Remnants of a Dying World

"You have Rifts too? And your World is also broken??" Nils gasps, astonished that there are other worlds in a state like his... or at least something like it. He is distracted for a moment, not answering Hvo's question directly just yet. "What are your Rifts like? How is your world broken? Do you have gods on your world too? Their own emissaries tasked to fix and heal the-"

He realizes he is getting off-topic and clears his throat.

"Creating a Rift of my own, actually, is how I was able to hop worlds. I have... connections that help me do create specific Rifts that are benign, stable, and capable of recreating reliably--as long as it is off my world. On it, that stability is out the window. But as long as I am in environments not affected by constant fluxes of primordial chaos, then I can create my own Rift to travel places."

Shylow laid in the tall grass, just breathing in the scent of the earth and air around her. Feeling herself decaying into the dirt beneath her, or at least she was imagining it.

The flutter of wings prompts the little demon to open an eye and look up at the crow staring down at her.

(She does enjoy just lazing around, after all.)

"Uuuuh earth to Nabe, ain't the whole point of a birthday, I mean Hatch Day, supposed to be all about you? Look, the food thing I get but you don't have to invite like EVERYONE you know nor make sure they're all happy with the music. Just go with the flow, ya know?"

"Hatch day...? Ooooh, that's like a birthday but for birds. Pffft, Nabe why are you worried about? You've got plenty of time to have the most badass of parties ever! Why? Cause I'm helpin' ya out! Me and my...." Oh right, no Demon Queen means no more access to the infinite wealth of her castle.

"And it's gotta be more than just food and music, cause Nabe wouldn't want anybody to be bored, so there's gotta be a ton of fun stuff to do and"

"I am NOT a child! I was young and stupid when I made that!"

Ah, the impossible standards of a species that ages differently than humans.

Shylow stares up at the other for several long seconds before tilting her head curiously.

"They're teensy tiny little holes in reality through which the lights of other realms shine through!"

What Nils doesn’t know is that his condition is relatively easy to diagnose regardless if he is human or bird—it just needs comparative study and, of course, a trained specialist who knows what to look for.

She wasn't anything if she couldn't help people.

"Oh," she said, doing her best to keep her smile on her face. "If you're sure, but the offer's still open!"

Would such blatant familiarity with The Blessed Voice of the Goddess be met with odd looks this close to the temple? Yes. Did she care that she was setting him up to be scrutinized like that? Not really.

She listened to his story silently, her lips pressed into a thin line. But such candidness deserved some truth in kind.

"It pains me to hear of a world more broken than ours," she said after a pause. "But I doubt there's much you can learn here. The measures the Powers have taken have only slowed the formation of Rifts."

"Oh, no no no. You're quite fine--I'm rather adept at several languages, I can figure it out. Pleased to meet you, Miss Hvo. My name is Abena. Abena Frascona. Though 'Be-Na' will do, and sometimes I am called 'Abbi' by family.

"By momma!" Nabe answered.

"She was raised by my hvilist," Hvo said, nodding her head. "It is a difficult term to translate, but is commonly described as being a close, almost familial bond. So we call ourselves sisters."