your children?”
“I only have one child.”
Maya makes an unconvinced noise. “Legally, maybe.”
“They’re back at home, still. I didn’t want – I mean, it’s not really a celebration, is it?”
Maya smiles at him. It is sad and barely there, but it’s still a smile.
“Plus,” he says, putting his bag on the table. “I brought beer.”
Once the beer is cold and Maya has lunch in her stomach, Maya leads them to Mia’s bedroom. It is mostly empty, since Mia had taken most of her stuff when she had moved out, but the fact remains that it had still been Mia’s room.
“I didn’t want to think about it,” Maya says eventually. “I thought, if I treat it like a normal day maybe I can pretend that it is. Of course you had to show up and ruin that.” She nudges him half-heartedly, and he attempts a smile.
“Do you know what one of the worst parts is? When people ask if I have any siblings. And I mean, it doesn’t happen often, because everyone in Kurain knows, and if I’m not in Kurain I’m with you, but I – sometimes it comes up. From tourists or, or whatever. And I still never know how to answer that. Do I? Do I have any siblings? Do I answer in the present tense? Did Mia stop being my sister that day?” Phoenix takes her hand, but now that Maya has begun to talk about it, she seems unable to stop.
“And I mean, all things concerned Mia was kind of a shit sister. And I always used to pretend that that wasn’t true, because she was dead, you know? But she – I mean, she was a workaholic. That’s all she ever did. And she only ever called me if she needed me to hold evidence. I think the only reason she was so supportive of me being master was so she didn’t have to do it. And I was really angry at her, you know? For all that. But I would never admit it, because she was my sister. And she was dead. She was my sister and she was dead.” Maya takes a deep breath. “I think Mia was always supposed to be a defense attorney, but I’m not sure she was ever ready to be an older sister.” She takes a drink. “And now I’m older then she’ll ever be.”
Phoenix feels an urge to tell Maya that Mia loved her, but he knows that won’t help anything.
Maya smiles at the ceiling. “But I think… I think I’m okay. I think I forgive her.”
“So what do you say?”
“Hmm?”
“When people ask if you have any siblings. What do you say?”
This time, her smile is real. “I tell them I have the best sister in the world.”