ARiverRunsThroughIt

The servant led Zero, Vors, Keys and those accompanying them out of one of the side doors of the palace. The night sky was full of stars, so many stars, casting a frosty illumination over the landscape. The soft warm lights of the palace were like the light of a sunset behind them, allowing the group to cast shadows that merged into the deeper darkness.

The servant, however, produced a light from somewhere, something like a lamp, casting a soft bluish light. It was that light that gave illumination enough for all to follow along a series of paths that eventually led to the gurgling of water, and the small river, the stream. A bridge of wood crossed it, a light on this bridge similar to the one the servant carried. Just upstream of the bridge, the waters were full of rocks, flowing over them with eagerness. Those waters turned somewhat more placid on the downstream side of the bridge, as the stream widened, and the rocks were submerged.

It was beautiful. The heavy sky of stars nearly gave it all the feel of a dream. Zero smiled.

Keys followed the others, slightly lagging behind. Her gaze darted around as if she didn't trust the locale.

"Sadly, the only waterfalls within the Imperial Grounds are artificial, and near the temple to Daan'a" the servant said with an apologetic tone. "This stream is entirely natural."

Renny, conveniently already in bare feet from dinner, picked her way across a few of the rocks near the shore, upstream of the bridge, and let the water run over her feet. Even if the trappings were a bit different, streams like this had always been a part of her life. Slippery as it was, it felt like safe ground in a foreign world.

At some point, a couple of additional servants had come up behind the group, bearing baskets that contained primarily towels. These were set down as they stood by, placidly.

Zero woke up the suit comp as she shucked the Imperial robe and folded it carefully on a pile of nearby towels. Zero decided that in the poor light, it was less likely her new friends would be disturbed by the decant sequence of the scout suit. She sat down near the stream.

~Decant.~ The suit softly purred and split and folded and stretched and pulled interior probes and settled just beneath her. After the wet probes retracted, the suit went quiet. She kept her eyes on the stream, avoiding any reaction the group might have to the tiny amounts of contact gel dripping from her shoulders.

Zero slid her feet into the water. Exquisite.

Keys stared at Zero as her suit peeled off her. She moved slowly over, examined the disrobed suit with large eyes, not touching it. Slowly she crouched down next to it, sniffing. "Is it alive?" she asked wonderingly. "Is it a Modron? Is it magic?"

"Yes." Zero slowly nodded to Keys. She juggled most of the explanations that came her. It was magic; Lorinne had said the suit could only be working because it 'bonded' with her. It was a Modron, a word that exegesis did not try to change but came with an undercurrent of mechanical living beings. The suit should not be alive, but Zero was no longer sure what that meant in an Infinite context. Bonded to her? Zero shivered. Did Lorinne mean the suit was a living nano but her slave?

She swallowed the shock of that possibility. She curled her toes in the slimy stream bank. Zero said carefully, not wanting to give in to anger or despair, "I don't think I know the answer, Keys. From my world, my expertise, it would be easy to answer you. Here?" She looked down at the water reflection of the dream space sky. "I feel a bit lost."

Then she carefully leaned in, gathered water in her joined palms, and splashed it in her face. Zero laughed.

Vors did not join the others in the water. Instead he leaned against one of the posts of the wooden bridge, his gaze alternated between the swimmers, and studying the night sky above them.

Keys followed Zero over to the water's edge. She slowly sat down on a nearby rock, carefully lowered her large blue lizard feet into the water. "Ohhhh.... that feels nice," she said, seemingly relaxing in an instant. "Not too cold."

Mukyu had enjoyed the walk and the comparative silence. Seeing the constellations from within atmosphere was always distracting. She made the effort to refocus on here and now by speaking with Davonae quietly as they lagged behind the others.

​The quiet talked was occasionally marred by the soft sounds of Davonae's laugh. Whatever the conversation, she appeared to be quite enjoying it.​

When they arrived at the water's edge the pilot watched with some wonder at Zero's suit and contemplated the idea of a living suit. A moment of suspicion crossed her mind. The Imperial dossier had suggested that the Scourge biosuits were grown, living entities. She shook her head to clear the connection from it. The Imperials would never have allowed Dwimmerlaik servitors within the Gossamer, let alone the Imperial Precinct.

Mukyu kicked off her zori and laid her blade beside them. She then undid the belt, rolling it about the holster that it wouldn't impede a quick draw, setting it atop the zori. She slipped the black robe from her shoulders and then stepped out of the white underrobe. She stood naked at the bank, waiting for Davonae to join her, idly fingering the chain about her neck.

​Davonae showed no signs of modesty as she slipped her robes off and folded them into a neat pile on a dry patch of land. She looked towards Mukyu, eyes narrowing at the sight of necklace but said nothing. She made her way into the water, and felt her entire body instantly relax.

Zero splashed herself several times with growing vigor and then waded into the deeper slope of the stream exploring. Delighted to find the bottom fell rapidly away, she dove down, pushed off the pebble and sand floor of the stream and blew back up to the surface. Zero threw back her cropped hair and circled her arms. She spun in place and opened her mouth to call the others out to the deeper center but that thought ended and her mouth hung open. The chain about Mukyu's neck drew her whole attention.

Keys, oblivious to Zero's attention, pulled her leather satchel off from around her neck and placed it behind her on a dry rock. Then she started to remove the leather straps of her knife sheath from around her right thigh.

Renny noted where Mukyu was leaving her weapon, and decided leaving hers on the opposite bank would at least make it harder for someone to capture all their stuff at once. She gracefully moved across the stream to what seemed like a good position. She started to take off her weapons, when she registered Zero's reaction to Mukyu's chain. Not knowing what was going on but realizing something was, she froze, unwilling to disarm herself in the sudden uncertainty.

It was the abruptness of the others' ceasing motion that drew Mukyu's attention to first Renny and then Zero. She considered that the scout was just appraising the similarities or, more likely the differences. She couldn't remember the last time someone had made her feel naked like this. She grasped the ring hanging from the chain a little tighter, a small scowl forming on her lips. "Problem?" the Lieutenant asked no one in particular.

"Zero?" Vors looked alert. "What concerns you?" His body language went tense. His eyes turned and studied Mukyu carefully.

~Dammit~ Zero used a quick breath koan to shake off the mild focus attack. She closed her mouth and eased awareness back to the joy of the water, the sky, and friends. But she didn't know the right way to apologize for the stance, so she slowly swam back towards shore. Zero said, "Your ring? Is it stone like mine? Did you get it from your grandmother? That's where mine came from." The undercurrent of wariness had vanished to be replaced by excitement in her voice.

Relieved, Renny took advantage of the distraction created by Zero to slip out of her kimono and into the water.

"My ring?" Mukyu asked curiously. She lifted it from her bare chest, but in the enening's starlight it was still dim and hidden. Her voice contracted even as she fought to control it. "The Commodore said it was found in my hand when they recovered me over a decade ago."

"You have one?" the Lieutenant asked, "From family?" The latter word seemed an amalgam of something like hope and suspicion.

Renny quietly moved closer to Mukyu, lending, she hoped, some silent support.

Davonae looked back and forth between the tow women, her mouth hanging open. This was interesting.

Zero gained a hand purchase on the stream bed and pulled to a spot with enough river stone to work as a seat against the current. She swung her legs out to stream center and turned her shoulders toward Mukyu. Her hands brought the neck nanocord up with the white ring. The wet jade sparkled from the stars overhead. "Yes, from family. My mother's side, another branch of Tolerance. The clan was world-wide with twenty-three distinct lines of descent." Zero licked her lips. "So many things that resonate between us. It is beyond mathematical. We belong to something bigger." Zero hesitated, "It is like finding out I have a sister after all." And then her eyes moved to Keys, Renny, Davonae, and Vors before returning to Mukyu. "Family. All of us tied together, even as the Imperials have suggested."

Mukyu opened her hand, exposing the red stone ring fully. She nodded to Zero's suggestion of resonances and it being beyond the pilot's capability to calculate probability.

Zero stared at the color in Mukyu's palm, amazed.

The profound moment was shattered by a peal of laughter from Keys. "You're clueless!" she gasped as she guffawed. "All of you! You think we're all 'mystically tied together'? HAH!" Keys retied the straps on her leg. "I will bet you gold that one of you was planted by the Imperials," Keys announced. "Born from the same womb, and they know it." She looked up at Zero, then at Mukyu. "They knew where to find you. They brought you there. They know you're sisters. They just haven't told you yet."

Renny gaped at Keys. "You believe that the Imperials took infant sisters they knew would grow up to be useful, and instead of raising them in a carefully controlled setting where they could be shaped and trained, dumped them into worlds at war and hoped they'd survive long enough to be of use when needed?"

Zero mastered the flash of anger and reaction to Keys boldness. She took that same emotional energy and splashed at Keys with the flat of her palm, sending a small sheet of water towards her face. "Indeed! And Davonae is an Imperial hero monitoring us. And Renny is the daughter of the Empress, who was deliberately given amnesia to better fit in with this 'special mission' team. And you, Keys, were descended from the illicit union of sister Dragons and hidden by the Lady of Pain to settle a long debt against the Dwims."

Vors broke his serious look and smiled. "You failed to account for me, Tolerance Zero," he said with a tone of mild amusement.

Mukyu's sense of fear and dread passed as she considered the role that storytelling must have in Zero and Vor's culture. To draw those disparate threads together so quickly seemed impressive. She chuckled softly as she willed her body to relax, letting the ring fall back against her chest. The pilot sat down at the bank and made a first tentative test of the water.

It took effort, but Zero summoned her own thin laugh. "I understand Keys. My Council sent me here based on cynical truths also. I cannot fault you for holding to your culture and take no insult against my family." But Zero looked an apology at the others for making light of the mystery with their names. She was actually grateful for the interjection of doubt. The prospect of a True family again raised goosebumps on her arms.

Keys startled at Zero's reaction. She shook her head to shake off the water. "Look... sorry to pain," she said, looking away and down into the water, "but... don't assume the Imperials are united. Drek happens. Seen enough power struggles in Factions to know that. They want us to think they're all lawful and good and together, but this ain't Arcadia or the Celestial Court. There's always agendas and struggles happening where you can't see them. Who knows why you're where you were. But you were, and you should worry about why that might be."

Zero nodded at this.

Davonae shook her head. "Of course there are agendas. And of course, they knew where some of use were. And of course, it is possible that someone took great pains to plant three rings on the the three of us." She sighed and nodded. "I have one too. Mine's blue. I don't wear it. It's on a ribbon attached to my stuffed lion. I thought it was a decoration that came with the lion. But now I'm thinking it's probably not. I mean not unless you two just lost your lions." She grinned. "That would be sad."

Mukyu laughed aloud at the last. "Of course you have a ring! But I've never had a lion. It does seem sad."

Zero nodded, then reversed and shook her head, 'no'. "I don't recall a wild cat toy, either."

"The Imperials are not united." Vors said "They are unified but not united. A singular cult of personality Empress of mysterious power and ability, heading a number of Houses whose affection and rivalry for each other is obvious. Its a possible meta-stable situation, made more so by their recent events, and our arrival. The perturbations will be difficult to calculate, as we are dynamic agents in that regard."

"I cannot, however, account for the rings." he added.

Zero reached down into the water suddenly and splashed her face again and wiped at her eyes and wet hair. "Yeah, it's all difficult to calculate." She winked at Vors and her smile came back at half force.

Mukyu slipped into the stream, shivering at the sudden coolness on her skin. "So our first proposed course of action is to boycott that already incalculable situation and band together?" the pilot observed.

"Has the conspiracy already anticipated such a reaction?" Mukyu wondered aloud before submerging herself. When she broke the surface again, she was closer to Zero and the white stone ring.

Keys gave Davonae, Mukyu and Zero a sour look, shook her head. Then looked to Renny. "You got a ring, too? And are you keeping those bottles for yourself?" she asked.

"Alcohol is leveling." Vors said. "It would be unfair not to share the bottles, Zero."

Zero shrugged at Renny at the comments of Vors and Keys. Yes. Probably. And certainly Keys' question was a good one, as was Mukyu's.

Renny gazed at Zero and Keys. "I've got no ring, and my upbringing is in no way mysterious."

All questions were equal in strength, or that seemed to be Keys' point. Who knew why they were all scattered within the Stair? The Empress? While unlikely and operatic, it was certainly possible. The reaction anticipated? Well, a strategy of banding together with the weakest, uninformed elements of the band wasn't a top echelon decision in the tree.

Zero looked directly into Mukyu's eyes and lifted the white jade ring up in her palm, half presenting it to the Other with her face. The ring was plain on the outside, but had hard to read characters engraved within the band. "We could do worse than to have Keys negotiate for us all as spokesperson. She seems to know more about the Stair than we do."

Mukyu dove into the depths of Zero's eyes, the ring somehow forgotten at this close a distance. A multitude of worlds. Gossamer Realms. What if the Scout isn't long lost family but truly Mukyu herself. Didn't the string theory physicist discuss parallel universe theory? Of course the universes diverged long before they were ever born, so they just couldn't be the same.

Keys expression turned from sour to slightly panicked. "Um... where's that bottle?"

With a grin, Renny pulled both bottles out of the water where she'd been holding them. She tossed one of the bottles to Keys, pulled the stopper from the other, took a goodly swig, and passed the bottle to Mukyu.

Keys caught the bottle easily, pulled the stopper and took a long swig.

Mukyu had been been drowning in not the stream, but Zero's eyes. It was the arrival of wine that drew her safely to the shores and broke her contemplation of her blonde reflection. She shifted her attention to the ring and it's detail, trying to decipher the engraving even as she offered her own ring a mirror image of Zero's. The ring's profile showed red jade carved to depict a dragon eating it's own tail.

Zero spent a full minute in curious examination of the dragon's details. Yet once she looked up, she realized there was something in the air between she in Mukyu. Just as Mukyu switched her attention away to the wine, Zero felt the elastic weight shift and things went back to normal.

Renny considered a moment, then glanced back at Keys. "No offense, but I'm not sure I'd prefer you as our lead negotiator. But I definitely would love to have you handy to remind us of all the possible downsides we're not seeing."

"Perfect," Mukyu chuckled. "A redundancy routine against those of us too naive or trusting of the Imperials." She decided that Vor's suggested 'leveling' was exactly what she needed and tossed back a measure of the wine.

"That would be me," Davonae laughed as she floated on the water. "Too trusting and too naive." She righted herself and swam towards Mukyu, reaching for the bottle as she closed the distance. "I own that. No shame in it really. I grew up in a lovely island paradise while the rest of you went to the underworlds and back. My job, undoubtedly, is to be the optimist, and the nice one." She took a large swig of the drink. "The first will be easy, the second... well, we shall see."

Zero nodded.

"It would be a category error to assume that, growing up in an island paradise, that you are soft." Vors said. He remained at his position at the bridge, watching the proceedings. "I would imagine the social politics of a utopia are no less complicated than any other world. You are human, or descended of the dragons, like the rest of us. Cultural constructs can only go so far in defiance of human nature. This is also something to be applied to the cultural context in which we now sit. Even with a putatively benevolent Empress, it would be a mistake not to negotiate as vigorously as possible."

Zero tilted her head to the side and considered Vors. Typical that he considered several steps ahead in their situation, but she was surprised and delighted he also advocated open strategy with the others here. "Agreed," she added for the benefit of the group.

"In fact," Zero went on, "it seems to me we might do better in a provisional Clan of our own, with the Empress contributing volunteer staff who might become permanent adjuncts to us. The Houses would find it pretty odd, I'm sure, however, asking us to swear loyalty before we are even trained in the mystic meanings of this new Infinity? Bad plan."

Zero lifted a hand and touched her head with a finger and flicked it away, "We'd be dizzy to agree to such an arrangement. Swallowed into a system that equates power with doing things the same way they did them a hundred years ago. A waste, I can tell you as someone whose culture already learned the lesson of our overconfidence in tradition and mastery of all science."

"If we're being suspicious," Renny said, "would we do better to find our own staff?" Zero flipped her locks back over her ears to begin an answer, but never got the chance.

Keys belched loudly. Then cleared her throat. "Don't be so fast to give the families the laugh," she said, holding the bottle on the rock between her knees. "You want to know the dark of them. Their... secrets," she added. "You want to know what they want. And what jink they'll give in return. Um... coin. They're like the Factions of Sigil." She took another swig of the drink. "There are 15 Factions. They rule the city except for the Lady. She's the ruler, but she lets them do what they want as long as they don't cross her. Now... Factions are always on the look out for Planewalkers. What these berks call Wardens. All the Factions want as many Planewalkers as they can get. They get more believers, and more power then. And if you join a Faction, they give you power. Sometimes real power. Like the Dusters... they can talk and work with the undead without getting their souls sliced up. And the Signers... They're immune to illusions. Each offers power, and protection. And wealth. But you have to be one of them, and you need to know what that being means. To be a Duster, you have to want to be dead. It's depressing." Keys took another swig. "And the Signers can't worship any god except themselves."

"Point is... I've been playing the Factions off each other for years. Slowly earning favors until comes a time I want to join a Faction." Keys snorted then. "Figures that the day I start talking to a Faction about joining is the day I get this job."

"Don't close the door to joining a family. They all have power, and can use that against you if you close the door. But you don't have to step through the door right away either. Or ever. Play... nice. Do favors, and get favors in return. But find out what the cost and the jink is for joining a family. Good to know, even if you never do."

Zero found that all damn good advice. It was surprisingly clear, even when Keys' words were new ones. Exegesis might be an acquired brain skill.

Davonae shrugged. "I was sorta planning on consulting with the dragon. I don't particular want to aggravate it as I would not like to be on the receiving end of it's power."

Mukyu smiled at the Peleps, because she had to be Peleps, didn't she? "And I was sorta thinking that if we have to create our own Clan," she turned back to Keys with an agreeable nod, "Assuming the jink isn't just too good to pass up when the Families do come calling that is..."

"I was assuming that the only proven and accepted scion of a Noble line in our little conspiracy would have to be the head of this new household for us to hold any semblance of respectability in this hidebound society." Again her gaze focused on Davonae.

Without intending to, Zero gave Davonae the same interested look.

"But she also brings up a good point, of unknown influences, of magic and sorcery and spirits and Dragons." Mukyu blew a flirty kiss toward Vors. "Calculate that, my good calculator."

"There are too many unknown variables." Vors replied to Mukyu dryly "to calculate with any personal tolerable accuracy. I will point out something that perhaps has not been considered, or discussed to this point."

"The information we have received, and I have picked up on." Vors continues. "Suggests a timeline that following the loss of a large number of Wardens and Dragon blooded, the Empress set the Houses, which, as Keys says, are factions and factional, to find all of us."

"What relationship, beyond the fact that she is a Warden and Chosen of the Dragons, does she have with the Five Dragons? Which Element is hers? And is this project truly hers, theirs, or some combination of the two? My own...contact with the Dragon, Mela, did not provide answers to these questions."

"Your proposal to speak to the dragon." Vors said to Davonae "interests me."

"As far as information management, a staff of our own would be valuable," Vors said to Renny. "And answers to questions put to a Dragon, would allow for more reliable calculations," Vors finished for Mukyu.

Zero nodded slowly, thinking of something her father had once said that echoed Keys and Vors, 'Don't close a door unless you know you have the key'. Zero sighed, "It will not be easy to sleep tonight."

Renny borrowed the bottle back from Keys, took a deep swig, then returned it to her. She cleared her throat, then without further preamble launched into song.

[Renny sings: This text is based on a Newfoundland shanty version of Child Ballad #112 "The Baffled Knight" / "The Shepard Lad" called "The Foolish Shepherd", collected in 1960. I have done my best to de-shanty it, as that almost certainly happened after Renny's time, and reworded it a tiny bit.]

It's of a handsome shepherd
A flock of sheep did keep,
One day he wandered on the hill
All looking for a sheep.

Renny sang through the Exegesis, spinning out proper meter and rhyme in a tongue that was not her own. It clearly took her a good bit of concentration to do so, but the song came out steady and clear.

He looked east, he looked west,
Then had another look;
'Twas there he spied a fair pretty maid
All bathing in the brook.

"You leave my satchel on the shore,
You leave my clothes alone,
And when I come out of the brook
You can take me as your own."

They marched along together
Till they came to a pook of hay.
"Isn't this a very nice place
For boys and girls to play?"

"Oh, you come to my papa's house,
You'll get a bed of down,
For the dew has fallen on the ground
And I'll spoil my nice silk gown."

They marched along together
Till they came to her father's house.
"Now I'm a girl inside the gate
And you're a fool without."

He took a knife all from his sheath,
He rubbed it on his sleeve.
"The curse of God on any girl
That makes a fool of me!"

She took the scissors from her side,
And she stabbed them in the ground.
"The curse of God on any man
Who's afraid to spoil a gown!"

"My papa has a rooster
Who lives among the hens,
He seldom crows and never struts,
And I think you're one of them!"

Renny spoke the last four words, breaking out of the singing in time honored fashion. She grinned, delighted that she had pulled the on-the-fly translation off reasonably successfully.

Mukyu laughed loudly, appreciating the artistry as much as the song's motto. The pilot offered a gentle clap, happy that the Captain had lightened the mood. Zero smiled staring at Renny and clapped vigorously. A warrior bard? She glanced at Keys to see her reaction. Two of them? Very interesting. Vors gave a polite clap, a nod to Renny in appreciation.

The Lieutenant handed the wine bottle to Davonae, and without hesitation dove beneath the surface, making a play for Zero's legs, attempting to unbalance her doppelganger.

Keys gave Renny a dubious look, then shrugged and took another swig of her drink.

Zero saw Mukyu splash into the stream and started to ask Keys a question, but when her ankle was firmly grabbed and tugged, she learned the stream smoothed pebbles below her arse were not enough friction to keep her place. With a squeaky whoop, she slid off the curvy bed and into the deeper, faster current. Zero crashed her arms out to grab something, but went under despite.

Davonae took a swig from the bottle then shook her head as the antics played out. "I am not here to play the guarder of life, you know. I've done that way too many times over the years. People splashing about who have no swimming ability... Never ends well." She was smiling broadly as she finished speaking and took another drink.

Keys watched as the women play in the water. She then capped the bottle she held, offered it to Vors silently.

"Perhaps" Vors said dryly. "If you do not wish to play the guarder of life, then perhaps my sobriety is required." He did take the bottle and held it in his hand, contemplating it for a long moment. "My thoughts extend not only to us, but to the remainder of the Lost Eggs. There appeared to be potential links between a number of them as well. Although perhaps not as strong or as striking, as the rings."

Keys shrugged at Vors' words. Then she yanked the whip disguised as her belt off and whipped it out, then out and around Zero's wrist when it flailed out of the water.

Keys river stance was solid and she acted as the pivot of the two women under the stream's influence. Zero felt the Lieutenant's hand firmly gripping her ankle still and did not resent that she'd been caught off-guard and dunked. The line wound hard about her wrist surprised her more as it stung and set in place. In the current, Zero could still feel the turn, and knew up from down. As expected, she and Mukyu fast found the pivot action bump them back into the pebbled shallows, where Zero grabbed one handful of ground and pushed her head above the fast water. Zero even pulled her legs half into shore to make certain Mukyu knew they were within reach of a handhold.

Mukyu enjoyed the medium despite it not being her element. It was the closest she was likely to find in this world to her zero-gee. She rolled with the movement and kept her hold on Zero but loosely.

Zero hooted and spit water. "Not bad, dragon lady!" She eyed the whip length back to Keys. Zero shoved herself more firmly onto the slick shore. Once secure, she stuck her free hand into the water in Mukyu's direction. Mukyu chuckled as she broke the surface again and accepted the offered purchase, her hand clasping Zero's wrist.

Renny took advantage of the distraction to splash Davonae, pushing off the bottom of the stream to clear her arms enough above the surface to move a lot of water. She grinned a challenge at the islander.

Vors watched the five women. Keys, Davonae, Mukyu, Renny and of course Zero. Their light play, fueled by alcohol, the heady arrival in the empire, the temperate night. He was a Mentat, he dealt with things he could calculate. Facts and figures. Numbers. Probabilities. Assessments.

He was, for all that, though, also human.

And so he watched, and for a moment, put aside the calculations, and simply took in the scene.

Zero pulled Mukyu in close to share the river bed stability. Both of them totally soaked, seemed more alike and yet obviously different too. Mukyu seemed comfortable in the waters. Zero laughed a bit at herself. "I have not been on leave of duty in a long time. This is wonderful."

Zero twisted a bit and nodded at Keys, since she had no idea how to properly get the whip length off her arm, Zero hoped a nod would communicate she was properly balanced again.

Once they were on solid footing Keys pulled her whip back in a smooth jerk. Without a word she coiled up the whip back around her waist. Then she held her hand out to Vors for the bottle she'd handed over a moment ago.

Mukyu cocked her head toward Keys. The pilot was impressed with her control of the exotic weapon. She then turned to the airship captain, calling with a playful tone. "Are you sure taunting the islander scion of a Water house is a good tactical decision, Renny?"

~It never hurts to learn what she can do in a friendly environment,~ Renny thought to herself. "Wouldn't be polite to leave her out of the fun," she spoke aloud, not taking her gaze off Davonae, in the process leaving herself open to "attack" from Mukyu almost conspicuously.

Vors surrendered the bottle back to Keys with a nod.

Keys pulled the stopper of the bottle off, took another swig, swallowed, licked her lips. "Now I'm hungry..." She put the bottle down on a rock, pulled around her leather shoulder bag. Flipped up the flap, looked in. Reached in, her arm going in farther than should have been possible for the size of the bag. And finally pulled out a small parcel wrapped in waxed paper. She smiled, closed the bag, opened the paper, revealing a large turnover or hand pie. Keys took a deep smell, smiled. Then she bit into it. "Hmmm..."

"Your parcel seems to violate some laws of physics." Vors observed dryly to Keys.

Keys looked over at Vors, still chewing her food. Her expression was amused.

She swallowed, belched, then smiled at Vors. "It's called Magic," she told Vors with a superior tone. "Get used to it."

Zero had an ear for Keys' belch and Vors quiet comments, but the physical nearness of Mukyu was a silk-wrapped forest fire. Perhaps the red ring around Mukyu's neck gave off the radiant tension.

The pilot chuckled, as Keys' words mirrored her thoughts precisely, understanding that it wasn't just something that Vors would have to learn.

Davonae took advantage of the distraction and quietly disappeared under the surface. Slinking along the bottom, she made her way towards Renny and pulled at her ankles, staying vigilant to make sure her new found friend would not hit her head if she fell too hard.

Renny must have been feeling a bit hungry herself, because she took her gaze off Davonae just a moment to check out what Keys was eating. When she looked back, Davonae was gone, without even a ripple in the water.

~Uh-oh,~ Renny thought. She knew what must be coming and took a deep breath to prepare. It took just long enough she was starting to wonder if Davonae was really heading her way when suddenly she felt someone grabbing her ankles.

Renny allowed herself to be dragged under water. Now she knew where Davonae was, more or less, assuming she was pulling Renny straight back toward herself. She tucked her knees to her chest, trying to quickly get her hands into position to tickle Davonae's sides.

Zero had missed Davonae's silent slip into the deep stream, but no one would have missed the kersplash of Renny going under suddenly. Zero commented to Mukyu, "Well, Keys appears to like bold sass and whips. I think Vors can hold his own. Davonae prefers her wrestling quiet. Renny may get into trouble there."

Zero brought up the hand freed a few moments before by Keys and she traced Mukyu's ear rim with a gentle finger. "What kind of sneak attacks do you prefer, Lovely Twin?"

Mukyu was thrilled with the thought that the night hid the blush washing over her face. Ears, cartilage, minimally vascular, no blush there, she reassured herself as she tried not to squirm. The scout's tone seemed intimate, or perhaps the wine and day's exertions and surprises were conspiring against her, like jamming and atmospheric anomalies might cloud her comms in a battle. Keep it above board, Lieutenant, she thought even as she turned to meet her twin's eyes.

"From range," she answered, her voice dry despite the dampness on her lips. Mukyu ran a hand through her hair, pulling it to the side as she cocked her head at Zero. "I prefer that the battle be over before I arrive, if possible. Or at least that my target be softened up... a bit." She cursed herself as she heard the words. The shiver from Zero's touch finally won out and it cascaded through her shoulders and down below the water's surface.

"Magic" Vors said to Keys. "I may not currently understand the systemics of magic, but it can be understood, as it is already harnessed and used. And if it can be harnessed and used, it can be regularized. I trust only logic and statistics, Lady Keys. And Logic and statistics will enable me to understand Magic."

"I don't think any berk truly understands magic," Keys said with a shrug. "Those that do... they go barmy. You sound more like a modron with the dance of your cant," she told Vors. "Gears and metal. All logic, no heart." She took another swig and offered the bottle back to Vors. "I'd stay away from magic if I were you. You might not work anymore if you get too close to it."

Beneath the surface, Davonae happily engaged in a tickling match with Renny. Breathing was clearly of no concern to her. In a play to keep Renny completely off guard, the girl swam close, pushed her body against Renny's and planted a slow kiss upon her lips. Davonae then turned to swim off towards her next victim.

Renny breached the surface, gasping for an enormous breath of air, a startled expression on her face. She considered what she wanted to do for just a moment, tried to figure angles of attack, and taking another deep breath she gracefully dove back under the water, heading in the direction she guessed Davonae was heading.

"I do not know what a modron is" Vors said to Keys. He turned slightly, to continue to speak to Keys and yet keep an eye on events in the river. "I am someone trained in statistics and logic as the tools to understand the universe." he said. "The quickening of the mind, however, is done with care."

"It is by will alone I set my mind in motion." Vors continued, in quotation. "It is by the juice of sapho that thoughts acquire speed, the lips acquire stains, the stains become a warning. It is by will alone I set my mind in motion."

"A Signer... figures," Keys replied with a slight shake of her head. "Or a Gith." Then she shrugged. "Doesn't matter... we all see what we can in the mirrors. Berks just see it differently depending on what they want to see."

The water chuckled about them all with splashes and dives. By the burn of stars and secret rings, Zero's thoughts acquired speed. Her pulse ignored the chill of the rapid current. Zero gently moved her hand from Mukyu's ear to the red ring dangling between them both and touched it softly. "Stay away from magic. Or go barmy." If they were all born of magic, how to ever stay away from themselves?

Zero did not think she would be staying away from much in this adventure of Infinites. She raised her eyes to Mukyu. "It's not as if I don't have an excuse to feel the sky is upside down." Both their faces were close enough to be in shadows. The Lieutenant nodded, afraid to answer at first. The tactical answer for the pilot was to withdraw, because she was obviously just approaching bingo fuel and the alcohol had her staring straight down the boresight. The dragon in Mukyu told her to punch in the blower and enjoy the ride.

"It's all a joke, you know," she whispered to Zero. "When ever a pilot can't understand how something works the mechanic might answer, Foxtrot Mike, that's it's just Fraking Magick." Her free hand raised to cup Zero's and the ring as she leaned closer, "It's what this all is."

"Magic." The tip of her tongue peeked between her lips. "Fantasy," Mukyu sighed.

Keys took another bite of her pie. "The Ladies in Waiting make good pies," she said thoughtfully as she chewed, watching the others splash playfully in the creek. She studied the waters for a moment, then pulled her feet out of the creek. "I think I'll stay mostly dry tonight," she muttered, shaking her legs, the water flicking off her scales.

"You are not alone." Vors said companionably.

Davonae emerged a little ways up stream and gracefully pulled herself up on a rock, making sure to leave enough room for Renny should she follow. She needed this diversion from their earlier discourse. Too much thinking never did anyone any good. She splashed her feet in the water and waited for company to arrive.

Renny's head peeked out of the water, spotted that Davonae was a bit further upstream than she had guessed, and dived under again, correcting her course. She surfaced again very close to Davonae's rock. With a glance she took in the situation -- and suddenly was hesitant. It was one thing to wrestle in the dark in the water with a beautiful near-stranger. It seemed entirely another consider sitting naked in public next to a naked woman Renny was seriously considering kissing for a second time. A modesty Renny barely knew she had cut in, and she only poked her head out of the water, trying shyly to look at Davonae's face, curious what was going through the other woman's head.

"You are not alone," Zero whispered to the Infinite. Of course, there wasn't magic behind it so only Mukyu, and her own younger self actually heard it. She felt young Zero nod once inside her memory and her chest eased around the old ache. Zero kissed Mukyu on the cheek.

Mukyu released the breath she was unaware she had been holding.

Keys watched the women pairing off. Looked down at the water as she stuffed the last of the pie in her maw. Looked up at Vors. "I think we're in the way here," she said in a quieter voice, not to carry. "They got theirs. I think I'll pike off for the dawn. No offense, but true laws aren't my type," she told the mentat with an apologetic grin, shrugging slightly.

"I understand." Vors said serenely.

Keys pulled the strap of her bag over her shoulder and with a smooth motion rose and slipped through the foliage to the path back to the guest palace.

[Exit Keys]

Mukyu slipped her arms around Zero's hips, drawing the scout close into an embrace. "Never alone, again," she whispered back, pressing her cheek against Zero's.

Davonae smiled at Renny. "My Island is very different, I have been told. We spend our days barely dressed and our nights enjoying each other's warmth. Newcomers often comment that we have no modesty. We do. But in a different sense." She slipped into the water and swam towards Renny. Once within arms reach, the girl continued. "And more than anything comfort and consent are very important. Am I making you uncomfortable?"

Renny smiled shyly. "On my island, three quarters of the year it is so cold that clothes are required. And even on the hottest summer day, people stay dressed." She reached out her right hand and gently touched Davonae's arm. "Here in the water, I am comfortable."

Zero warmed quickly as more skin, face, hip, arms, came into contact with Mukyu. The voice that was not quite her own stirred the Empire night. The horizon, the stream, the little stars above, all seemed both more certain and yet wobbling. Zero was not in the least cold, but that tension that was all around the pilot now pulled the two of them tighter together. Fire spiraled under Zero's thoughts. Images of past lovers bounced to the front of Zero's brain, but nothing like this had ever been imagined. Still it wasn't as if you did not move fast when the war could take you out on your next mission.

But then... Mukyu would be alone. That was a new thought. Fear of losing something so long gone. Zero's hands tightened on Mukyu and she stretched her arms further about the foreign pilot. "This is... so much."

Mukyu wasn't sure how to react except to mold herself the symmetries she found between her body and Zero's. Differences were noted and just as quickly ignored. "This is... family?" she wondered aloud to herself more than the scout. "I have people, friends, comrades back on TK-7 that I've considered my family."

"But, it's not this," she concluded as the warm tears were hidden by the stream and Zero's shoulder.

Zero nodded into Mukyu's wet hair. "Not this." She closed her eyes and just enjoyed the heated comfort. Most thoughts circled around the stream noise, and soft voices near. She realized Keys and Vors had not said anything for a while. The distraction pulled her out of the labyrinth of thoughts about Mukyu; did this addition function better as a friend, a sister, a lover? What did Zero want and what did Mukyu need?

Zero did not ease her hold on Mukyu but she listened more intently to the quadrants around her. She shifted enough to see the bridge, see the dark shapes of Davonae and Renny in the water. Vors and Keys were behind her or they had slipped off in the dark. Zero pondered how long they might have been out here, and if the Imperials would have servants searching for them.

That did not seem right. On the other hand, it was foolish to not know where your 'valuable genetic assets' were after gathering them up from the Grand Stair. Still Zero really valued this wild moment, this warm safe freedom. So she added to Mukyu, "Hey, we should put a few moments into where we want the Imperials to find us? Out here together? Or nicely tucked into... I mean, arriving at déjeuner, I mean, breaking fast in the morning with none the wiser."

Mukyu nodded, even as she heard Dawn's voice arguing with Zero's wisdom. Part of her didn't care where the Imperials found them, but her twin was right. There were more aspects to this battle then either of them could see right now.

The firebrand of a wingman worlds away told her to live in the moment and experience everything to the fullest. Somewhere Mukyu determined she would find that balance.

"I don't know where I would like to be found," she answered, "But I will never be ashamed to call you... well... whatever this is." She drew her face back and kissed Zero fully on the lips.

Davonae nodded. "Then here we shall stay." The girl reached up and gently stroked Renny's hair. "It's quite peculiar, isn't it? Here we are, all perfect strangers, bond together by some mythic force. We should be wary. My mind keeps trying to warn me away. My heart though keeps pulling me in deeper and deeper. I want to enjoy this, at least some of this before it all becomes about titles and marriages and all of that."

Renny leaned her head into Davonae's hand. "Being wary of the Empire seems sensible," she said quietly. "But I will trust my fellow Eggs." She gazed up into Davonae's eyes for a long moment, then gently pulled her into an embrace.

~She makes me feel so solid,~ Renny thought. ~I may be a bit shorter, but I'll bet I weigh at least a stone more than she does.~ This time it was Renny who initiated the kiss, taking her time to do it properly.

Mukyu said 'I don't know where' and that was enough to send Zero's mind back into fast strategy analysis and best team benefit scenarios. Zero nodded as the pilot added 'never be ashamed' and sorted the best rankings for how the Imperials would treat with them all if it seemed they were vulnerable through attractions or some shared bond. After all...and then Mukyu's sudden firey kiss blew the night up with white heat.

Zero's eyes went wide. Her lips against Mukyu's took in lightning heat. The bowl of the night sky was gone. White fire pushed out the strategies, the sorting, the thoughts of Empire and conspiracy and betrayal. It didn't matter that Zero had been kissed before. Nothing measured or written or quantified by science or poetry could prepare for the affection and fire freely given. Zero orgasmed from the brain downward into her body. Seven crashing jade gates sounded in her head and the laughter of the wind held more than a hint of mercy. Or surprise.

For half a moment, overwhelmed, Zero mistook the laughter as a trap that Mukyu had sprung on her. Mukyu's lips were Dwim poison. Mukyu's taste was cinnamon death. Quick and deadly betrayal. Half a moment, some bit of Ka El training screamed that she could survive electrocution by shoving herself away so hard that she might be grounded and clear of the searing trap. Half a moment savored as the erotic storm reached her toes. Zero doubled down, her left arm went tighter around Mukyu's ribs and her right hand reached up to clutch the back of the Other's head. Seven chimes rang inside her flesh and the wind whipped her hair straight upward.

Zero returned the kiss as best she knew how. It might be the last, but she hoped not.

Mukyu's knees buckled as a cool breeze swept through her mind. It seemed like someone had goosed the green-apple and the O2 mix was high. Her inexperience with partners on the station seemed worlds away. There was breath of life that surged outward from her chest, infusing her with vigor. One hand slid off Zero's hip, finding a firm curve a little deeper in the water as the other found purchase a little closer to the surface on the apex of a fuller curve. She pinched gently, but firmly as her lips broadened into a smile while maintaining the kiss.

A little ways down the river, Davonae fell forward into Renny's kiss. Her arms wrapped about Renny's body and she sunk against her, flesh against flesh. Moments, passed and Davonae felt the very unfamiliar sensation of needing to come up for air. She pulled back very slightly. "Perhaps we shouldn't stay here", she breathed but made no effort to move away.

Renny quietly gasped for air. She felt like her insides had turned to liquid; like something had flowed through her, starting at her lips and moving down. "Somewhere more private?" she whispered. Without waiting for an answer, she reached up her right hand, pulled Davonae's head closer, and hungrily kissed her again.

...fade to black

---

*dum vivimus vivamus = 'while we live, let us live.'
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