She had been brooding, trying to decide the best way to tell Dalanesca of what she had found out.  It wasn't good news, but it wasn't entirely bad either.  It just was.  But then Drae appeared with dire tidings, and Moliira knew that she had to visit her friend.  There was a cold rage building, but also a sense of shame on her own part.  Moliira had thought that the issue between Dalanesca and Angela would come to a head, just not in as dramatic a fashion as Angela's death.

But something didn't feel quite right.  While she couldn't feel her fellow Goddess, Moliira couldn't sense her total absence either.  It was very strange.  Dressing quickly in her hunting leathers, she didn't think Dalanesca would attack her, but it never hurt to be cautious.  Stepping from one realm to the next came as a shock to the drow.  She hadn't expected this dramatic of a change to Dalanesca's realm, but Moliira knew that the double tragedies had affected her deeply.  This new realm only served to show just how much. 

She found herself in a garden, with many plants that she knew very well.  Her hand reached out to gently touch some of the leaves, knowing those that were safe to touch, and avoiding those that were not.  But it was the fountain at the center of the fountain that truly captured her attention.  The violet liquid that flowed in it was something she had never seen before, but she instinctively knew what it was. 

Hearing a noise, Moliira turned and saw her friend.  She reacted first before thinking, and spat out the first words that came to her mind.  "Dalanesca, what in the seven hells have you done?!" Moliira asked, the cold fury in her voice.  She had expected some conflict between the two, but nothing like outright murder.

Dalanesca’s senses picked up Moliira the second she entered Porta Inferi.  She had been awaiting the visit from her fellow Triune since Angela’s ‘demise.’  Although things were fine now, other than the fact that Angela wasn’t entirely herself (that fiery goddess in the form of a child was downright terrifying at times), she knew why the drow would be visiting.  She knew that Moliira would be upset with her because of her actions, and she could not blame her.  Her head was much more clear now, and she saw the error of her ways.  She had, of course, made up with Angela…. But there were still other bridges to be mended.  

She approached Moliira rather cautiously in the garden, keeping her distance until she realized she was there.  She was not surprised that the first words out of her mouth were that of anger, and she remained silent for a moment, allowing Moliira to bellow at her as she saw fit.  When she had stopped, Dalanesca thought long and hard about what to say to her.  “You have every right to approach me in this manner,” she said, rather simply.  “I cannot blame you for being enraged.  What I did was naive and foolish and fueled by pure emotion,” she said.  “As a Triune Goddess I should have better control over my emotions,” she added.  “You are not the first to come  and chastise me… though Naota came at a very bad time,” she said, thinking back to her… disagreement that she had with Naota.  

She paused, walking closer to Moliira.  “I know that I have failed your expectations.  But I assure you, other than the fact that my spheres have changed, I have become more accepting of what has happened,” she added.  Granted, she had opened her home to the small version of Angela as well as a new acquaintance that she had made, and that had helped with lightening her mood.  “Truth be told, the new domain I find myself in is… rather fitting,” she said.  “But I digress… Other than coming to chastise me for what I have done… what can I do for you?”

Her friend's calmer state told Moliira that something had happened, something had caused her to calm the fiery rage she had witnessed in the tavern.  And the near apology was enough to calm her down.  "I am not surprised you were visited by others, since we are all tied together.  But you are also right.  Allowing emotion to get the best of you, that is a weakness.  But one you will learn from," Moliira said, assuming the role of the teacher for those few moments.  She and Dalanesca had both been assassins, and she felt a kinship for the woman because of that shared past. 

She nodded, thinking to the previous spheres they had all held.  "Things feel more… balanced now.  Strange, considering what you used you watch over.  If a being that watches over fate does exist, it has a sense of humor," Moliira said with a smile.  But there was sadness behind it, the tragedy that had caused the change to Dalanesca was still unsolved.  "I did not find Marth.  And I am sorry for that.  What happened to him, I am not even sure.  I was able to track him for some time.  Then he just… vanished.  As if he had been snatched from this world.  I wish I had a better answer for you," Moliira said, then she held out the silver ring to her friend.  She was unsure if her friend would take it back, but given that it was a strong tie to her mate, Moliira wanted to offer the opportunity.

Dalanesca was rather glad to see that Moliira calmed at her words, as she did not feel like getting into an altercation with the other Triune member.  She had still not fully recovered mentally from what she had ended up doing to Angela, the other Triune besides herself and Moliira.  ”I know we are all allowed transgressions now and then, but what I did was completely unacceptable,” she said, and the remorse was clear in her voice.  To hear the Goddess who reigned over darkness and death sound remorseful seemed out of place, but it carried with it the true emotions that Dalanesca felt.  “All mistakes can be learned from, as well as weaknesses,” she agreed rather solemnly.  

“It is a bit odd, isn’t it?” she said, her solemn expression turning to one with a glint of a smile.  “Though before I controlled balance and order, it seems as though balancing out the Triune has brought even more balance to the world, now that I’ve stopped throwing my fit,” she added, with a bit of a chuckle.  “It’s… fitting, really.  Angela embodies birth, life… while you are the chaos that is living, the thrill of the hunt,” she said, trailing off slightly.  “And now, I am the end.  I am Death,” she said, with an emotionless expression.  It seemed dramatic, of course, but the words that she spoke were incredibly true.  “I suspect that the Voice had a hand in what happened, though we may never know the truth,” she added.

When Moliira changed the subject to Marth, her gaze saddened a bit.  Dalanesca remained silent for a moment, and stared at the ring that her friend held out in her hand - the token that she had given to Moliira to aid in her search for her missing spouse.  After a moment’s hesitation, she reached out and took the ring from her, but did not place it on her finger.  “Thank you for the effort and time you have devoted to the search, my friend,” she said, expressing her gratitude to the drow.  “I think it is time for me to start accepting the truth, that perhaps he is truly gone,” she added, and there was a sadness to her words that had not coupled with them before, even in the haze of her emotional breakdown that had led to her war on Angela.  

She dropped the ring into a small satchel attached to her waist, and looked back at Moliira, the sadness fading from her eyes.  “Whatever is happening, of course, happens for a reason - just what reason we cannot be certain,” she added.  “It is time to make amends - something I have already begun the process of with Angela,” she said.  “The question is now - have I ties to mend with you, Moliira?” she asked, wanting to be certain that there would not be some lasting grudge held against her by the Storm Wolf.

Neither of them wanted a fight, Moliira could sense.  And only ill came of the gods fighting with each other.  She as glad to see that the madness had left Dalanesca's eyes.  "Carry the remorse I hear in your voice with you, but do not let it rule you.  Just remember what it did to you, and what it made you do.  That is what you learn from, my friend," Moliira said, her voice warming to a friendlier tone.  Her friend's assessment of the Triune as it stood now fit her own thoughts, and Moliira found a chuckle startled from her throat.  "I have thought the same thing about what happened.  And I believe you're right.  The Voice will never say one way or the other," she said with a shrug.  Her own investigation and mediation on the entire situation had led her to the same conclusion, and Moliira had a feeling they were right.  Even if they would never find out for certain.

While it was difficult to offer the news she had found, Moliira hoped it would be enough.  "Keep his memories, and the times you enjoyed together, in your heart.  That way he will always be there in a way," she said, her voice calm.  While she wasn't a particularly sentimental person, there were a few people that she kept in her thoughts always.  She nodded in agreement, adding "And there are times that things just happen for no reason other than it was inevitable.  Much like a tree falling in a storm, or a stone rolling into a more balanced place.  It just happens," with a shrug. 

The drow shook her head at the question of amends, there was little to apologize for.  "The only thing I will ask is that you tell me of what happened after you shattered our friend.  From your words I can tell she is not fallen, though I could feel that as well.  I have been busy making sure that people returned home safely," she said.  Dalanesca had not harmed her, or any of her followers, so Moliira felt little need for amends to be made.  She mostly wanted information, and straight from the source was even better.

A sage nod came as the response to Moliira’s words.  Dalanesca knew that she could not hold her remorse forever.  The universe would simply be pleased with the fact that she knew she had done wrong, but it did not seek blood.  By living through what she had felt and experienced and the pain that she had caused to others, she would now be stronger for it - she would be able to use that strength to channel her stronger emotions in a more productive way in the future.  There would be no more need for unnecessary bloodshed, not any more than her sphere called for.

“I will never forget the time I had with him,” she said, her voice carrying far more emotion than it had previously.  For a moment, she seemed aloof - thoughts and memories and images of Marth scattering through her mind.  “Maybe someday, I will come to know what became of him - but until then, I have deemed it best to move on with all aspects of my life.  Dwelling on such sadness will only bring more harm to myself, and to those around me,” she added.  “If it happened, it is because that damned Voice deemed it so,” she said.  There was a hint of malice to that particular phrasing, and it was clear that she was unhappy with the higher powers - but also that she seemed to be somewhat accepting of the fact that it was out of her control.

“Well… it’s hard to explain in words,” she said, rather frankly - and there was nothing but truth to her voice.  “Something happened, and Angela was reborn - but as a small child,” she said, and her brow furrowed sligthly.  “Adraejen had something to do with it,” she said, and it seemed that she was focusing rather hard on trying to find the proper words to explain it.  “He had something, that Angela had stored a part of her soul in… and he kept it close, and when the time came she was reborn with that part of her.  It’s quite odd, you know… a small child, with all the physical and virtual innocence… until she opens her mouth and speaks.  It is most certainly not a ruse,” she said, with a laugh.  “It is definitely Angela in there,” she said.  

“Drae and I have been splitting time ‘raising’ her,” she said.  “I haven’t had much free time, between her and a guest I have staying here,” she said, though she did not delve much deeper into the information behind the guest.  Moliira did not need to know that Dalanesca was housing the person who had helped her break free of the magical chains that had bound her to Porta Inferi and thereby allowed her to destroy Angela’s physical form.  It didn’t seem necessary, and would probably bother her, to at least a small extent.  “I’ve never been good at entertaining,” she said with a laugh. 

“Speaking of entertaining, would you like to stay for a bit?” she asked.  Gesturing towards the entrance to her palace from the gardens, she continued speaking.  “I could have the mutes bring out some wine, or perhaps some food?” she asked, unsure of how long Moliira planned on staying in her realm.

The malice in Dalanesca's voice made Moliira tense up for a moment, though she knew that it was not aimed at her.  But an interesting thought occurred to her in those moments.  "Perhaps it was because the Voice saw a greater potential in you that what happened, happened.  Only speculation on my part, of course," Moliira said, her voice taking on a pensive tone.  It worried her a bit as to what might happen to her, but she knew there was little use in trying to speculate on something that might not even happen.  And they quickly moved onto more interesting topics, with an eyebrow raising when Dalanesca described what the third Triune was like now.

"As a child?  That is… unexpected.  And I believe you.  I have the feeling that we would be able to recognize her in nearly any form," Moliira said, her voice taking on a note of amusement.  That was something she almost wanted to see for herself.  Almost.  Her head tilted to one side at the mention of a guest, especially with the lack of description.  "Well now, that sounds quite curious.  And entertaining can be… difficult.  I understand that well," Moliira said.  She nodded at the question, she hadn't really made plans for the rest of her day.  "I would, I'd like to see your new realm.  Wine sounds pleasant.  Though I have to ask, why mutes?" she asked, curious as to the reason for that particular choice.

“Maybe you are right,” said Dalanesca, though the dismissive wave of her hand she gave indicated that she thought otherwise.  “I know that the Voice is the reason we have our power, the reason that we are divine… but sometimes, I cannot help but to think that the Voice is more like a child tearing the wings off a butterfly, delighting in our misfortune,” she said.  She knew that she took a chance, speaking ill of the ‘higher power’ that they owed their own power to, but at that particular moment she could not care, not in the slightest.  She knew, somehow deep down inside, that the Voice had already done its worst to her, and she was more than likely in the clear for now.  

She caught the curiosity at Moliira’s statement.  ”He’s a guest, nothing more,” she said, and she was wholly truthful - though a slight color did come to her cheeks.  Glad to change the subject, she continued speaking.  ”I’d be glad for your company,” she said as the drow seemed to accept her offer.  ”I’d be rather happy to show you around.  I’ve got an immense library, and this garden… it's every poisonous plant you can think of, and then some,” she added.  ”An assassin’s dream, if you catch my drift,” she said, winking.  

She gave pause when Moliira asked her about the mutes.  ”They aren’t all mutes,” she said, her voice losing its cheeriness.  ”Some of the more trusted ones that I spend more time with and have run more personal tasks for me, they retain their speech.  But these ones, the ones without tongues or the ones whose mouths have been sewn shut… they deserve it,” she said, rather simply.  ”The majority of those come from the Ninth Circle… the ruiners of innocents,” she said, her voice taking on a darker tone.  ”Why hear what they have to say, when all that they would spew is deceit and lies to corrupt those who do not deserve it?” she asked, the rhetorical question resonating heavily.  

”But that is enough of doom and gloom,” she said.  ”Although… doom and gloom seems to be who I am now,” she said, with a laugh.  ”Are you thirsty?  I could call for some tea- or Angela has given me some rather powerful whiskey that can even get us a bit tipsy,” she said, the devious glint coming back to her eyes.

She only nodded, the gesture meant to tell Dalanesca that she wasn't the only one who had thought that particular thought.  It was certainly an unpleasant though, but Moliira knew it was a possibility that had to be entertained.  But they moved on, and Dalanesca's reaction to the guest was curious.  Perhaps she would have to visit another time.  Her lips curled into a grin, and she looked around the garden.  "I recognize more than a few plants here, but a guided tour would be interesting.  Even I don't know every plant that has poison," she admitted with a chuckle.  Dalanesca was lucky, she was one of the few that would ever hear Moliira admitting she had a weakness.

Her explanation about the mutes made sense, and she realized that it was something that Revaliir had been missing.  There had been a sort of murky understanding of the afterlife for a few generations, at least among the humans.  But here, it was much more concrete.  And the punishment that Dalanesca spoke of made sense.  "In a way, you are still justice.  Just the kind that catches up after a life of misdeeds.  Perhaps you've not changed as much as you thought," Moliira offered.  There was approval in her voice now that she understood better, and she was curious about the other punishments inflicted on the souls who had found there to this place. 

"Hm.  The whiskey has appeal.  That and a tour of your new home?  I am curious about the other circles," the drow requested.  The garden had to come first of course, but the rest of the realm was certain to hold other interesting sights.  And who better to lead a tour than the realm's mistress?

“Let us get a few drinks in our bellies before the ‘grand tour,” she said, with an obviously overacted flourish of her hand.  It had been a tough time for all of the people of Revaliir, divine included, and she thought it would not hurt to allow herself and Moliira to have an at least mildly entertaining evening.  ”I will admit to you, the plants are much more interesting when you’ve got the burn of that damned whiskey from Angela in your throat,” she said with a chuckle.  

”I can see what you are saying,” she said, her tone now becoming a bit more serious.  ”I just deliver justice as an end game, rather than in the middle between life and death,” she said.  ”I think I take a little bit more pleasure from the delivery now than I used to,” she said, and her tone was rather dark.  ”Death never bothered me, to be honest, as you would well know - it can’t bother an assassin.  When it started to, that was when I shied away from taking targets and contracts,” she explained.  ”The time I spent with Marth hunting down the demon shards, it stopped bothering me.. But now, now I seem to actually enjoy it, not just the fact that I am not bothered,” she said.  It did not seem as though she were upset in any respect, but merely explaining to her.

With a wave of her hand, a few of the mutes appeared.  One of them carried a tray, atop which sat a decanter of the whiskey that Dalanesca had mentioned to Moliira.  ”Please, sit,” she said, gesturing towards a pair of chairs.  She took a place in one of her own, and accepted a filled stone tumbler as one of the mutes poured it and handed it to her, following suit to do the same for Moliira. ”So tell me,” she said, taking a sip of the whiskey and relishing in the burn that accompanied her swallow.  ”How is your mate doing these days?” she asked, remembering the time she had assisted Moliira in finding him.