Sothrysaa had never had such a time seeking a memory.

It wasn't that the water fought him. Rather, it seemed eager to do whatever he asked, as if it was called upon often magically, but never quite in this fashion, so it was eager to see what it was like. It wasn't even that the memory was old or too far from the water to be clear. The magic wasn't difficult, he did it all the time, though recently most of his practice turned up only things that had happened recently on their little ship.

But still, somehow, the sense of his distant kin, from only a handful of years ago, continued to slip through his questing magical fingers like oil sliding away from pure water. It was like something about that place, that time, or that person simply could not be easily glimpsed. He might have blamed it on interference from his brothers, with their frustrating and changeable elements, but they had moved all the way back to the complex wall, giving him plenty of room to work unhindered. They'd even withdrawn their thoughts from the back of his own so they couldn't distract him.

It was so frustrating! He'd never fought so hard to find something the water had seen, yet the harder he looked, the more difficult the images and sounds became to find. As soon as he tried to focus on the scene the river knew it had witnessed, it faded and slipped away before he could get more than a tantalizing glimpse of it. But he refused to give up, stubbornly clinging to his self-appointed task. He wanted to have something to show Sythwyr when he returned to the ship-- it would certainly prove how useful he and his brothers could be! More, it was a matter of pride, his own pride, that he'd never once not found something he'd sought, unless it was too far back or too far removed to actually be found, and in that case he knew better than to try. That, he could understand. But this-- this, he had no idea why what always worked suddenly didn't work anymore. It was like water was suddenly flowing uphill, with no rational explanation.

So Sothrysaa sat, his thoughts churning up like waves, ignoring everything else around him, and continued stubbornly to fish for what he knew was there, but which defied his attempts to find it. It felt like hours, sifting through things the water remembered. It recalled a never-ending cycle of classes in swimming and water-magic with the giant fish and an ever-changing variety of students; people with poles and hooks seeking actual and edible fish and, for the most part, failing to find any; even a couple furtive, heated trysts, slipping away from the school and to the dubious privacy of the stunted trees and trickling water. He saw things from upriver, downriver, even from the far-distant ocean and from rainfall farther north. But he couldn't see the one thing he wanted to see!

::Rysaa?::

::Are you still looking? You've been at it all afternoon. It's almost dark.::

::Rysaa, stop, it's not that important.::

He ignored his brothers angrily, determined to find this elusive kin of theirs. If his memory was so hard to find, then maybe there was something wrong with him. Maybe he did need the help of his ancestors' people. And besides, he refused to give in... refused!

You're going about it the wrong way, came a thought, and not from his brothers-- or, he thought, himself. It sounded all wrong, and it flowed too well with the water he had his thoughts immersed in.

But that didn't make him any more disposed to listen to it. He wasn't going about it the "wrong way". He was doing what he always did, the only thing that was sure to work. His only other option was to not look, just wait for what he wanted to show itself. He couldn't just... float along wherever the flow took him, not when he had something specific he needed. It might never show up. If it did, it might take hours-- days, even-- to do so.

Trust me. I know what I'm doing.

Sothrysaa wasn't about to trust some random voice in his head, when he had no idea who the owner of the voice was, especially when he was sure they were wrong! ::Go away!:: he flung at the intruder. ::I'm busy!::

But I want to help. Let me help?

::There isn't anything you can do, I just need to keep working.::

I can help. I promise. Or do you want to miss your meeting with your friends?

The thought of Sythwyr coming looking for him when he and his brothers didn't show up at the rendezvous was admittedly unpleasant. He could just imagine the whole rest of the Searchers coming to pick them up, like lost children.

::What do you want to do?:: he asked the insistent newcomer reluctantly.

I need to see what you see-- I need to be like one of your brothers, when you let them in.

::But I'm linked to them. I don't know how to show anyone else.::

I can fix that if... if you'll trust me. I won't hurt you, or anything, I promise.

Sothrysaa sat indecisively for a long few minutes, but the presence attached to the voice sat patiently and waited for him to decide. As much as he hated to admit it, he did need the help, but he knew nothing about this person-- not even what gender it was!

I can fix that, too.

And, not asked for specifically but still desired, he suddenly knew who he was speaking with. She was one of the dragon-children from the class they'd greeted and, briefly, entertained that afternoon. She had been one of the ones grinning when they left. Her name was Neve, and she was taking classes on scholarship while awaiting a sponsor or a bond.

And he knew why she asked him to trust her.

::You do need help,:: she reminded him, sensing the start of his withdrawal. ::And I think that's the only way I can. And... I want to. I don't know why, but I want to.:: There was something in her voice that made him keep listening. ::Please... I know it's hard. I know it's asking a lot-- you hardly know me. But I know it's right. If you really don't like it, it-- it could be broken again. Please, Sothrysaa....::

For another agonizing minute he wavered, but....

::If you're going to bond me, you might as well call me Rysaa, like my brothers do.:: He didn't even have to be bonded to her to sense the elation. ::Don't get all excited on me and throw me out of the stream, or I'll change my mind!:: She subdued herself with an obvious effort and he asked, ::Well? Do I need to do anything?::

::I have a scroll. All you have to do is let me put it in your hand.::

::Well, get on with it, then,:: he told her uncomfortably.

There was a moment when nothing happened, and he waited edgily, not sure what to expect, not sure he'd done the right thing. Bonding... hadn't he just thought, earlier that day, that he didn't really want to even think about it? And yet, of his brothers, he was the one to be approached about it. And he was the one, against all odds, to agree.

He had been so focused on his magic and the water that he couldn't really feel his body, but even so he knew the exact moment she touched the scroll to his fingers. Not because he felt it there, but because of what it did. He didn't see the bright light that flashed, but he felt the magic that went with it-- and the new set of thoughts that he found settled next to his, the alien mind that somehow felt as close as a brother-- or a sister. It was jarring-- he nearly fell out of the stream and back into his body-- but not exactly unpleasant.

No, not unpleasant at all.

::Well.::

Neve's voice was closer in his head, now, and it sparkled like light on water with happiness. She sounded so happy. 

::Do you want to try something different?::

He didn't bother to answer, he just backed off from the stream he'd been dabbling in. He might as well let her try her way: her drifting, waiting, expectant way. But though he couldn't help thinking that it probably wouldn't get them anywhere, he thought maybe he didn't mind letting her wait expectantly for a while. It... might be a nice change.

That didn't mean he wasn't a little annoyed when it worked, though.

Chapter Ten

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