Welcome to Gaia! ::

There was a strong wind today. Nika was nestled comfortably in the long grass beside the little house he shared with Gee, staring up at the sky with a peaceful look on his face. Dozens of fluffy white clouds hung in the sky and occasionally, as they were pushed around by the wind, blurted out both the heat and the light of the sun.

It had been incredibly quiet lately. To his immense surprise, Nika wasn't at all bothered by the almost-silence that had enveloped their little community. It was a comfortable silence that gave the impression of being covered by a cozy blanket. It was warm and inviting. He saw people every once and awhile, and usually had a number of kind words to say to them.

Overall? It had been a good couple of weeks.

But, he couldn't help but feel a little bit lonely, especially as the weight of the task Sei had entrusted to him continued to push against his shoulders. It ate away, like some kind of bug, at the very back of his mind. He'd done a good job with Ashy, but Nika worried that it was only the luck of the draw. What if, the next time, he was wrong?

Fauve's voice tickled the inside of his head and tugged Nika away from his concerns about Ashy and her mask removal. He wasn't sorry that he'd done it, especially after seeing the expression of gratitude and excitement on the jester girl's face, but he couldn't help but worry that he wouldn't get so lucky the next time. Not everybody would be as simple as the Whimsy girl. The others, particularly Kasai, had far darker, potentially harmful pasts.

It would be hard for him to remember, just like it had be painful for him to remember Sound. He missed her sometimes, even now, when he was so deeply in love with Shi and surrounded by so many other people that he cared about.

"Hello, beautiful," Nika sat up slowly to smile at Fauve. She was a wonderfully welcome distraction from all of his worries. During his years as a King, Nika had never shirked his duties, but he had found that some good conversation always helped him clear up some issue. He wondered if Fauve might be able to help.

It was easy to see, from where he sat, the sandals that dangled from her fingertips. Instinctively, Nika glanced at the girl's feet and a smile curved the corners of his lips upwards. Now, that was something. Fauve appeared to have abandoned her love for being clean.

"Enjoying the dirt, I see?"

There were many things in his not so young life that Nika had failed at and only a few things that he prided himself on. It had been his duty, in the past, to fulfill his role as king to the best of his ability and, because he couldn't bear the thought of disappointing an entire civilization, Time had put all he had into ensuring the future of his kingdom. Which, he noted grimly, had obviously been a waste.

His approach to fatherhood had been entirely less formal and more detached. He had loved his children and taken every opportunity to show them exactly how much, but his obligations as King had kept him away from all four of them. His daughters had been encouraged to think and do as they pleased, because Time had always admired women who took fate into their own hands. Every single one of them had more than lived up to his expectations and, as Nika gazed at Fauve with a fond expression on his face, pride swelled so fiercely inside him he suspected he might burst.

"Seriousness is the mark of an old man," he chuckled softly, and fell victim to the sudden realization that he was, in fact, very old. Far older than he looked. Though, that wasn't here nor there. Nika had never been vain, and the only consequence of his age had been the many, many long years he'd spent without love. Now, he had Shi, and he couldn't have possibly been any happier.

"Did you enjoy your trip in outer space with Kasai?" he smirked at her, eyes twinkling with poorly concealed mischief.

((He's such a sap. XD))

"I'm still twenty years your senior, no matter how you look at it," Nika said casually, as though it didn't really matter. Lyra and Sei were the only members of their original civilization from his generation. The others were, with the exception of the Dracos, all at least two decades younger than he was. Since they'd been reborn, their age had never been of any real consequence and Time didn't intend to let it start bothering him. In this life, he'd grown up as one of their peers. The memories of fathering and mentoring them were like faded pieces of somebody else's life, but still very, very dear to him. He had lived them once, and he would treasure what he could remember forever.

"You had every right to be upset with him," he nodded, tentatively amused by Fauve's description of her feelings for Kasai. They were more than familiar to him. "You love Kasai, then?"

Nika was struck, suddenly, by the knowledge that he'd had the same conversations many years ago- with one of his other daughters. He was tempted to tell Fauve that he didn't approve of her affection for Fire, simply because he wanted to protect her from the pain and the frustration he'd seen the spirited boy cause before. Still, he knew that it wasn't fair to Kasai (nor to Fauve) to typecast him that way. They had all changed, so why should Fire be any different?

Plus, Time suspected that Fire's real affection had been for the curly-haired whimsy girl all along. In the past, he'd let his ambition for power and control blind him to the truth. Their second chance might have helped him recognize his mistakes.

It was obvious to him, due to the apologetic tone in her voice, that Fauve had absolutely no idea just how perfect her babbling was. In the past, his duties as King had forced him to be a slightly detached and (mostly) absent father, but he had made sure that all of four of his girls received a proper education. He hadn't raised any fools. They were just like everybody else, prone to making mistakes based on their judgment of other people and, perhaps more importantly, their judgment of themselves. Fauve had always had a good, kind and willing heart. Fire had known what he was doing when he'd chosen her, all of those years ago.

A wry smile found it's way onto Nika's face. Not even Kasai's rabid ambition could have prepared Fire for actually returning the Whimsy girl's affection. What a stupid boy. He agreed with Fauve, though. They had all changed, and her little speech about the past and it's relation to the present had him practically buzzing with excitement.

It looked like he had another decision to make and, this time, he didn't have any second thoughts. Fauve had remembered more than he'd first assumed she would, and he hadn't had to drag any of the information out of her. She had grown up. It was high time that he stopped referring to her as one of his little girls.

"I'm glad you were honest with me," Nika beamed at her, stood up swiftly, and brushed the dust off the back of his pants. He turned to Fauve and gestured for her to stay where she was. "I'll be right back. Promise."

Then, he was off at light jog towards his little cabin.

It was chilly out, because of that damned wind, and Nika hesitated beside the coat wrack, contemplating the decision he was about to make and exactly how he should go about it. There was no essential reason for Fauve to be outside for this. The sofa would be much more comfortable, and he could see to it that she was properly warm.

"Fauve?" he called to her, waving visibly from behind the screen door, "Come here for a minute, please?"

Of course, it would take longer than just a minute, but the length of this little event depended entirely on her. The decision wasn't just his to make. He would ask, and then she would have to choose. That was how it worked.

A ragged sigh slipped from between his lips as he watched her. This Whimsy girl looked terribly sad, and her bent position on the ground reminded him of a prisoner in a cell. She looked trapped. Ashi, her sister, had always been able to roll with the times better than any one and she'd adjusted to the curse in only ways that she possibly could. Fauve hadn't responded even half as well.

Then again, he reasoned, that was how it always worked with them. Fauve was more serious than Ashi was.

"Nika?" The voice was Gee's, "What're you doing?"

Time swiveled to smile at his chosen, who sat in a squishy looking chair with an open novel in her lap. He patted the top of the wooden box he held with a playful expression on his handsome face, and gestured outside with his thumb.

"Just watch."

"If you say so," Gee chuckled good-naturedly and propped herself on the edge of her seat. His curious behavior had caught her attention, and she was excited to know what he was up to.

"Don't worry about the dirt," Gee beat Nika to the punch smoothly, and grinned pointedly at her boy, "Nika's quite handy with a broom."

She smiled kindly at Fauve and returned her half wave, while glancing curiously from the masked girl to her naked faced son. Nika was up to something and, judging by the way the Whimsy girl still lingered in the doorway, Gee wasn't the only one who didn't know what was going on. The blond woman cocked an eyebrow and eyed the wooden box in his hands with more than a bit of interest. The intricate carvings on the sides caught her eye, and she let out a little 'ooo' of delight.

Time snorted in playful annoyance and merely shrugged at his chosen's indirect demand, because he wouldn't ming cleaning up after his little girl, and gestured for Fauve to come inside and sit down on the couch. They still had some talking to do, before he made his final decision. Nika had never been a foolish man. He already suspected that now would be the perfect time to set her free, but he just had to be sure. If she wasn't ready, the consequences might be dangerous.

"Would you like to be able to feel the sun against your face again?" he asked her softly, "Are you you ready for that?"

He remembered the day he'd had a similar conversation with Sei like it was yesterday. Having his masked removed had been more painful than he ever could have imagined, but it was something that he'd forgotten easily in the wake of all of his returning memories, and the ability to speak aloud again. Momentary pain and suffering were sometimes worth it.

When Fauve finally took her spot on the couch, Nika moved to sit beside her, and held the pretty little box out in front of him, on top of his lap. He wrapped his fingers against the lid, tentatively, as both he and his guardian listened to her speak.

This new speech brought a couple of new questions to the surface. She was right. The others could not feel the heat of the sun or the wind against their faces, but the curse had provided them with a kind of shield against their emotions. In some ways, it had been more of a blessing.

The only thing of real substance the curse had stolen from them were their memories. Nika realized, with a bit of a start, that the curse hadn't just provided all of them with a second chance. It had helped them to understand and trust in each other and, perhaps more importantly, in themselves. They were new people only because they could be new people.

"Are you ready to remember who you were? Completely remember?" He pointed at her mask with one finger and then at his bare face, "To be free?"

Gee, who was watching their exchange quietly on her little chair, restrained a gasp of surprise. The day Nika had come home without his mask, more handsome and charming than she ever could have imagined, was one that she would never forget. It took all of her strength and willpower to remain seated, and not go running off in search of Merci. Fauve still had a decision to make.

This was incredibly exciting. She'd always wondered what had happened to her boy that day, but never actually thought she would get to see it firsthand.