There were days where it was down right discouraging with the lack of any information about her sister. All that turned around, however, when there was a group of people who had found someone drop some very worthwhile information. To anyone else, the information was quite useless, and not worth a single coin. When Mr. Cross had come across the information, he had no idea just how important he had become to her.

It was fortuitous that Lirin had happened upon that group of people when she did. Something told her to try Vilpamolan once more, and thank the Lady Fortune she did. She had ran into a handsome captain of a crew who had the unfortunate event of loosing their home recently, like the day before recently. Lirin had thought to put some sort of snake to use, allow a rogue to enter places she could not, to steal the words from a tongue more willing to wag when strangers such as she was not around. When Mr. Cross had come back to his captain, their conversation brought to mind the information he had heard about a crazed elf and a one armed mercenary heading north to the desert.

There was only one mercenary that Lirin knew of that had a single arm. Why Larka would be with her sister, Lirin had no idea. It was a long shot, but Lirin had to hold on to the hopes that the elf in question was truly her sister. So pleased to finally have a lead, Lirin helped the captain and his crew acquire a new home, a new airship, before acting on her first lead since coming to this strange land. In return, they took her north and dropped her off in Sularia. With a few questions, Lirin was pointed in the right direction.

Dusk was approaching, and the last person she had intended to run into so soon was Larka, who looked like she had just gone shopping. The poor woman looked exhausted, ran ragged, and honestly could use a nice long sleep. Larka looked relieved to see Lirin as well, and asked if the vampire would do her a favor. Her wife had been missing for some time, and she was finally found. Now, Larka was attempting to help her wife recover from her ordeal, and needed help to escape, even just for a day. It wasn't to get away from her wife, but to not be trapped in the house with little to no sleep. Agreeing to meet with her at the house in the morning, Larka gave her directions. This not only would offer Larka the time she requested for herself, but it gave Lirin time to ensure she was safe to be around the reaver's wife.

Rested, well fed, and ready to meet Larka's wife, the vampire found herself at the house near a lake outside of town. The area was beautiful, and Lirin could see herself settling in a place like this. Confidently, she knocked on the door, and waited for a response. Inside, she could hear the clicks of animal claws on wooden floors, the barks of some canine, the attempt of a roar from a very young large cat. 'That's an odd mix.' she thought as she waited for someone to answer the door.

She was exhausted, from everything, though she wouldn't have it any other way. Larka had been helping for a while now to get Celeste's sleeping pattern back to normal and working with her wife on her speech and such again. It was working, slowly but the Reaver's own sleeping pattern was getting disrupted and she was worried for Celeste's sake and so when she was able to get some sleep she didn't sleep. Nightmares and dreams and a over active mind kept her up, or at least fitful in her sleep enough it wasn't a restful one.

So when Larka, on evening, ran into Lirin rather suddenly she was relieved to see the vampire again. They spoke, and Larka told Lirin that she had found her wife and what the situation was, hoping the vampire would do a favour. She had hoped that Lirin would come to their home and stay with Celeste, even for just a day, so that Larka could unwind and decompress herself and get a good sleep in. Even just one day, and it wasn't like Larka was trying to escape from Celeste, she loved the elf too much for that, but she didn't want to leave Celeste alone if she could help it.

Thankfully Lirin had agreed and said she'd be there in the morning.

The next morning the knock at the door woke Larka up, she had been sleeping on the couch, having the night evening before not wanting to wake Celeste up by getting into bed downstairs with her. Kyu barked and the little tiger cub made an attempt at a roar, that Larka found adorable. ”Sh, quiet both of you, don't wake Celeste up.” Larka grumbled as she got to her feet and stretched, still giving both a scratch as she went past the two animals.

Larka got the door, she was wearing just normal clothing, a loose fitting shirt and every day pants, not her usual gear. She opened the door to see Lirin there and smiled. ”Lirin, good to see you, please, come.” Larka offered and allowed Lirin in, right away both wolf and tiger came over to see the new person. ”That's Kyu and that's Reika, they're friendly.” Larka smiled as she led Lirin in. ”Thank you again for coming, Lirin, I think once we're settled I'm going to head into town and get a proper bath in and sleep for a bit.”

Larka looked around for a moment and thought, still tired and obviously a little nervous at having Celeste meet the vampire woman that Larka had spent a night with not too long before she had found Celeste. ”Set your stuff down anywhere, make yourself at home. Uh, ya.” She paused. ”Come on, Celeste is downstairs, she's still get used to the light, you'll probably be fine in the dark, though it's not pitch.” As she spoke Larka moved back the odd mishmash of fabric she had a kind of tent around the door out of and let Lirin and shut it, blocking out most of the light.

She opened the door next and carefully stepped into the darkness, firefly lamps still on the stairs so she wouldn't fall with a miss step. ”Are you awake, Celeste? My friend is here to stay with you for the day.” Larka spoke in a soft voice, not wanting to startle Celeste awake. She sat on the edge of the bed and placed her hand gently on Celeste's side and shook carefully. ”Celeste, it's morning, time to wake up.” Larka spoke, the trick was keeping the elf awake for the rest of the day.

Going to sleep is the easy part. It was the waking up and staying awake throughout the day that was difficult. Particularly since she was practically forced to stay inside for most of her awake hours due to the bright sun filling the world with its warming light. She ended up crashing early on, sometimes before dinner, sometimes immediately after. Yet, her desire to sleep long hours was still difficult to overcome.

Today, however, she had laid down just before dinner the night before, and thus was relatively easy to wake. Someone had knocked on the door, and the pets were seemingly excited, this much she was aware of in her floating state someplace between sleep and consciousness. They never had visitors this early, in fact, Celeste could not recall any visitors since she has been here. Yet this knowledge wasn’t bothersome, and she snuggled deeper into her blankets, enjoying the warmth she was denied for so long.

Larka’s voice filtered down to her from above, and Celeste smiled sleepily as she tried to not wake up. This wasn’t a dream, this she was finally aware of. Someone else’s voice drifted through the space between them, muffled as it was by the door and blankets beyond, a voice that was soft and light, and familiar. The elf frowned. Was this actually a dream?

The door opened, and Celeste groaned as she burrowed deeper into the bedding. No, Larka had a friend to stay with her for the day, and instantly the elf really did not want to greet the day. There was no reason to wake and be conscious as she awkwardly tried to be social to someone new. Especially if Larka wasn’t going to be around. Her wife was persistent, and Celeste decided it was better to do as Larka requested, versus getting into another wrestling match, even if it was playful half of the time. It didn’t help that one, if not both of the pets had made it past the curtain barrier and had jumped onto the bed with Larka. Sniffing around, little paws sinking into the soft mound, Reika made her way up to the top of the blankets, managed to find her way under them and press a cold, wet nose against Celeste’s face, a rough tongue sanding her face in greeting.

Celeste poked her head from the blankets and glared at Larka with a little pout. ”Morning can go to bed,” she grumbled. Sitting, Celeste rubbed her eyes before stretching with a huge yawn. Yet, when she looked into the dimly lit room, standing on the stairs was her own face staring right at her. Both elves had frozen, staring at each other wide eyed, it was a miracle their jaws had not dropped to the ground.

”Lirie?” she whispered. With the return nod in answer, Celeste had never moved so fast to escape from her blankets. Practically burying Larka in the mountain of material, she scrambled to her feet, jumped out of bed and ran the short distance to fly into Lirin’s arms. As Lirin was still on the steps, Celeste’s face was buried in her sister’s bust. Celeste was crying again, babbling words so fast they fell like water, jumbled and undiscernible from one another. ”Dream, Lirie, lost, abelas, Lirie.” She was making no sense with what words were able to be deciphered. Lirin laughed, a sound more joyous to Celeste than her own wife’s expression of happiness. The elf turned enough to peek innocently from Lirin’s breasts at Larka. ”You said friend, how do you know Lirie?”

”Good morning, Larka. Don’t you look good outside of that armor.” Lirin teased as Larka opened the door. Looking around with genuine curiosity, the vampire noticed the lack of personal effects. Aside from the armor and weapons neatly stored in one area, chew toys and what looks like a pillow for the animals to sleep on, there was little in the way of anything that Lirin would peg as the Reaver’s and her wife. Most of this looked like it belonged to the house. The most interesting feature was the hodgepodge of blankets and materials against one wall, creating a pocket of space.

Eager sniffing was giving the vampire pause as she looked down to the most adorable cubs ever. Giggling, Lirin greeted them. ”Pleasure to meet you, Kyu and Reika.” There was something about that second name that struck out as oddly familiar, but she couldn’t remember why. ”Don’t worry about it, sweetie. I’m glad you found your wife, but you can’t help adjust her to normalcy single handedly… No pun intended.” Larka was obviously super tired, and was trying to kick her mind into gear. Opting to leave their night of fun in the past, Lirin decided not to make this any more uncomfortable as possible between the three of them. She was, after all, eager to meet the woman to have stolen Larka’s heart and loyalty.

Depositing her stuff by the door, her single bag with much of her music supplies and recent purchases along with her own weapons, the vampire carefully followed the Reaver through the fabric, the door, and descended the stairs. Not wanting to be completely intrusive, Lirin waited patiently on the stairs, only to move out of the way for a tiger cub to bound down the stairs and jump into the bed to assist Larka in waking the spouse up. What she did not expect, however, was for the blankets to move and reveal the very person Lirin had been seeking.

To hear her voice once more was more musical than any song she had ever played. Her spirits soared, and she was unable to move, spellbound as she was at the vision before her. Two years had been a long time, and the evidence of the whole ordeal was still clearly written all over her twin. She was still painfully thin, and had faint bruises that were almost completely gone here and there. What had happened? Lirin’s childhood nickname escaped those lips, and Lirin could not do anything but nod slowly.

Action burst from Celeste as she fought to get out of bed and to the vampire. Lirin wrapped her arms around her twin so tight, resting her head on Celeste’s own. ”Celsi…” She inhaled her sister’s scent, trying hard not to cry as relief nearly drowned her. Celeste was here, Celeste was alive. And married! The thought wasn’t as pressing as the fact that in her arms, safe and warm, was her twin sister she had been fighting to find for sixteen long years. Words tumbled from Celeste, causing Lirin to laugh lightly, trying to sooth the excited sister.

Holding Celeste out, she examined her with a smile. ”We were on a mission, mercenaries and all. Tends to happen, especially when we’re both looking for you!” Lirin pulled her into another tight embrace, tears in her eyes as she regarded Larka. ”Why didn’t you say anything? We could have pooled our resources together! If it wasn’t for hearing some mercenary mention a description of you with an elf, I wouldn’t have even come north. I would have helped you. She was in the Umbral Depths? Why was she there?” She rapid fired the questions, more incredulous than she was upset. Relief as to being reunited with her sister far over powered any and all other emotions. ”Come, Celsi. Let’s make you breakfast, and we can talk.” Lirin made it clear that all answers would be given or asked while someone was cooking, that someone would be her.

Fortunately, she had purchased some food to offer a fresh cooked meal to the women that they did not have to prepare nor clean up after. Making herself at home, just as she was commanded, Lirin went upstairs, grabbed the food from her pack and found the kitchen. Immediately, she found the cook wear, got a fire started and began to warm up the frying pan to make a nice breakfast of eggs and bacon, having purchased fresh loaves of bread that were slightly sweetened with vanilla to go along with it. ”Spill! I want answers, Larka.” Of course, her voice was friendly, almost in a jesting manner as she expected her questions to be addressed while she cooked.

Larka managed a chuckle at Lirin's comment. ”Don't you know it.” She grinned as she let Lirin in and introduced her to the puppy and kitty that she and Celeste had. They both sniffed at Lirin as they would anyway, Kyu's tail happily wagging. She thanked Lirin again and smiled at the reply. ”Doesn't mean I wouldn't try.” And she had tried, but the result was that Lirin was here now since Larka needed some time to herself to get herself back to normal again.

They headed down, Lirin staying on the stairs for now as Larka tried to wake Celeste, who as normal played it hard. Larka wasn't in the mood to play wrestle this time, as fun as those matches ended up being. The tiger kit made her way down the stairs and onto the bed, followed by Kyu, though only Reika got under the blankets, while Kyu stayed close to Larka on the bed.

Larka chuckled a little at Celeste's comment and pouting face. ”Too bad, sleepy head.” Larka replied playfully as Celeste did get up with a yawn and a stretch. But it was the reaction to when Celeste and Lirin looked at her each, it took Larka a minute to catch it though since her eyes were still adjusting to the dim light. Celeste spoke the name that she had told Larka she used for her sister, and Larka suddenly found her wife trying to escape from the blankets faster than she ever had before and almost tossed Larka onto the floor in the meantime, Kyu taking her own exit just in case.

Larka shoved the blankets away from her in time to watch, stunned, as her wife buried he face into Lirin's chest and started to cry. Larka stared as Lirin replied with a short hand name for Celeste, and the Reaver finally had it click in her mind what was going; they were sisters!

Her own mouth dropped open in amazement, she had no idea! Despite the clues Larka never had put it together that the elf she loved and the elf-vampire she had laid with were sister. She stood and walked closer as Celeste asked how she knew Lirin. Larka's mouth opened but nothing came out, thankfully Lirin cut in and answered for her. For now it seemed she left out the part of their night together in the tavern.

But then Lirin started into a torrent of questions of her own and Larka stared at her for a moment before speaking. ”Holy shit, you're twins!” Ever so smart!

The three of them went upstairs again, animals in tow, as it seemed Lirin had breakfast for them as she started to cook it. Larka's stomach rumbled at the sight of the eggs and bacon that Lirin had brought, and fresh bread! Lirin spoke again that she wanted answers and Larka looked to Celeste for a moment reach over to take Celeste's hand. ”I, I didn't know! I didn't know she was your sister, and I didn't want to bother you with personal details at the time beyond what I said.” She tried to explain, but, really, she had no excuse. ”I, I should have put together, I mean, Celeste told me the childhood name she called you, but it didn't click, and it was by chance that I even found her.” She explained further with a sigh looking to Celeste again and squeezing her hand if she held it.

As for why Celeste was down there. ”Drow took her, in retaliation for what Zhana was doing, mining what they felt like was their ores. So they took Celeste since they knew she was a friend of Zhana's. But when they heard about you and I looking for her, and carving a path at that, they shipped her to these lands. I never did hear that someone else was looking for her, and when you and I met I hadn't found her at that time, as I said, so when Celeste told me your childhood name I didn't put it together.” She sighed, looking even more tired now than she had, this was almost too much, but this was amazing too!

”When I found her she was locked in a cell, almost starved and beaten regularly.” She hugged Celeste close to her side, knowing that it probably painful to hear this, but wondering if Lirin's presence might help alleviate some of the bad memory reactions she had. ”I'm sorry, ma vhenan, I should have been smarter, I should have realized it when you said Lirie, and when Lirin and I realized that we spoke the name elvish.” She had tears in her eyes as she went to hug and then kiss Celeste, but for now it seemed she was done speaking.

Lirin let out a joyous laughter, long and hearty with Larka's exclamation. "Of course! What gave it away?" she teased as she pulled them up the stairs. Intently, she hung on every word that was said as she cooked, the sizzling of the bacon filling the dead space between each sentence. Even to the vampire, the aroma of the meat was nearly mouth watering. "Wait a minute! Are you telling me that you not once recognized me as your wife after we met up at the tavern?" Celeste looked at them, eyes squinted as if she was trying to peer into the past. The vampire tensed slightly until Celeste shrugged nonchalantly.

Yet, she was horrified to hear why her twin had been kidnapped. To retaliate against a goddess? Lirin was aware of who Zhana was, the goddess of the forge and fire. It was interesting to learn that Celeste had befriended such a powerful person, and a terrible excuse to take action against the elf. Lirin was in the process of dividing the eggs and bacon up between two plates when her grip noticeably tightened around the handles of the pan and wooden spoon, pausing. Anger had flared up, a strong grip against her chest, and she was struggling to bring it under control.

Her twin sister… Beat and starved for how long? A sensitivity to light had been born, thus she was kept in the darkness, possibly the entire time. It made sense as she did say that it was drow who took Celeste. Forcing herself to relax her grip, Lirin passed the plates to the married couple, grabbed a couple extra slices of bacon and handed them to the pets who were happy for such a treat. Standing, Lirin continued looking down at the furry balls of cuteness. "Beaten? Starved? Locked away again…"

The sounds of Celeste's screams echoed in her ears, a haunting memory of the day she was banished. Emotion was entirely visible, the pain and fear, the regret and anger. "How long did papa lock you away? How long did you scream yourself hoarse?" 'I swear upon all the gods, I will venture into their dark hole in the ground and kill those filthy snakes' It was a promise she will keep, however, looking at Celeste, all the negative emotions melted away. "No, don't venture down that path, leave the past alone." Celeste inquired about her not eating, at which point Lirin smiled softly. "This food no longer sustains me. Don't fret, I ate well last night. When it is safe to talk about the past, I will share my story with you. What do you want to do today while your wife rests, lethallin?" The mischievous smile upon her face told Celeste she had an idea, one she was hoping Celeste could guess.

At the top of the stairs, there was a slight hesitation. Yet her sister was here, and while Celeste wanted to be glued to her hip and catch up, Lirin was headed to the kitchen. She needed to go beyond the safety barrier of this dark fabric. Squinting, the elf pulled back the material, almost shying away from it initially. As blinded as she was due to the light, Celeste was all but reliant on Larka to safely guide her through to the kitchen.

It was strange to hear that Larka didn't know that Lirin looked exactly like her. Though, now that she could see her sister in the light, the elf was noticing the paler skin, the more youthful appearance compared to her own reflection. However, it was the meeting at the tavern that truly caught Celeste's attention, as she knew all too well what happens with Larka with the addition of good food, abundance of alcohol and sexy women. Did they? Not that it truly matter, they were in an open relationship. As long as it was to each other they came home to, it never mattered who slept with who.

With Larka squeezing her hand and talking about her experience, Celeste was trying hard not to pay attention. Instead, she reached down and fiddled with her ring, tugged on her hair, even gritted her teeth. Even the hug from her wife did little to alleviate the anger that rushed at the powerlessness she had through the situation. Combined with the adjusting of the bright daylight, it was enough to give her a headache and yearn for her leafy gift. Larka apologized for her shortcomings, and Celeste thought it best to jest. "Maybe you should have looked at her face rather than her breasts."

The food was placed before them, and Celeste inhaled it. she still found it difficult to remember that she no longer needed to eat so fast, her body's instinct to eat as much as possible. Who knew when she'd next skip a meal? She barely had time to taste the food at all by the time she was finished, causing Lirin to give a questioning look which Celeste had missed entirely. The questions would not let her anger dissipate though, so she stood and fetched a bottle of mead. After pouring herself a glass, she downed about half of it in a single gulp, trying to hide from the next set of questions.

"More than a week…" Celeste was sadly disappearing through an older path of memories when Lirin pulled her back out. Taking in that smile, she knew exactly what her twin wanted. Her eyes slid over to Larka, her smile mirroring the mischievous smile of her twin. "I want to hear your flute. I missed it. You sure you want to rest, ma vhenan?" Lirin's smile became a more delighted version, as the twins had shared the same thoughts. In truth, Celeste missed the festivities and feeling of freedom during those musical nights.

Larka just blinked back at Lirin when she made her reply to Larka's intelligent comment about them being twins. It was clear that Larka was in shock about this, perhaps more than Celeste, and now she could see them in the sunlight Larka could clearly see the similarities between them. ”No, can't say I did.” Larka replied as she carefully guided a nearly blinded Celeste upstairs to sit down for the breakfast that Lirin was now cooking.

Larka explained what had happened, and why, to Lirin with regards to Celeste's ordeal in the time she had been captive. She saw how tense Lirin became for a moment while she spoke, and as Lirin then handed the food to her sister and sister-in-law, Larka made her apologize to Celeste for not putting things together at all. But Celeste's response to what Larka said made the Reaver blush deeply but with a slight grin on her lips as she bit her lip. ”Uh, well, you are twins, and I love your breasts, so it would only make sense that…” She stopped and smiled leaning forward to kiss Celeste's cheek with a rare giggle. ”You're right, of course.” Larka confessed. ”To go into more detail, we met on a job, on opposite sides, and fought each other to a draw. After that we went our own ways but ended up in the same tavern later on, well, you know what happened after that.” Larka grinned, she knew that Celeste wasn't upset about it, they were in an open relationship and Larka would always, always come home to Celeste no matter what. Celeste knew this and Larka knew it of Celeste as well, which was why she had never believed that Celeste had just run away from her without a word as to why.

The food before her Larka started to eat, it was very good, and she grinned at how Celeste ate her own. She was eating, that's all that mattered in Larka's mind, Celeste missed a lot of meals at this point in time. So anything in her was a good thing. Lirin asked some questions and it was clear that Celeste wasn't comfortable with them as she got herself some mead, a drink that Larka for whatever reason, wasn't able to stomach, and gulped down half a glass in one go. She answered the questions regardless of Lirin's words that she didn't have to. A full week of crying and screaming and being locked away, knowing that her sister was out there dying, and unable to do anything about. Larka wouldn't be able to understand that having no siblings of her own, but she got a different kind of it when Celeste went missing.

Lirin didn't exactly come out and say that she was a vampire, but Larka didn't cut in and say anything either, that was Lirin's story to tell. Considering their night together Larka trusted Lirin enough to be around even if she was hungry enough to want to feed, she didn't believe Lirin would feed from her own sister or Larka at this point. Lirin asked what Celeste wanted to do while Larka took some rest but the mischievous smiles that the two of them were sharing made Larka narrow here eyes as she looked between them. What the hell was that smile about?

Too curious to not know Larka relented and nodded. ”Okay, I'll stay for a bit, but I do need sleep later for a bit. At least I know I brought someone home I can trust.” She grinned. ”And I liked her flute playing as well, be nice to hear a full song.” Larka continued, still wondering what those smiles had meant, an image passed in her mind but she pushed it aside.

She smiled down to Kyu for a moment when the wolf came over looking for more food, but Larka by then had finished her plate. ”Sorry, Kyu.” Larka stood and gathered Celeste's plate as well, heading to do the dishes. ”Thank you, Lirin, that was delicious.” 

Celeste invited Larka to join them, practically begging for her to with the way those eyes danced. "Think you can go outside?" Her sister bit her lip, but nodded slowly. "I won't push you into anything. Good, go get dressed and meet me outside" Lirin glanced at Larka as the currently fragile woman left the room. "If we must, we can tie a sash around her eyes, or she can wear a deep hood. Honestly, she'll have her eyes squinted or closed for what's about to happen most of the time." Yet she did not reveal what was going to happen.

Playfully tweaking Larka's nose on the way past her, Lirin busied herself with her pack. Lute, flute and drum were each pulled out and carefully laid out on the floor next to her. Still her attention was in her bag as she looked at what was left, rummaged through and pulled out her tambourine. The drum wasn't all that big, but it took up most of the room in her pack. Gathering the four instruments together, she stood. "I swear, I need to get a bigger pack. Pulling them out is easy, but replacing them is a pain in the arse." At this point Celeste reappeared, a deep hood obscuring her features in shadow. All questions were now met with a mysterious smile.

As soon as they were outside, a light breeze picked up. Laced within it was a charm spell mixed with Lirin's usual fragrance. It lazily danced among the grass as it reached out for the town. As it was downwind of Larka, she may not have noticed what Lirin was doing. The vampire led them into the rose maze until they reached the center. A few people were already here, a young couple giggling in the corner, an elder woman sitting on one of the benches with her face lifted to the sky to soak up the warmth of the morning sun. Deliberately, she placed the drum, lute and tambourine at various places around the fountain.

Dramatically, she turned toward Celeste and gave her a hug. "May your heart soar with freedom today," she whispered. Stepping back, Lirin lifted her flute to her lips, and smiled as she saw the recognition in her twin's eyes. "My dearest possession." Those three words were her only explanation before her lips closed around the flat end. Filling her lungs with air, Lirin let out a soft whistle before turning into a lovely song. One by one, the other three instruments lifted and began to add their own unique sound to the joyful tune, encouraging any who heard it to dance.

Her winds were still lacing out, drawing people near. Charm, scent and now auditory sensories were intriguing others to come investigate. Before long, the center of the garden was packed with many bodies, children, young and old alike. As it was almost twenty years ago, it was now. Celeste could not contain herself. As a charmed snake to the charmer, Celeste began to dance, round and round. The crowd began to ripple into action, dancing along with the broken twin who now looked younger with carefree laughter. The sight brought tears to Lirin's eyes as she continued providing the music for her sister.

Outside it was brighter, and likely she'd be blinded worse than she was now. Yet, as she bit her lip in contemplation, she so desperately wanted to see exactly what Lirin had in store for her. So she nodded slowly. Excitedly, she left the room and found her way downstairs. There, she rummaged through her clothing until she found something suitable to wear for just about any occasion, and would go well with her cloak. She loved this thing, as it had a hood so deep, it covered her face in shadow any time of the day.

Back upstairs, Celeste was confused. "Why so many instruments? I thought it was just your flute?" Yet, only a mysterious smile was her answer. Hand in hand with Larka, they followed Lirin, Celeste being quiet. Before the imprisonment, or rather abduction, Celeste was rather talkative in situations such as this. Now, she was quiet far too often. The difference was taking a toll on her mentally, as she doesn't understand why she can't just bounce back to how everything once was.

This was a big step for the Nash's. If Celeste can stomach being out here for Lirin's performance, then the two of them can enter the world together more often. Perhaps later in the afternoon when the light was softer and easier on the eyes. The two of them could go shopping together, could spar together. Possibilities were endless. When her eyes were better adjusted to the light, she was able to take in the breathtaking splendor of the maze heart. Yet, she eagerly watched her sister's deliberate moves. In Lirin's hands was the very same flute she had given her so long ago. Still just as pristine, Celeste could see the ivy etched into the ivory flute. She had crafted it personally just for Lirin, painted and polished it so carefully with a master artisan looking over her shoulder. It was the most amazing feeling to know her sister had managed to keep it safe all these years.

Music started, sweet and soothing. The airy notes pulled on her heart as Celeste closed her eyes and listened. Celeste was unaware of the crowd gathering as she was swept up in the music. First her hips swayed, then her upper body. An infectious smile spread across her face. This was so reminiscent of the past, when everyone would gather and dance just because she couldn't contain her own feet. Just as she did then, Celeste let go of Larka's hand and began to dance. Twirling round and round, her feet ever so graceful regardless of the time she lost in the underdark.

She looked so carefree as she lifted her face to the sky, her hood falling off and hair flying free. Where the haunting experience seemed to age her face, this melted years right off. Instead of grabbing Lirin as she once did, Celeste turned and grabbed Larka's hand, her free hand on her hip. She led her wife in a mating dance of her clan, and seemed so happy, even if Larka stumbled through the dance or not. This was something she had hidden from Larka, another thing kept secret because it was sacred to her memory of Lirin. Now, Larka could see a glimpse of her wife how she was before the pain and torture caused by even her own family. The carefree, joyous days of her youth. Everyone was dancing around them, and Lirin was their puppeteer. Yet, no one was upset by this sudden concert. Celeste let out a happy laugh as she kissed Larka. Knowing Lirin, the song would never end unless she chose it to.