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Rishi	Rishi sends Ereyo an Infallable Messenger. "Once you have been finishing doing the listening to those journals, we are having something most important to be doing the speaking of. There is being a rocky canyon outside of the town. I will be doing the sending you of the map. Please be doing the meeting of me there, alone, without your guards." "...You may wish to be doing the bringing of your Daiklave."
Amilar Ereyo	It was very unlike Ereyo to not send a messenger back, and yet... Despite the important nature of the meeting, as stated by Rishi, there was no response at all. Still, at the appointed place and time of day, Rishi doesn't have to wait too long: While the sun hides behind clouds, Ereyo makes no attempt at stealth. She approaches the rock formation in plain sight after dismounting from her Stormwind Rider, which continues to twist and collect dust in the distance, outside the canyon. That she hasn't donned her lamellar armor could be interpreted as a hopeful sign, and she has indeed come alone - but she also has brought her daiklave, and her right hand firmely gips the hilt, with the left one hovering near the sheath. A tiny wisp of flame follows her around. No attempt to hide the Virtuous Guardian. When she spots Rishi perched atop one of the rocks, the air Aspect begins to slow down, visibly hesitant. But she continues to approach, albeit more carefully. While she does, she draws her daiklave, moves the shining blue blade in front of her eyes, and then begins angling it, using it as a mirror to survey the area around her.
Rishi	Rishi waves to the other woman and hops down adroitly, motioning her into the canyon where there are places to sit and a spot for a campfire. As they sit, Rishi's pushes her hair back over her shoulder and Ereyo is struck by the fact that it actually looks like hair, not a mass of dark water. "I am being most of the apologizing for being the ominous, but ...there is being something that you are doing the needing to be knowing." Rishi is clearly nervous and hesitant. "I have been ...most deceptive towards you. And...I am being so very very sorry, but ...I am doing the thinking that you can be having the understanding of it now. Whatever you are wishing or needing to be doing after I am doing the telling you....I am accepting."
Amilar Ereyo	Since the blade, now doubling as a mirror, has revealed no spirits lurking nearby, Ereyo sheaths her daiklave... for now. When Rishi comes down to greet her, she realizes through her own sorcerous perception that the Dragon's body is holding together only through willpower and concentration. Should Ereyo let go and unleash the spell she has woven into her Essence, she would cease being a woman and become a flock of birds, at least temporarily. Other than that, the Lookshyan looks both better and worse for wear than Rishi remembers: The dark circles under her eyes have withdrawn, along with the constant slump of exhaustion from lack of sleep. On the other hand, her face is paler than usual. She seems composed, but just as nervous as the other Exalt. Her eyes, stormcloud-grey from the beginning of this encounter, are filled with dread. She nods briefly in acknowledgement at Rishi's words, then replies with a hoarse, tired voice: "Tell me, then."
Rishi	"...I am being the Chosen of the Lady of the Changing Waters in truth...but this thing is also being the lie. For the Lady of the Changing Waters is being but one of the faces that the One who is Many is having. They are being known as The Sun-and-Daughter in the Whitewall, the Swiftest Rider in the Marukan...even, in some places, they are being the Immaculate Daana'd..." "The Many Faced One is having the many cults and the many jobs, but ...there is being the one that all are having the knowing of. And the name that most are also having the knowing." Rishi takes a deep breath and says, as a soft glow of midnight blues and silvers springs up around her, as an empty silver circle appears on her forehead, she says, "Luna. I am being one of the Chosen of the Moon."
Amilar Ereyo	Ereyo takes one look at the Caste Mark, then forces her eyes shut for a moment, attempting to calm her breath. Still, she can't help it - her body reacts to what it perceives as a threat, as a reminder of the pain and terror inflicted upon her by another silver Anathema. The Lookshyan starts to shiver, and her fingers curl up into fists. She takes an involuntary step backwards. But Rishi knows her well enough by now: The Air aspect's reaction would have been more extreme, had she been utterly surprised by this revelation. She must have come to the same conclusion, or at least had strong suspicions, even before this meeting. Just as certainly, Rishi's continued efforts in helping her overcome her fear prevent her from simply unleashing the spell and running away in blind terror, like she did with Makara not too long ago. Instead, she stands her ground, swallowing hard. Her eyes meet the Lunar's, and their hue has shifted again - here is an entirely new color, something Rishi has never seen in Ereyo's eyes before: Crimson. "Of course you are", she snarls, voice cracking under the strain of wildly conflicting emotions. "I studied the recordings. I spent hours listening to the journals, the tales, the detailed accounts of what Lunar's Chosen are capable of... It was quite fascinating." She breaks of, pressing her lips into a thin line. Tears are starting to form in her eyes, but she forces them back. "To think you went to all those lengths... even played at friendship..." She shakes her head while the winds whip through her hair. "Why...?"
Rishi	"...I would be doing the lying if I was telling you that... You are being one of the Dragons of the Lookshy. If you are doing the calling for the Hunting of the Wyld, then it is going to be doing the creating of the ...problems. So, yes, I needed to be doing the watching of you." "But." And she looks into Ereyo's eyes, tears streaming down her face. "I am being, formost and first, above all of the other things, the HEALER, the Protector. Anyone who is having the ...distress you were doing the having, I would be doing the helping of. Anyone." "And...over the time, I have come to be doing the enjoying of your company, of your friendship. And, while I couldn't do the telling you of this until you were being the cured, because you were being too much in the distress for me to be risking your treatment in this way...I could not continue doing the lying to you." Rishi bows her head. "Whatever you are doing the wishing to be doing, I am doing the accepting... as long as it is only being to me. If you are doing the calling of the Hunt, I will do the accepting of being the prey, but I will not be having the others being harmed for this. If you are wishing to be doing the bringing of my head before the superiors you are doing the having, you may be so doing. I will not be doing the fighting."
Amilar Ereyo	Now that she knows about the extend of Rishi's deception, chalking up the tears and the acceptance toward her own death as yet another part of that web of lies must be tempting for Ereyo. ...only Rishi really isn't ~that~ good at hiding her feelings. Her sincerity is plain enough, even for this Air aspect, who never had a particular talent for reading people. So she listens, shaking quietly, as the Lunar explains. But when Rishi bows her head to her, exposing herself to a lethal blow, Ereyo finally cracks. "What are you doing? You can't be serious!" Despite her best efforts to hold back her own tears, a sob forces its way out. Her vision blurs with tears. "I will NOT chop off your head!" The yelled words fracture into echoes, bouncing back and forth between the canyon walls. There's something else, too - the rumbling peal of thunder, distant, yet close, despite the distinct lack of thunderhead clouds in the sky. Her next words come out as a hoarse whisper: "I don't think I can." Ereyo turns away, unable to bear the sight of her friend in acceptance of her death by the Dragon's own hand. Or maybe she doesn't want to let Rishi see how hard she's crying. Either way, she manages to get another question out between sobs: "The others. You said... the others. Makara... he's in on this, too, isn't he? What about... Black Pearl?"
Rishi	Rishi relaxes a touch. As long as Ereyo is not wishing her dead, there is hope. "Pearly and Ammy are both having the knowing of what I am being, but they are both being the Dragons, as you are. Any of the other secrets they are doing the having...that is being theirs to be sharing, not mine." "....Well, no. I can be doing the telling you that I am being one of Pearly's Hearthmates."
Amilar Ereyo	Ereyo swivels around in wide-eyed surprise, allowing Rishi to see her reddened and swollen face. Turns out even the mighty Dragons look messed-up when they are crying. "...excuse me, ~what~?" She forces out a high-pitched, mirthless laugh. At least that last revelation has driven the angry crimson from her eyes; they are back to stormy grey now. "Amethyst told me about her father's death. Was that a lie, too?" She shakes her head, slowly, sluggishly, even more exhausted than before. "How can I believe a single word you say? Hearthmate, indeed! Sworn kinships are sacred bonds between Dragons. You expect me to believe that a ~Lunar~, of all beings could become part of one?"
Rishi	Rishi is calm as she clarifies "I also am not willing to be having the other adherents of the Lady disturbed. They are doing the thinking that I am being the Chosen of the little God and are having nothing to be doing with this. I am only serving with them, to be doing the helping of the people." Rishi continues looking down, as she explains "In the Ancient days, those of my kind did the swearing of the mighty oaths of marriage and fellowship to those who were being Chosen of the Sun. Such ties are doing the ...persisting, forever, across all the reincarnations we are doing the having. I ...have not done the meeting of mine, if I am truly having one." "....Who I did have the meeting of was Pearly and... I was being alone for many of the years, before Ammy and her friend and others who were being here, did the accepting of me as I am, as you are seeing me here. My lonliness was being a raindrop, to the ocean that Pearly was doing the having. I wanted to be doing the helping of her and....we did the becoming close. And, apparently, when the Dragon and the Moon are becoming close enough, the oaths they are each doing the swearing of ...they are becoming the same. We were both being most suprised by this, but it is being most lovely."
Amilar Ereyo	For a time, in the silence after Rishi's words, only the howling of the canyon winds and Ereyo's sobs can be heard. The latter slowly begin to subside as she regains control. "So Makara was right, after all. There IS a connection between the Blood of the Dragons and Lunar's Chosen." Here, she stops, composing herself, then regards Rishi's form, now free of the illusion of flowing water in her hair, and yet still very much the same. "I can see more clearly now, at least." Hurt and rage are still wrestling with each other in her voice, but they are both more subdued now - more akin to a succession of strong gales than to a hurricane. "You are playing to my hunger for knowledge, aren't you? Just like you did when you provided me access to those texts from the bygone age, knowing that my mind would eagerly latch onto it, absorb everything, and want for more." She sounds increasingly bitter with every single word. "But that doesn't change the monstrosity of what you - and Amethyst, and Pearl, among others - did. The lies. I understand your need to protect your false identity, to get close to your enemy..." Here, she has to swallow down a sob again. "Makara tried the same, but at least he didn't go quiet ~that~ far." Should Rishi still keep her head down, she can at least hear the whirring of Ereyo's artifical limb as she coaxes it into a walking motion; the Dragon continues to talk while pacing. "How can I ~ever~ trust anyone again, Rishi? You have mended a part of me, but in doing so, you managed to thoroughly break another. Hurt feelings aside... If the Intelligence Directorate ever gets wind of this, of the extend of my relations towards you, or any of the others... I will loose everything. Thanks to you, I am a traitor to Lookshy. Even a report of your existence to the Wyld Hunt will change nothing. They are going to investigate, ask uncomfortable questions..." She stops pacing and covers her face with both hands.
Rishi	As much as Rishi wants to comfort the Dragon, she knows that any movement would not be accepted well. "...I am being most clever, yes, but... I am being honest. I was doing the giving you of the texts just to be showing you that ...I am being the person, not the monster. That is being all. Well, and I am knowing you are enjoying the learning, so it is being nice to be doing the making of you happy." "You are not doing the betrayal of your home. If you are doing the worrying, then.... you should be doing the taking of me in. I am being sure they are doing the knowing that we are being most tricky, but, once you did the confirming that I was really the Lunar, you did the only thing you could be doing. I am being sure that your intelligence people will be most understanding, given how clever and tricky my disguise was being." One side of Rishi's mouth goes up. "...or, if you are being disgraced, perhaps your mother will stop doing the bothering you for the marriage and the children?" Rishi sobers "I am being most sorry. The joke was being the tastes bad. I...can only be most sorry. You were not deserving of the bad things that did the happening to you. Perhaps I never should have done the telling you of this, but.... You are being most insightful. You would have done the figuring out soon." "I am being most sorry, but....you were doing the needing of my help and I cannot be turning away from those who are doing the needing."
Amilar Ereyo	"Stop. Apologizing. To me." Ereyo's clipped voice, biting off words and spitting them out bit by bit, betray the anger still smoldering inside her. "I ~know~ that you are sorry for what you did. I have ~eyes~." Then, sounding tired again, she adds: "No amount of apologizing is going to undo the past." She sighs heavily. The wind has turned again and carries Ereyo's lightning-scent over to Rishi. "If you are so eager to die, I would rather do it myself. In truth, that would be the most logical course of action in my current position, wouldn't it?" All of a sudden, the Air aspect sounds different, calm and collected, but also utterly devoid of emotion. She looks at Rishi with bleached eyes, irises almost entirely drained of color, white as snow. "Kill you, and everyone else who knew of my involvement with you. Purge every record, burn every body, scatter the ashes. Burrow the evidence so deep that even Lookshy's most skilled rangers won't be able to get so much as a whiff in their bloodhound noses." A long moment passes, and deep, sad purple fills her eyes. Ereyo shudders, twists her mouth in disgust - not at Rishi, although she continues to watch the other Exalt warily, but at herself. "And in doing so, I would continue the endless cycle of hatred. Of Dragons murdering the Chosen of Lunar, and Lunars retaliating against the heirs to the Shogunate. No. I am tired, so tired of this. I have never participated in a Wyld Hunt, and I don't want to... now even less than ever. This, too, is your doing." Her lips curl into the ghost of a smile, one that fades away quickly. "Your apology is noted. I don't know if I can ever forgive you. If I do, it won't be today, or tomorrow. You know, maybe even better than I do, that wounds need time to heal." With that, she turns away from Rishi. It seems that their time here is coming to an end, for better or worse.
Rishi	Rishi nods. "Then, if you are ever wishing to be hearing from me again, you are knowing how to be contacting me. I will not contact you again, until that day comes. My oath upon Luna." She waits until Ereyo leaves before moving once more.
Amilar Ereyo	Ereyo nods, but does not speak again. No goodbyes, no well-wishing now. Maybe she doesn't trust her voice to not break on her. Finally able to let go, her body erupts into a flock of cranes. A great fluttering of wings, and she is gone, riding on the wind, leaving her erstwhile friend far behind.
Rishi	Once Rishi is well sure Ereyo is gone and that none of her birds have gotten lost, she sighs. In firetongue, she murmurs, "Well, that went better than I feared." As she does so she cracks her neck to one side and then the other a couple of times...before her neck breaks and her head falls off, a new head emerging from concealment beneat her false neck. She cracks her real neck, getting the kinks out, before looking down at the false head. "I dislike lying to her further, but, if she had wanted me dead...better that I be dead to her. Happily it wasn't necessary." She tilts her head to the side looking at it. "I suppose I'd best dispose of the evidence." She lifts the gruesome thing up by the hair, her mouth distending open, and just like that it's *CHOMP* gone. A short while after that, some meditation, and her disguise is back in place...and then, she too, is flying back to the city.