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Chapter Text

Sometimes Pirena can't help herself.

Sometimes she looks at Terra and can't help but see Lira.

Sometimes Terra would regale their camp with stories of her time in the mortal world, and suddenly all Pirena can hear are Lira and Mira talking about their time there, how Mira had been fascinated by a magical box with little people inside, something Lira later explained was called a TV and was used for entertainment.

Sometimes, Pirena remembered Lira telling her about her family there, her adoptive mother and father, and on rarer occasions her uncle, whom she didn't like to talk about. Sometimes Mira would talk about Anthony, the heart who had captured her heart, and still, even now, Pirena cherishes those memories. She clings to them to keep herself sane, to give her hope of better times.

(But it won't be the same because they're dead; her daughter and niece are dead.)

Pirena often felt guilt when she'd regain her senses , her memories fading to the back of her head because Terra wasn't Lira or Mira; she was different, unique, as she was Danaya's daughter., she had her own goals and aspirations,

She would often berate herself for feeling like this; the guilt would simmer and eventually boil into a horrible, numbing anger.

(The same anger she felt during the Great War, fighting against her sisters; the same anger that drove her to almost kill the people she loved most, the same anger that had fueled her hate and had almost consumed her.)

It had been getting better; she had gotten to know Terra for who she was, for what she believed in and what she fought for.

But sometimes, when Pirena looked at Terra, she could only see Lira's bright smile and Mira's fierce determination.

And she promised herself that things would be different, that she would be stronger, faster, and that she would come on time.

She promised that this time, the Retres wouldn't take another. Not yet.

Chapter Text

Terra's bones ached.

Their training with her ashti pirena had proven to be brutal work; they would start even before the sun had risen and stop long after it had set.

Even when her master had been training her back in the mortal realm, he had never been this intense; he was strict and demanding at times, but Terra had never once felt this achingly exhausted after they had finished their training for the day.

She wondered briefly if this was how flamara and adamus had been trained growing up, although by the looks on their faces, Terra guessed that even they weren't used to this degree of training.

She almost didn't notice the encantado rushing at her from her left; she barely dodged him before landing a less-than-graceful hit that sent her enemy flying.

She leaned shakily on her staff, trying to calm her racing heart and ragged breathing. She could feel her knees shaking, struggling to keep herself upright.

Gods, what she would do to have a nice long nap or a can of Red Bull or coffee. Oh, how she missed human food sometimes.

A pained yelp pulled her out of her train of thought; Terra's head turned so quickly in the direction of the sound that it was a wonder she didn't snap her neck in the process.

Deia.

Terra's blood ran cold, her vision darkening as she saw Deia bleeding on the ground, the encantado responsible holding his weapon to her throat.

Terra felt every nerve in her body come alive. A surge of power enveloped her, and before she knew it, her hands were no longer hands but paws with razor-sharp claws; she was standing on all fours, skin covered in thick fur, and she felt something from her rear—a tail?

She could barely think, let alone process what had happened to her; all she could see was Deia injured and in danger, so she launched herself at the encantado, swiping a massive paw at his chest.

The man barely got away, sprinting as fast as his legs could carry him. Terra was preparing to chase after him when she let out a horrible roar that seemed to shake the ground beneath her. She wanted to tear him limb from limb with her newfound claws, but a pained whimper stopped her in her tracks.

Now her attention was fully on the Mine-a-ve, who was gazing at her with beautiful half-glazed eyes. Her rage was immediately replaced with concern.

"Terra? Ikaw ba 'yan?" Deia's voice was faint as she moved a shaking, blood-stained hand toward the half-human, now beast. She didn't look scared at all; she only seemed mildly confused. Had she hit her head?

Terra took a tentative step forward as she felt her body shift back to her more human form.

"Deia! Shit! Ang daming dugo." Terra reached the other girl's side, her hands pressing at the wounds. Deia let out a pained sound, which caused Terra to flinch. "Sorry! Sorry!"

She willed her power to heal the wound, but it wasn't strong enough to heal the wound in its entirety.

"Gamitin mo ang iyong brilyante," a voice instructed from behind them.

Pirena stood with Adamus and Flara on each side; they clearly wanted to come closer but hesitated.

Terra lifted her hand, the brilyante appearing in a glow of golden light.

"Brilyante, n-nagmamakaawa ako, tulungan mo akong pagalingin si Deia," Terra whispered, her voice cracking.

The brilyante seemed to glow brighter for a moment, and in the blink of an eye, Deia's wounds seemed to vanish as if they never existed.

"Ayos ka lang ba, Deia?" Adamus asked worriedly.

"Oo, ayos lang ako, salamat kay Terra," Deia assured, shooting Terra a truly dazzling smile that made Terra's stomach do a series of flips and the tension in her muscles loosen.

"Walang anuman, masaya lang ako na ok ka lang," Terra murmured, embarrassed. She instinctively cupped Deia's cheek, "Basta, huwag mo akong takutin ng ganun ulit, hah."

Deia smiled at her sheepishly as Flamara and Adamus stared at them in confusion. Pirena tried (and failed) to hide her amused smile.

Chapter Text

Mitena felt the light tremble of the polished stone beneath her feet and knew almost instantly who had entered her room.

She needn't look up from her work to know that Terra's brow was furrowed in nervous concentration, hands clenching and unclenching constantly.

"Terra, ano ang iyong nais?" Mitena asked. Terra had been coming to her for all manner of things these past few weeks; it had been a perplexing yet welcome distraction from the utter mess of rebuilding Encantadia to its former glory and the consequences of the land's conquest.

"Mitena, please, need ko ang tulong mo, please," Terra pleaded. She sounded like a spoiled child, and the pout on her face didn't help her at all. Mitena should have found it annoying, but instead, she couldn't help but find it excruciatingly endearing.

"At ano naman ang maitutulong ko sa'yo?" Mitena didn't even bother to hide the amusement and curiosity in her voice as she finally looked up at the earth Sang'gre.

Terra seemed to lose the little bit of confidence she had left, a sheepish smile on her lips as she nervously tapped her foot on the floor. "Eh, diba ikaw ang leader ng mga Mine-a-ve?"

"Siyang tunay."

"Ibig sabihin nun ay alam mo yung mga tradisyon nila sa pagliligaw," Terra's voice cracked in embarrassment at the last word.

"Pagligaw?" Mitena wondered.

"Oo, yung ginagawa mo pag gusto mo maging magkaibigan yung isang tao," Terra explained, her face turning a light shade of pink. "Kasi di ko alam kung paano nagda-date yung mga Mine-a-ve eh."

"At nais mo itong malaman dahil kay Deia, tama ba ako?" Mitena smirked as the younger diwata's pink face darkened into a deep red.

"P-paano mo nalaman– d-di mo lang alam ibang taga Mine-a-ve yung gusto ko," Terra denied; she was pouting now, her arms crossed.

"Huwag ka na magsinungaling, aking kaibigan. Hindi naman mahirap makita na may nararamdaman ka para sa kanya," Mitena teased. She had not been lying either; almost everyone who had spent even a minute with those two in the same room could see that they were more than friends.

Terra almost choked on her own breath. "Alam ng iba. Alam ba ni Deia?"

"Kahit si Imaw ay nakikita ang inyong damdamin para sa isa't isa. Masuwerte ka na walang nalalaman si Deia tungkol dito," Mitena said. She could see the tension leaving her friend's body as she slumped onto a plush couch near Mitena's table.

"So? Tutulungan mo ako?" Terra asked hopefully, her hands clasped together as she rested her chin on them.

"At ano naman ang makukuha ko kung tutulungan kita?" Mitena asked.

"Ang aking pagmamahal at pasasalamat?" Terra replied, Mitena only stared at her.

Terra sighed dramatically, "Sige, kung di mo ako tutulungan, edi, di ko na sasabihin sayo ang mga paboritong bulaklak at paneya ni Ashti Pirena."

That got Mitena's attention, although she tried desperately to seem uninterested, and by the wide smile on Terra's face, it wasn't working in the slightest.

Chapter Text

Terra plopped down onto Mitena's overly large bed; it was the softest, most comfortable bed she's ever laid on.

"So, ano plano natin?" she asked.

"Hindi natin kailangan ng plano," Mitena responded smoothly, sitting near the head of the bed with a bowl of fruit resting on her lap.

"Ano? Bakit naman?" Terra reminded.

"Nais ko lamang malaman ang mga paboritong bagay ng Harang ng Hathoria at sapat na iyon upang mapa-ibig ko siya. At sigurado ako na madali mong mapapa-akit si Deia," Mitena stated confidently, her chin raised and posture straightening.

"Wow, ang yabang mo naman. May plano ka ba?" the Earth gem holder inquired.

Mitena smirked. "Magkakaroon ng isang kapistahan ilang araw mula ngayon; nais kong tanungin ko siya kung nais niya akong samahan."

"Talaga? Sa tingin mo kung tatanungin ko si Deia, sasama siya sa akin?" Terra asked bashfully.

"Oo, dahil tutulongan kita," Mitena assured, her lips twisting into a faint smile.

"The best ka talaga, Mitena," Terra squealed, lunging towards the other woman and pulling her into a hug. Mitena let out an undignified yelp as the bowl of fruit almost dropped onto the floor.

-

Deia was nervous; there was going to be an important feast in a couple of days, and she had been planning to ask Terra to go with her. But lately, she had been having doubts about whether Terra would even want to go with her. Terra and Kera Mitena had been spending a lot of time together, more than usual, which was impressive considering the fact that they already spent a considerable amount of their free time together.

Deia was worried that Terra was going to go with Mitena, and she would lose a chance to spend time with Terra or maybe even a chance to confess her feelings.

A hand on her shoulder pulled Deia out of her train of thought.

"Huminahon ka, Deia; magiging maayos ang lahat, basta sundin mo ang tinuro namin sa'yo," Adamus smiled comfortingly.

"Yun nga, kung masusundan mo ito," Flamara quipped. She was standing near the far corner of Deia's bedroom, arms crossed and scowling. Deia still didn't know how Adamus had convinced the Hathorian to help.

"Tama na 'yan, Flamara," Adamus scolded before turning to face Deia. "Natitiyak ako na magagalak si Terra kapag inaya mo siya sa magaganap na kapistahan bukas."

"Pero paano kung tinanong na siya ni Kera Mitena? Lagi silang magkasama, lalo na sa mga nakaraang araw," Deia muttered, her eyes lowered in embarrassment as she clenched her fists tightly on the hem of her sleeves.

Flamara sighed irritably and rolled her eyes. "Huwag ka mag-alala diyan. Kahit na hindi ko ito gusto, tiyak akong ang tanging nais ng huwad na reyna ay ang ayain ang ada ko sa Pista."

"Kaya huwag ka nang kabahan; nandito kami para sa'yo," Adamus smiled, grabbing her hand and squeezing it reassuringly. He leaned forward before speaking in a whisper, "Pati si Flamara, kahit ayaw niyang ito aminin."

"Avisala eshma sa inyong dalawa," Deia said, looking at the other two tagapangalaga.

She really appreciated having such good friends.

-

Mitwna had never felt nervous before; she had felt many emotions over the years: rage, hate, joy, and in the many years she spent imprisoned by Arsus, desperation and helplessness.

She prided herself on not feeling an emotion such as nervousness; such emotions were signs of weakness, and she vowed to never be weak again.

But still, she couldn't help the nervous weight that had seeped into her mind. Before now, it had only been a small flicker, a whisper in the back of her mind, but now it had become loud and constant.

She took a calming breath before moving. Terra had told her that the Hathorian queen was in one of the meeting rooms handling the restorations of Hathoria's forges to their former glory.

Mitena hated to admit it, but she had severely neglected to monitor the quality of work the Hathorian forges produced while under her reign.

Mitena made her way toward the chamber where she knew Pirena resided.

The doors opened, and she paused. There, seated at the head of the large table, was Pirena, brows furrowed, seemingly engrossed in reading the reports from the delegate she had assigned to monitor the progress of the Hathorian smiths and metalworkers.

"Avisala hara, Pirena," Mitena greeted. Pirena started, only now noticing the other woman in the room.

"Mitena? Ano ang iyong ginagawa dito?" Pirena asked, putting the papers down and standing.

Mitena felt her nerves creeping up on her but forced herself to stay calm. "Nais ko lamang malaman kung dadalo ka sa pista bukas."

"Kahit hindi ko gugustuhin, wala akong pagpipilian. Hindi ito magiging mabuti para sa imahe ng kapayapaan na sinusubukan naming ilarawan kung hindi ako dadalo sa isang pista na magsisimbolo ng pag-uugnay at kapayapaan," Pirena sighed. She had moved now to stand face to face with Mitena.

"At tama ba ako sa pag-aakala na sasali ka sa pagsasayaw na magaganap?" Mitena asked, keeping her tone smooth and confident.

"Kung ito ay kinakailangan," Pirena responded, looking at the ice with curiosity. "Bakit mo nais malaman ito?"

'Ito na ang tamang pagkakataon, kailangan ko na tanongin,' Mitena thought and took a deep breath.

But her mind had become frantic, and the words bubbled up in her throat: "Nais ko lamang malaman kung ang pagsayaw ng isang Sang'gre ay kasing husay ng inyong galing sa pakikipaglaban."

"Mahal na Kera?"

"Hara Pirena."

"Nais mo ba akong makasayaw sa pista?" Pirena asked. There was a sort of smug confidence in her voice that Mitena absolutely, definitely did not find attractive at all.

"Sh-shed—"

"Kung ito ang iyong nais, dapat tinanong mo na lang ako," Pirena took a step closer. She grabbed Mitena's hand and raised it to her warm lips. "Magagalak ako kung sasayaw ka kasama ko sa pista bukas."

With that, Pirena moved past Mitena, not sparing a glance as she walked out of the room.

Mitena stood there frozen as she stared at the spot Pirena had stood; her face felt warm.

-

Terra was hyping herself up; this was it, she could do this.

She went to the training area her and the other tagapangalaga usually frequented; this was the time of day when they all usually trained outside of the training ashti pirena put them through.

When she arrived, she found all three of the other tagapangalagas talking with each other.

"Avisala, guys, ano pinag-uusapan niyo?" Terra called out as she walked towards them.

They all seemed to startle at the sound of her voice; Adamus grinned, pushing Deia forward along with Flamara.

"Avisala, Terra," Deia greeted, smiling sheepishly.

"Hi, Deia. Bakit ganun yung dalawang yun, may tinatago ba kayo sakin?" Terra asked playfully.

"Wala!" Deia squeaked out way too quickly, her face turning a light shade of pink. "Terra? Meron akong nais itanong sayo."

"Tagala. Ako rin eh," Terra grinned as she scratched the back of her neck. "Sige, ikaw muna."

"Terra, n-nais mo bang sumama sa akin sa gaganaping pista bukas?" Deia muttered; throughout the sentence, her voice became smaller and smaller until it had been a bit more than a whisper.

"Gusto mo akong sumama sayo, talaga? Syempre gusto ko!" Terra beamed and lifted Deia off the ground, spinning her around.

They were both laughing as Terra placed Deia down. Deia had the most breathtaking smile as she spoke, "Nagagalak ako sa iyong sagol; sa katunayan, medyo kinakabahan ako sa pagtanong sa iyo."

"Sa totoo nga eh, gusto rin kita tanungin nun, pero mukhang naunahan mo ako," Terra explained, clutching Deia's hands between her own.

They were smiling at each other as they talked, as if they were in their own world.

Meanwhile, at the far end of the training area, a scowling Flamara handed a smug Adamus a small pouch of silver.

Chapter Text

"Ashti, pwede muna ba tayo mag-rest? Pagod na talaga ako," Lira complained. Pirena felt a headache coming and she was greatly regretting not killing her.

They had been walking in this barren wasteland of snow for hours ever since Ether had banished them there. Thankfully, her remaining power from her time as the wielder of the fire gem made her time here much more bearable.

Pirena glanced behind her and saw Lira pouting as Kalil walked beside her, the latter much less loud and annoying, which Pirena appreciated. Another reason why Alena was her favorite sister.

"Sheda, tigilan mo ang iyong pag-angal. Kailangan nating makahanap ng lugar kung saan tayo magpapahinga," Pirena said irritably, taking several deep breaths to stay calm.

Lira did not, in fact, stop her whining and continued to chatter and complain the rest of the hours they spent searching for shelter. Gods, Pirena sometimes regretted not killing Lira.

Stupid emotional attachment.

–

Lira found that she hated this place, wherever it was. Everything was cold, and the snow got inside her boots and her hair. She couldn't see what was in the snow and had hit her foot and almost tripped because of stray rocks hidden in the thick snow multiple times, which is a problem that her ashti and half-brother/cousin seem to avoid entirely.

They had found a small cave after many hours of searching, and ashti pirena had conjured a fire which now floated in the middle of their makeshift camp.

Ashti pirena was staring at the mouth of the cave, sword held tightly next to her. Lira was sitting huddled next to Kalil.

"Halil?" Lira whispered.

"Hmm?"

"Parang pagod na si ashti, need niya na mag-rest—este magpahinga," Lira murmured.

"Alam mo naman na hindi magpapahinga si ashti," Kalil sighed.

"Alam ko naman pero may plano ako. Naalala mo ba yung tinuro ko sa iyo?" Lira grinned and whispered her plan to him.

–

Pirena was weary of the newfound quiet in their small cave. Lira had been whispering with Kalil before she quieted. Now she could only hear the gusts of wind and the falling snow.

Lira had never been this quiet. Pirena had thought it impossible for her hadiya to stop her nonsensical ramblings, but now that she had, Pirena couldn't help the unease bubbling in her chest.

Exhaustion had slowly crept up on the fire sang'gre, and despite her best efforts, it had started to cloud her mind. But she could not sleep; she refused to stay unguarded. She could get ambushed by a beast or some encantado who, by the looks of this place, had to be strong to survive. She had to be ready to fight.

(To protect them, to keep them safe.)

She was pulled back into focus by the soft sound of singing. It was soothing and familiar, and it took her only a moment to realize who it was.

"Nais kong liparin ang himpapawid."

Pirena's senses seemed to become dull, and darkness crept at the corners of her eyes, but still she forced herself to stay awake.

And she thought she had succeeded until another voice, much deeper and yet still as soothing, joined the mortal raised diwani.

"Nais kong mahiga sa kandungan ni ina."

Kalil. Pirena internally cursed her second youngest sister as she felt sleep take her moments later.

–

Lira draped her cape around her ashti's shoulder.

"'Tulog ka na, Kalil. Ako na lang magbabantay dito, sige na," Lira said, glancing at her half-brother.

Kalil frowned and spoke in protest, "Sigurado ka ba? Mas sanay ako sa pakikipaglaban."

"Sure na sure, basta kailangan mo magpahinga," Lira reassured. She raised her hand and did a thumbs-up. "Okay?"

Kalil smiled and copied the gesture. "Okay."