Chapter Text
Athira missed her home.
She hadn’t visited The Living Lands in so many years. Sometimes she felt guilty - elvish lifespans were so much greater than that of folk. It seemed wrong not to use that extra time as meaningfully as possible, but by Wael, did the gods keep her busy.
The scenery in her homeland was unparalleled. The teeming wildlife and vibrant colors were more stunning than anything she’d encountered in the other continents. Rumors of the land’s wondrous diversity were what drove her mother to seek it out when she left the desolation of The White That Wends. It was when the woman stopped in Aedyr that she met Athira’s father.
They’d fallen for one another instantly.
He bid goodbye to everything he knew. Then they boarded the ship hand in hand to their happily ever after.
She was still a child when the cipher powers manifested. Her parents had taken her out for a picnic in the mountains outside their home. The place where they’d staked out their spot wasn’t supposed to be dangerous, but nothing was ever entirely safe in The Living Lands. The family enjoyed a hearty meal and were laughing in one another’s company when they were cut off by a low growl.
It was a stelgaer, pushed from its territory by a more aggressive pack. And it was hungry. She knew it was hungry. She felt the acute pangs in her stomach despite having just eaten a meal, and before her father could impose himself between the beast and his family - how did she know he was going to do that? - she imagined a feeling of fullness and pushed the satiety into the creature’s mind. Then for good measure she convinced the animal that they were not there.
Its gaze swept blankly over them as she reached out to her parents’ minds.
Shh! I made it so it can’t see us.
She felt her mother’s chest tighten in utter shock and sensed an apprehensive awe from her father. But both trusted her. They each took hold of one of their daughter’s hands, and they all held their breath as the seconds ticked agonizingly by. And then, slowly, the stelgaer retreated.
They were safe.
Her parents understood when she decided to leave. The Living Lands was the perfect place for them to settle, but Athira clearly suffered from the same wanderlust that they did. Neither her mother or father had ever felt a sense of belonging in their respective homelands, and their daughter was no different. Their goodbyes were full of tears and hope. It simply wasn’t in their blood to find fulfillment without first getting a little lost.