Starsong

Scene 18

{--} Piya {--}

          "...Do you know anything about your mom?"

          "Huh?" Piya asked, tilting her head. "No, I never met her!"

          Heros nodded, still strange and floaty, thoughts swirling around inside his head. "Right. Nevermind, it's just-- I saw her. She was what you were-- a beastfolk. But she didn't look anything like you, come to think of it. Her hair was dark, her face was completely different... Only her eyes looked like you-- she was so... Happy to see me. But still, I've never seen a beastfolk before you. I think I was just confused." He laughed, clarity returning to his eyes now.

          Piya grinned, bouncing at the thought-- another beastfolk! That's why her presence was so familiar! Piya still wasn't too sure of anything that had happened or who she was-- was she a ghost? Why had she made that whole underground library? Would they be able to go back? Because Piya hadn't seen her language since she left the desert-- it would be nice to read it again.

          Tok took in a sharp breath as he stumbled against a root, and Heros pulled him back up.

          "Hey." He said to Tok as Piya watched on curiously, his voice strange and gentle, "It's okay. You... Didn't..."

          Tok looked away, but Piya could see him swallowing.

          "...You didn't know." Heros finished. "I didn't know. I mean, I'm the one who--"

          "Don't!" Tok suddenly choked out, his voice high with panic as his eyes flicked around.

          "What's wrong?" Piya asked, "What didn't you know?"

          Heros sighed as Tok looked away, looking rather guilty himself. "It's nothing, Piya. We just need to keep an eye out for those hunters until we can get home."

          Piya frowned, dissatisfied, "But something happened! Are you hurt? Is Tok hurt?"

          "Nobody's hurt." Tok said softly, still not looking at her.

          "But--"

          "We'll have to walk upstream!" Heros called to the group, cutting her off. "We came down here using the boat, but it won't be useful against the current."

          Piya frowned as the boys kept walking, about to reach out and ask another question before Aro left his mother and bounded up next to her.

          "That was incredible!" He grinned at her, eyes shining, seemingly the only one who shared her enthusiasm. "I mean, you could read those books and the sand stopped and-- can I try playing that? Just for a little?"

          Piya grinned, reaching behind her to where the flute had reappeared like always.

          "No." Ren's voice was sharp as she reached out and firmly stilled Piya's hand. "Don't you touch that thing, Piya. I am not letting you drag these children into anything else."

            "Aro." Lilith called, gentler than Ren but still firm, "Nobody is going to use that flute. We're just trying to get home."

            Aro frowned, but deflated as he thought it over. Seeing his defeat, Piya slowly pulled her hand away from the flute. Ren gave a deep, heavy sigh, and Piya felt an unfamiliar kind of guilt. Ren had been at the end of her patience with her before-- Piya thought she had a very short patience-- but it felt different now.

          "...Okay."

          It was dark by the time they got back to the house, and Lilith pulled both her sons into the other room to talk to them. Leaving Tok and Piya alone in the living room with Ren.

          "What were you thinking?" Ren hissed, her ruby-red eyes flashing furiously, mostly locked on Piya. "These people take us into their home, and as soon as I leave you alone for five minutes, you do something stupid with that flute and lead them into a death trap! What if those boys had died?! What if you had died?! In case you've forgotten, we're not adventuring! We're trying to get you both somewhere safe! I didn't sign up to clean up your recklessness!"

          "But he wanted to see--" Piya protested, stepping forward.

          "No! You still chose to go out there with them! To bring the flute and use it! And don't you say it wasn't your idea, I know just how much you wanted to find out about that stupid flute!"

          Piya recoiled slightly, tears stinging at her eyes. Tok was curled in on himself, his lanky frame trembling.

          Ren pinched the bridge of her nose, not even able to look at Piya, "Kid. You can't keep doing this. We have two weeks. We just need to pray you didn't attract any more attention than those hunters. I don't even know how you managed to let them find you today. But this will not happen again. Do you understand?"

          Piya looked up at her and swallowed. Nobody had gotten hurt. She'd known what she was doing.

          Nobody would think Piya Nightclaw a good liar— bright and happy and bouncy. What could she possibly hide?

          But she looked down, her ears and shoulders drooping in guilty defeat, deftly hiding the anger and defiance on her face.

          "I understand."