Secrets and Lore: Gayther and Marelyn's Story

It was a quiet trip. Gayther, used to the flashing advertisements on the picture-screens in the elevators, spent it in thought while Marelyn knotted up her long hair, Naoryn shifted uncomfortably, and Sylira thumped her tail impatiently and tried to keep her breathing under control. He'd had a thought, off and on, while sitting in that hatching bay with Liatha and whichever dragon was on duty at the time, or even away from the bay, watching the kitten's simple delight in the wonders of Star City-- or even by himself, curled up on the big bed in their hotel room. It had been an idle thought, a random desire to ponder and possibly go through with-- to ponder, and wonder whether it was selfish, selfless, or just silly-- but now there was something more than personal wishes to consider.

For the most part, over the past three weeks while Marelyn did her work, Gayther stuck by the kitten, taking her out when she could be coaxed away from her "babies", listening to her chatter when she couldn't, and walking her through basic magic-- and keeping a shield on her in case she lashed out on accident again-- when she felt up to it. She was a dear thing, if a bit exasperating, though he was very glad she had at least shown that, silly and simple as she was, she still would not stand for being abused directly.

It was a joy to have magic back, too, he'd realized. He hadn't even thought about how much he'd missed it, because there had been no point bemoaning its loss when it was merely a necessity of growing up, until all of a sudden it was back. Despite a few initial fumblings, it responded just as well, if not better than, it had when he was young and eating up magic words like they were candy. His life so far had only enriched his knowledge of the language, and his self-control, making him rather more the master of his power than he had been as an eager, excitable, reckless youth who had to sneak into the libraries for spells when his teachers were wary of his energy. And having Liatha to teach it to all over again only made it more enjoyable: he could demonstrate anything she wanted or needed seen, and shield her himself, without needing to call upon older children and hope they could hold against uncontrolled kittens!

He even, in private, shifted once in front of the same mirror where Marelyn had admired herself, and was shocked at how different he looked from what he remembered. It didn't come as a surprise that he was older, and his over-sized nose and slight build hadn't changed, but he still had expected something... more familiar. Somehow, over the decades of disuse, his human form had grown a beard and a lot of hair. He didn't mind, really-- he thought he looked distinguished with a beard-- but his usual gray, white, and lavender looked a bit silly on a human. He didn't let anyone else see him, of course; he was happier as a cat.

At the spa, they were the only individuals at the dragon-sized pool just then-- thankfully; Gayther would have wanted privacy, but he couldn't really afford a private pool-- and Sylira slid in with relief, ducking under almost immediately and swimming down to the bottom. As Gayther had half-expected, she didn't come up immediately, either. Marelyn sat with her bare feet dangling in the water, Gayther settled into the shallows to soak his fur and ponder his novel idea and wonder if he ought to feel guilty for it, and Naoryn continued to look uncomfortable.

"I guess river dragons really can't be out of water for long," he said eventually, with the air of someone trying to fill an awkward silence, when Sylira still hadn't resurfaced after a couple minutes, and when grooming his coat had briefly lost its appeal.

"Whether it's physical or psychological, yes, that does appear true," Gayther agreed mildly. "I can't imagine I would want to be stuck on land all the time, unhealthy or not, if I didn't actually have legs."

Marelyn eyed him curiously. "You're awfully calm, considering we just decided Catrice wants to use your precious kitten's children as soldiers."

"That's true," Naoryn agreed, looking up from his fur again, as if just realizing the same. "What's going on, Gayther? Judging by your actions so far, I'd think you'd be out of your mind with worry by now."

"My actions so far have also been a bit out of character," Gayther admitted sheepishly, pausing to ride out a wave from the other end of the pool: Sylira had taken to idly swimming across the deep end and doing a few lazy flips underwater, sending ripples all the way to their side. "But with everyone else panicking, I didn't really have any reason to, myself. Besides, I had time to think on the way here." Sylira's head rose out of the water again and she approached, so he spoke up for her to hear, as well. "You told me yourself, Naoryn, that they don't let the parents take home all the children. Other people adopt at least most of them, right?"

"Right," Naoryn confirmed, padding down to join the other two in the water.

"We knew when we signed up we couldn't take all the kids with us," Sylira put in. "So Catrice must have figured that into her plans, somehow."

"You can't make an army with only one or two soldiers," Marelyn mused, eyes narrowed in thought. "Or even one of each species, if she wheedles that many out of the doctor."

"She probably won't even get one of each species," Gayther said. "The other mothers probably won't want their children in a battle, not if their goal is protecting them for a better future. And besides...." He looked down and pawed at the shallow water embarrassedly. "If there are plenty of other candidates, maybe she won't wind up taking one home to manipulate and use, at all."

"But surely the mothers will be given ways to contact their kids, won't we?" Sylira asked suddenly, eyes narrowed at the thought, and his own comment went overlooked. "Liatha will certainly want to be able to keep in touch with them."

"I don't believe the parents have to make contact with the kids before they leave," Naoryn answered, "but I know Shroeder keeps records of where they all end up, just like we do at the Lodge."

He didn't seem to notice, but both Gayther and Marelyn watched Sylira, who was looking like she'd caught an idea. "What are you thinking, Sylira?" Gayther asked warily. "Is there a way for Catrice to somehow collect all the scattered garyki, or something? Force them to work for her?"

"I don't know," Sylira said. "It just suddenly occurred to me that Catrice has been encouraging Liatha to stay with the eggs. Liatha originally didn't want to have anything to do with them, not understanding that the eggs would hatch into real children, but Catrice kept impressing on her they they were her babies and she should look after them. At first I thought it was so the rest of us wouldn't have to stay and watch, but Liatha's not allowed to be alone with them, either...."

Marelyn frowned. "Liatha is one person I have not tried to question," she admitted. "I assumed that anything of import said around her would get to Gayther's ears, since she says whatever she thinks at the time. But I also didn't think to actually ask her anything, or to look for magic. Perhaps we ought to."

"There isn't any magic," Gayther said, feeling cold despite the warmth of the water. "I would have seen it."

"Then perhaps we ought to question her," Marelyn amended. "Perhaps she could be persuaded to come for a swim?"

"That might not be a bad idea," Naoryn said slowly. "I think Liatha might be as good a person to keep our ears on as Kasaopeia. The Society certainly discounts her as much, if not more, than they do Kasaopeia."

"You're right," Sylira admitted when Naoryn looked to her for confirmation. "None of us give her a thought, and honestly, when Catrice insisted Liatha stay with the eggs it should have bothered me that she was so insistent, but it didn't, because I don't generally give Liatha any credit or thought."

The glance she sent Gayther's way was actually apologetic, to his gratified surprise. Though she'd made no apologies to Marelyn when chided on her treatment of Kasaopeia, she appeared to regret her treatment of Liatha, at least where Gayther was concerned. It was an interesting contrast. He climbed out of the water, giving himself a vigorous shake-- to Marelyn's loud protest as she hastily ducked under an arm and a shield to protect her from the spray. He answered Sylira's look mildly enough, after murmuring a quick spell-phrase that fluffed up his fur and dried it out in seconds, sending steam rising from his back. "That is why I give her credit and thought," he said. "I'll go get her and we'll see what she has to say."

Convincing Liatha to take a break and come for a swim wasn't difficult, at all. She just about jumped on the opportunity, egg-bound babies to watch or not, and as soon as they came into the room with the pool, she bounded to the edge and plunged in without even a hello for the others in it already. This time Marelyn was ahead of her and had her shield up in time, though Naoryn got a good splash. Liatha paddled around happily, and all three of the other faces turned expectantly towards Gayther.

"Think you can reel her in so we can have a civilized conversation?" Sylira asked.

Gayther, sitting on the edge of the pool and watching indulgently, flicked some water at Liatha with his tail-tip, half-playfully and half to get her attention. "I'll do my best. Liatha? Child, we'd like to ask you a couple questions before you get back to your swim."

Well, she came over, all right, ears perked attentively, but she took her sweet time about it, reluctant to give up her water-play. "What questions?" she asked when she finally got there.

Gayther sighed a bit at her, smiling and licking her wet forehead once, then got down to business. "Catrice is having you watch the eggs in the hatching bay. Did she tell you why or say anything about it, besides their being your babies?"

Liatha shook her head. "They're my babies. I have to watch them so that they know me. We don't want them hatching without knowing their mother."

Gayther cast a look at Sylira, Naoryn, and Marelyn helplessly. That doesn't seem terribly nefarious to him-- besides, they were just eggs; they probably still would have no idea their mother was when they hatched, unless they were told upon hatching. "Did she say why she cared so much about that?" he asked.

Though she shook her head again, Liatha was excited when she relayed, "No, but she said I could invite them all to Kilandaia when they're older so they can visit me!"

Aha. That was probably Catrice's plan, then. Gayther nodded warmly, though he felt badly for the poor kitten, whose simple love and excitement were part of a cruel dragon's plan. "I expect that will be fun. Thank you, Liatha."

As she paddled off again, Naoryn looked thoughtful. "Do you suppose when Liatha invites the garyki to come home, their bonds and friends will be invited to come with them?"

"I admit, I don't entirely understand this 'bonding' thing," Gayther said, "but if they are bound in some way, wouldn't they have to?"

"And I can't imagine that if one has looked after someone for their entire life, he or she would be content to remain behind when that someone left for another world," Marelyn added. "So I would expect many or most of them to come as well, invited or not."

"Then she will have a bit of an army on her hands when all of them show up, won't she?" Naoryn said. "Unless several people show up to oppose her...."

"They will have to show up, first," Marelyn pointed out. "I can't imagine that all of them will. And then they must be convinced, or coerced, into being a little army for Catrice."

"It still wouldn't hurt to be ready to stop her," Gayther told her. "I... well, I was already considering adopting one or two, myself."

Marelyn smiled a bit, enigmatically, and said to his great surprise, "So was I."

"I'm betting Mykha would be upset if I didn't bring one or two home," Naoryn added, tail flicking idly through the water.

"So go sign up," Sylira said, looking amused. "The more garyki we have prepared to stand against her, the better."

"I still can't imagine it's going to be terribly necessary," Marelyn smirked, leaning back on her hands. "Catrice isn't a sweet enough talker to get a bunch of strangers to fight for her, I think. But I'll do it. I was probably going to, anyway."

"I just liked the idea of a little company on the road," Gayther commented wistfully. "A new student who I don't leave behind when it's time to move on. Helping stop Catrice, if we do," he amended pointedly to Marelyn, who had rolled her eyes at him at even that small concern, "is just a bonus."

As usual, she laughed at him, but this time he didn't care.