Caeli felt as though someone had splashed cold water on her. First the shock, then the surprise, then the attempt to understand what had happened and for what reason.
"I know. You're shocked, I understand. Unfortunately we haven't much time for that. I need you to listen and listen well. We only have until you wake to talk and we need every minute.", the woman said pouring two cups of hot water for tea and setting one in front of Caeli.
"Firstly, I am much older than I look. I had you later in life, much later than a normal human could manage but for my kind it's quite normal. No my hair is not white because of my age, it is white because of my lineage, as yours will be in time.", she said reaching over and patting Caelis' hand tenderly.
Caeli thought back to when she had encountered the stone and a streak of white had appeared in her hair. Before she could try to rationalize the instance the woman was moving forward with what she had to say next.
"Secondly, I left you a stone. Have you found it yet?", the woman asked, raising a perfectly arched eyebrow as she sipped her tea.
Caeli nodded slowly, a flurry of questions and answers cascading through her mind.
"Very good. Now lastly, and most importantly, you must not, under any circumstances, give up on finding yourself, your past, your heritage. Do you understand? This is life and death Caeli I need you to acknowledge what I've just said."
Another slow nod.
"You will meet people, many bad, but some kind. There will be those who will help you learn your past, you must trust them. You'll think the difficult part is learning who you can trust but it's not. You have that power, you were born with it. You will realize the hardest part is to take the leap. To have faith. To trust and lean on those who offer a helping hand, and to also trust and fall to the hard ground. You must, I repeat, must allow this help despite the chances of being hurt."
Caeli stared blank faced at the woman. A thousand questions flew around inside of her head, slamming into the sides of her skull.
She brought a hand to her head and noted that she'd soon be sick if the throbbing refused to cease.
"You must trust despite the fear of the falling. And trust even if it means you could get hurt. And you will my dear. Get hurt I mean. It's an inevitable part of life. It's human nature to wrench yourself away in anticipation but it will teach you so many things."
The woman's voice trembled slightly. As she spoke her words became more and more hurried, as though everything she said came pouring out of a broken dam.
The white haired woman looked away from Caeli and swallowed visibly. She turned back to look at her before speaking again.
"Caeli, I also need you to know, that your father and I...", the woman paused as she looked down into her cup as though she'd find the right words lying at the bottom with the tea leaves, "we love you. So much. More than I can tell you in the short time that we have. Just know that you are our world and we would do anything for you. Would have done anything for you. I am so sorry for the life you likely had to lead due to our absence but just know, anything we did, we did for your safety. I love you Caeli. Never forget that."
The woman reached over and squeezed her hand so hard Caeli thought that she'd soon lose the feeling in her fingers if she didn't let go.
The woman went to pull her hand back and accidentally flipped over a bowl filled with hot stew.
"Oh shite!", she shouted.
The smell of roasted vegetables and meat slammed into Caeli's senses and she felt her stomach riot in response. She looked down at her stomach and back at the woman.
A growling sound intruded her senses but seemed far away. Caeli looked around the room.
"What is tha-", a louder growl came and suddenly Caeli's vision was engulfed in darkness.
The growling sound came again but this time it was right beneath her. She looked down and gently laid her hand on her stomach. It responded with a violent vibration of protest.
How long had it been since she had eaten?
And what just happened?
——————————————————————————
"Who was that?"
Ventus turned in her seat to see Rivera sitting on her counter top. Her skin translucent and in flux, the surface moving in swirls like the surface of a swirling clear river. Her hair draped all around her like a water fall, the ends becoming tumultuous landings for the water then dissipating.
"Caeli.", Ventus said simply with a broad smile, after a moment her face became sad.
If Caeli had shown herself, traveled across time, the war had come to fruition. Ventus knew it.
Knew that they would go to fight, knew what that meant for Caeli.
"I thought she was in bed?", Rivera said picking up an apple and taking a large bite.
"She is. That was my future Caeli. She looked like she was around 25 years old at this point in her life"
Rivera chewed thoughtfully for a moment and then gave a slight nod in understanding.
"Will she be back?", the river spirit asked nonchalantly.
"I don't know, but I hope so, form the depths of my heart I truly hope so.", Ventus said quietly to her folded hands in her lap. Her heart hopeful and shattered all at once.