A small planet, lush and verdant only due to the touch of one Mi'ehna Ai Orr, who has tended it for the site of her father Radivishe Moorn's grave. The tomb itself is small, ish, and shallow... leading down to an empty mausoleum. Only a black urn, sealed with an impassable sorcerous barrier, lies within, holding the ashes of one of the most maligned men in the history of history.

---

Niven Ai

---

"The gate is right here," Ai points to a door at the edge of her plant-filled study, a place so covered with growth it hardly looks like a room. She steps through the door without hesitation, winding up on the actual planet where her father's grave is kept.

Felina's still silent...just nods where appropriate. She could hardly be less creeped out by today. First Tel-tiono and now this...she's having a hard time reconciling herself with this seemingly past world. She follows Ai.

Felina looks up on the other side. "This is very nice," she notes, tone neutral.

Ai smiles a little at that. "Thank you. It... was a wasteland before I... well. You know what it looked like." She walks down the overgrown path, moving her glowing hand this way and that and watching the creepers move aside, not asking Felina to follow her. She knows she does not have to.

The gate to the mausoleum is tightly sealed with Ai's own sorcery, and takes a moment for her to open. As she waits, she says, "I apologize again for the way I reacted to you. I know you only did your..." falters. "I apologize...."

"Don't. I had a father once, too. I understand...believe it or not." That's true. She doesn't hold it against Ai at all. "I have to admit...in all the possible effects I tried to forsee of his death...someone missing him never occurred to me. I didn't know he had a child."

"My mother kept it rather tight. He was something of a lackluster father, but... he was affectionate towards me. He gave me the name of someone he respected... always brought gifts for me when he did come home." Ai palms the door, and its stone girth splits vertically to roll open. "I knew the kind of monster he was. I begged him to stop, to come home, but he would not listen."

"A lot of people have two faces. Sometimes it's the only way to cope with a difficult lifestyle. You saw one. I grappled the other. But I don't doubt you got to see a different one than I did." Her voice remains quiet and even through this. She really has aged two thousand years over her parallel. Her eyes travel up the door as it opens.

"I hope you would not murder a man who would cut off his own hair just so his daughter would not fear a haircut." She steps inside, shivering a little bit at the unearthly energy that still surrounds her father's ashes. "I am certain that you saw a different side of him. The side my mother saw." She laughs softly. "Oh goddammit," she chuckles, fingertips wiping crystalline tears from her eyes. "I am sorry, I do not need to be discussing this."

Felina steps forward, puts a hand on Mi'ehna's shoulder on a whim. "It's all right. Something tells me you don't get to talk about it often. I don't mind." Her ears are somewhat back as she looks down at the grave...not entirely, but definitely tilted.

Ai gently steps away from her hand, looking down upon her and shaking her head. "Please don't. I am not ready for... gestures of sympathy from you. Not yet." She looks down the stairway, and holds out her arm, gesturing for Felina to go inside. "Please."

Felina returns her hand to her side. She nods and, senses alert, steps inside as bidden.

As Felina steps inside, a horrifying blackness permeates the spectrum within the place, as if its own aura detests her. That should come as no surprise. When Ai follows it calms somewhat, though.

"There is nothing fancy. Just a pedestal," Ai points, gesturing all around a very utilitarian, conical chamber, "and his ashes. I come here sometimes to talk to him, but... he cannot hear me. He is in hell."

"I see." Felina nods, and just looks around, quiet and solemn. There's no real answer to a statement like that. No good one, anyway.

Ai steps close to the urn and kneels upon one of several mats set in front of the pedestal, just for that, and pats the one next to her.

"Father," she whispers, "I need your advice. I know that you told me I should never get involved in your business... now that I am an adult, I truly understand why. Your business was... evil, horrible things. But knowing that you only said so to protect me..." She looks down, eyes away from the glowing urn. "I have brought someone special with me. I never thought that I would see her face without lashing out, but... she needs my help. Father, I need to know. Will you forgive her... so that I may forgive her?"

Ai looks over to Felina. "Ask him," she quietly says. It isn't a request, not really.

Felina's silent. And, all told, taken aback. This is not something she'd been prepared to deal with. Not something she's ever given a moment's thought to in all the nearly fifteen centuries since this had all happened...since they'd confronted each other the final time. She finally closes her eyes, folds her arms.

"Give me a minute to organize my thoughts." At least it's clear that she's taking this seriously. She isn't so sure they won't be heard despite the "hell" bit, considering the reaction to her presence and the fact that Ai's doing this at all. This is not easy for her.

Ai smiles a bit, and lowers her head. She reaches into a pocket of her robe and produces two sticks of cinnamon, which she lays before the urn. "Father, I brought you some cinnamon," she quietly continues, allowing Felina time to think. "I know you are angry with me for bringing her here. But please, give her a chance."

Felina finally opens her eyes, after the better part of a minute. "Miss Mi'ehna...would be opposed to waiting outside for this?" It's not because she's trying to wiggle out of anything. After all, Ai's certainly going to know the result. It's because she has things to say to him that, without knowing how many specifics of what her father really did, she does't really want to stick in a daughter's memory of her father.

Ai wonders at that, but finally shakes her head. "I would not mind. Here." She hands Felina a cinnamon stick. "They are good." She rises, leans down to kiss the dark urn, and takes her leave of the mausoleum to tend the flowers outside.

Felina lets out a slow breath once Ai is out of earshot. "Good. Now I can speak more freely." She looks to the urn, ears somewhat back, walking slowly around it, thoughtful. "She thinks she understands what you were away from her, but I'm not positive she can. She thinks too much of you for that. That kind of emotion clouds vision and judgement...as I'm sure you told me at least once. I don't need to put more strain on that than necessary. Let her have her memories of her father." She stops walking. "Not for your sake, of course."

Her senses are highly, highly piqued, paying attention to every little energy variation and scanning for anything that might conceivably be interpreted as some sort of reaction.

To say that the reaction is there would be an understatement so vicious that it nearly overlaps back into overstatement. The urn glows brightly, and the cinnamon sticks burst into a spark, and then ash that smells very nice. The energy in the room is black, so full of hate that, outside the mausoleum, Ai closes her eyes and hugs her knees to her chest to have a place to hide from it.

"I suppose," she quietly says to herself, "that I asked too much." A tear, drying to crystals before it hits the ground, rolls dwn her porcelain cheek, and she hides her face. Never in her entire life has her vow to never kill been so strained, so painful to try and keep.

Felina closes her eyes...takes a slow breath. "You hate me. That's fine, I figured you did. I hated you for a very, very long time, too." She doesn't seem hideously affected by the energy, though she's certainly painfully aware of it. "Fate really had it in for us, huh? I never asked to get in your way. But, for your part, you couldn't have known what trouble investigating an unusual construct's energy signature would turn into. Of course you had to investigate it, it was in your field of expertise. Fate set it up perfectly. Even after that, our paths just kept crossing...no matter what either of us tried to do to avoid it."

She folds her arms, leans against a wall despite the energies choking the air. "But I don't hate you now. I have no doubt I owe you my life. Several times over, actually. You must know that...or only don't because you haven't taken the time to think about it if not."

The vibrations in the mausoleum strengthen, rumbling so hard that the cinnamon sticks' ashes fall from the pedestal. Where they fall, interestingly enough, the ashes begin to move as if stirred by an unseen hand. Letters form in the glow and dust.

L-e-a-v-e  m-y  d-a-u-g-h-t-e-r  a-l-o-n-e

F-o-r-g-i-v-e-n

Felina's eyes are solemn at this. It's been a long, long time she's had a reminder of just how powerful Radivishe Moorn had really been. How she'd beaten him so long ago...she still thinks that she'd either had covert help, or been the luckiest guardian in history. She's already standing up straight again, of course...she has to be, the wall would have shaken her silly. "Right, then." She fishes for words of parting, then decides none fit. "Rest in peace" isn't exactly right. In fact, not many apply to someone who's burning in hell. After a few moments, she just heads for the door. Pauses just near the exit. "By the way...if it's any sort of consolation, you've still beaten the living shit out of me more times than anyone else to date, and I still can't get rid of that scar."

The energy calms and quiets, and something not far from a light chuckle seems to ring through the air.

The ashes move again.

T e l l  M e  I n  P e r s o n 

S o o n

Felina's largely unchanging face finally narrows its eyes at the ashes, just a little. "Oh good. Now I get to sit up all night trying to decide whether you're bluffing or not. I'd say 'damn you', but that would be redundant." Worst, if she recalls...he hadn't bluffed a whole lot. She really doesn't hate him by this point, though...doesn't like him. But anything that can be called "hate" faded long ago.

The word 'forgiven' reappears in the ash, and whatever presence had been there is gone now, leaving only a bubbly, pleasant sort of mood in its place.

Felina lets out her breath. That...truly a quirky experience. In any case...she has no more business here, and walks out of the mausoleum without looking twice.

Ai looks up from her knees, her crystal tears gone without a sign of their presence. She rises, dusts off, and flicks a beetle off of her shoulder... surrounding it with a healing spell just to be safe.

"Did he speak to you?"

Felina nods. "It was...like old times. I'm sure you felt the initial black surge. I reminded him that I'm his favorite punching bag, he cheered up, harassed me a bit, and scrawled 'forgiven,' among other sentiments, on the ground in ash." She shrugs.

The divinity sighs softly. "Good. Then I forgive you, too." She turns then, and starts walking through the high grass and brush, which moves to the side for her and then seals back as if it had never done such a thing. At the peak of a short hill she retrieves a small blue flower.

"Give this to the other Felina, later. Tell her to give it to my father in her world." Ai looks at the modern Felina, unblinking. "Let's wake her ass up, so that we can do it."

Felina blinks at the flower, taking it gingerly between her clawed fingers. Subtly checks for anything sorcerous, of course...but it doesn't seem to be there. "All right. Sounds like a plan."

Ai smiles a bit. "Forget me not," she smiles, "my father's favorite flower. Can you teleport us to your place, or must I buy you dinner first?"

Felina grins sweetly. "Well, I did have a nice romantic place all picked out." That said, they both vanish into the gardens of Helantri Deru.

---

Some days after Felina's visit, a tremor sweeps through the mausoleum housing Ai's father's remains. It is brief, but intense, and when it is over a sole flame flickers inside the room, burning brightly in orange and blue.

The urn.

This is the planet Felina appears on within the minute, face that mask of serious blankness she's built over the years, armour and clothing straight and weapons hanging exactly as she should. Her senses are far more than alert...no. Damnit. Not now. A few weeks ago, she'd have known how to handle this, but...with Ai....

... takes a lot of brass, coming to see me this quickly. Felina, I am appalled. You forgot to wipe your feet.

She closes her eyes, stance neutral. "What can I say? I'm still a rude little git."

I hope you didn't come here for a fight. You'll be disappointed.

A cold mist gathers towards the entrance of the room, and he is just... there. Standing pleasantly as though he had been there for an hour. His appearance is slightly different... he's generally bigger, his face a little less feminine, his eyes marked with parallel vertical slash-tattooes that he had earned when the third stage of hell had tried so slash open his retinas. The overcoat is ragged, though he now sports black shirt beneath as well. 

"What do you want, Felina?"

"What, I don't make a pretty enough greeting committee?" He's bringing out a part of her she hasn't known for years, really...she hasn't had this quick a tongue for a long time. "I..." her heart leaps to her throat when Dewei appears behind her. She closes her eyes a moment. "Dewei. I told you to stay at the house."

That's true. It had been telepathic, but she had. He'd just been too worried to listen. He stares openly at Moorn for several seconds...Felina had never told him anything about her conflicts with him. He simply doesn't know...this is just the only person he's ever seen who fully shares his father's race. He realizes that he's rude, and glances to his mother questioningly so as not to stare.

Felina's fishing for what to say. She's just silent, and her face is blank...and she's ready to jump to her son's defense.

Moorn looks to Felina. Then to Dewei. Back. Forth. Back and forth.

"Oh, this is just delicious. Is this yours?" actually, his tone is terribly polite... for him. 

Felina looks back to him after a moment. "Yes. This is Dewei, my son. Dewei, this is Radivishe Moorn...an old acquaintence."

Dewei smiles a bit, politely, though he can sense her unease and can't place it. He bows his head. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Part of Felina keeps picturing Ai banging her head against the wall. She thinks that's a good idea.

"Yes, I'm sure," Moorn answers to Dewei. "Well. I appreciate the welcoming committee, but I must be off. I have to go and see my daughter, if you'll excuse me. Oh..." he lowers his head a little bit, and allows the ever-present masks to fall away from his energy levels. What had once been simply awesome, now... is practically cataclysmic. "I picked up a few tricks in hell this time. I thought you might approve."

Dewei's eyes widen at this. And, for the first time, he's beginning to realize that this man and his mother were enemies.

Felina doesn't allow her expression to change. "I wouldn't expect any less. Your daughter is resting in my home. The storm of souls caused by your escape hit her mind hard and she was overwhelmed for a few moments. She's fine now. But you may want to let her rest a few minutes and fully recover her wits."

Moorn tilts his head, white hair spilling over his shoulders. His eyes take on a soft green glow, not so much an emotional one as an 'oh yeah, I'm alive again' one.

"Why would Mi'ehna feel such a thing?" he asks the question softly, not demandingly. Not yet.

"She was bitten by a malefactor, one that died of poison or similar. The only way within my power to save her, quickly enough, was to convert part of her internal structure to an undead one. With her permission, of course. Her senses reconfigured to fit." She doesn't pin it on Makyon. Leave others out of this mess.

A brief flash, a moment frozen in time, no longer than a second... but Radivishe Moorn's face expresses a mixture of pain and concern for his daughter. "Take me to her," he quietly commands, "right now." He doesn't even look at Dewei.

Felina bows her head a moment. She never really was put aside by his abrupt rudeness, it's one of the the traits they share. Besides, she caught the expression, and certainly understands worry for children. A moment later, they appear in Helantri Deru.

---

It's a pretty tight group that appears at the grave's planet...Felina's keeping close to her kids, though of course she's supporting Ai in large part. She's not sure she wants the twins to be here. But she's not sure she doesn't, either.

Ai glances around, her half-asleep expression brightening measurably. "I can feel him... he is really here!"

The sorcere wastes no time in emerging from the grave. He knows his daughter has arrived, and feels no need to waste time about it. When he appears, it is with his own urn clasped between his hands.

"Mi'ehna..." The spoken word bears the mark of awe, wonder... joy, confusion even. He steps towards them, ignoring the Onos completely, as Ai falls against him and the two embrace. As normal people do, oddly enough. Ai is talking, but it's mostly gibberish; fast, broken, pointless jabber.

Felina smiles faintly...looks away after the first few moments, just out of respect for what's a private moment. Ting thinks it's just about the sweetest, most touching thing she's ever seen, and she's having some hell of a time keeping herself from cooing.

Ai is completely out of her poor head right now. Crying and laughing in the same breath, as her father, who may have been the most heartless bastard alive at one time, strokes her hair and holds her, just staying quiet.

"I repaired the damage to Niven Ai, Mi'ehna, compensating for your condition," he informs her, "so it is as it should be." He looks up. "Your daughter is much prettier than you, Felina."

Felina smiles, and bows her head a little. "Yes, she is."

Ting's also a lot friendlier than her mom. "Thanks! You're not so bad yourself. And hi!"

Radivishe Moorn gazes at Ting for a moment, trying to figure her out. "Hello. Awfully energetic for someone whose energy levels are so depleted, aren't you?" He glances down at Ai, who is smiling, but barely awake. "Seems a trend."

"Well,I can be tired and blah, or tired and happy." Ting grins. "But that's pretty good that you can tell."

"This is Ting," Felina introduces. "And Dewei of course you met earlier...Mi'ehna wanted you to meet them."

"And so I have. I must put my daughter somewhere she can recover, though. If you wish to stay, fine. But I certainly understand if it makes you uncomfortable, kitten." Moorn looks down at his daughter, who has quite abruptly fallen asleep in his arms. "Actually... do come along. I want to talk to you about her."

Felina nods. "All right." Without being told that the twins aren't welcome, she assumes otherwise.

Moorn turns about, to lead them into Niven Ai. Ai lifts into the air, sleeping quite soundly, following along with him.