The Butterfly Effect

{-Aither-}

This was one of the few things he’d planned out from the beginning. He could do this! Probably!

“Feldr, despite what kind of reputation his house carries now, was somewhat revered while he was alive,” Aither explained. “They lived in the time of the last acts of the Commandments. Only a small fraction of people understood what had just finished happening and what it meant for the world as a whole. Feldr was one of the first to spread these new messages and prove the importance of those events. After his death, though, most realized he’d never stayed in a place long enough to hear his name. His reputation got lost as less people remembered him, then more recent events made it a name meant to be forgotten.

“Komaeda was kind and caring. She helped everyone she came across but she wasn’t very well-known. She’s one of the few people we know has never been there, yet, after a while, simply seemed to have disappeared. Though we aren’t really sure where, we know her descendants are somewhere and more or less detached from the situation we’re facing.”

“There?” Demery questioned. Of course he’d ask about that…

Aither considered what he knew, the young Fos involved in it, and what he understood was probably best left unsaid. “Let’s leave it at ‘a place where one can very well cease to exist in a matter of months, if they’re particularly unlucky.’” He paused. “It’s nothing you have to worry about. You’re not involved in any of that stuff, thankfully…”

“That doesn’t really answer anything,” Koyana pointed out. “I want to know what it is!”

“I don’t,” Demery decided. “Even from that vague description, I don’t want to think that a place like that exists…”

“It’s best if you don’t think about it,” Aither said. “You don’t have to worry about that stuff so there’s no reason to get you involved in it. That just causes more trouble for us in the long run, even if it subsides temporary curiosity.”

Thankfully, they both gave nods of understanding, and for a moment he hoped that perhaps they would be ready to move on completely.

But Koyana still had a question. “What about the person whose name was crossed out or absent, though? Who’s she and what’s her descendants doing?”

“That’s another thing you don’t need to get yourselves involved in,” Aither answered quickly. He knew it ultimately didn’t do anything but pique their interest. Why did mortals always think that they wanted to know the secrets that were kept for good reason..? “It’s best if we don’t talk about her at all, in fact. It’ll put a lot more at risk and possibly trigger something we’re not ready for.”

He really didn’t want to be the Fos that screwed that part up. It would mean ruining centuries of planning and possibly cost much, much more than he was willing to take responsibility for…

They must’ve both noted his panic and decided not to push the subject any further.

Then, before they could think of any more questions, Aither quickly said, “I’m going to join you back home, alright?”

“You mean we’ve got to go back..?” Koyana mumbled, clearly disappointed. “I thought we’d be able to stay with you for at least a little while longer…”

“I’m coming back,” Aither assured her. “There’s just a few other things I need to take care of. I figured you’d rather be at home for the time being than waiting around here for me.”

Judging by his tone, Demery only half-jokingly remarked, “Depends on how long you’re going to be gone.”

Aither took it as an actual question to be answered. “About a week or so. There’s some people I need to check on.”

“Are you going to introduce them to us?” Koyana asked eagerly.

“Two of them, yes—at least, that’s the plan,” he responded. “The others… I don’t think so. Most of the other Fos are busy.”

“If you’re heading back to your home too, then what about Danai? Do you think there’d be any chance of us ever meeting her?”

Demery sighed. “Koyana, of course there isn’t. I’m sure Danai has much more important things to do than meet with you.”

“She’d love it, actually, if she was able to…” Aither didn’t process until afterwards what he’d said. He quickly tried to think of an explanation before it seemed too long. “She’s really busy.”

Well, it wasn’t a lie. Day did have a lot she needed to do…

“What if we try extra hard to get her attention?” Koyana tried. “Do you think she’d come down then?”

“N-no, I don’t think she could…”

“What if all of her work magically disappeared? I know it won’t happen, but pretend like it can!”

“She’d love to.”

“But would she?”

He avoided their gazes. “Of course—in a heartbeat…”

“Well, if you’re walking with us back home, then lead the way,” Demery said after a moment. “I’m guessing we’re going to be traveling again when you come back?”

Aither gave a thankful nod. “Hopefully, yes. This time is going to be a little longer. I’ll get a list together of the necessities but we’re going to need your help in funding it.”

…

He hardly enjoyed a relatively quiet forest. A bustling city like this was practically the bane of his existence. He wasn’t Mazel, able to talk with anyone about anything; he wasn’t Iztali, able to have so many people around him at once; he wasn’t Imena, able to slip in and out of crowds without ever being caught. He was just Aither, unable to step foot in a busy crowd of mortals without being pushed around.

He decided not to count all the times he got shoved or nearly tripped after he nearly dropped half of the ambrosia and cut himself on the jar that did break. Luckily, he noticed it quick enough to cover the spot on his hand before anyone else saw it.

A sigh of relief escaped when he saw the house he needed to go to and he was even more comforted when he got there. He knocked rather confidently on the door. “Olle? Evelina? Are you home..?”

A familiar face opened the door. Olle gave him a wide smile. “We were wondering when you’d come by again, it’s been a little while.” He stepped aside to let Aither in. “Go ahead and make yourself at home.”

Aither wandered over to a seat, sat his little bag down, and looked back at his cut. “Do you have a cloth or something I could borrow..?”

“You know, I don’t think you’ve come in here without getting hurt,” Olle remarked. Still, he’d left to get something and soon returned to offer a bit of bandages.

“I’m a Fos meant to hide behind others. I’m just lucky it’s never anything serious…” Aither opened one of the jars of ambrosia and tried to ignore the sting when he rubbed some around the cut. “I wish I didn’t have to use so much of this, though. I always feel like I’m wasting it…”

“But you’re just risking not being able to go back to Sanctuary and possibly dying by not doing it, right? I wouldn’t call that wasting anything.”

“Not when it takes almost a dozen of these a day to keep him from fading…”

Olle was quiet for a moment. “You’re talking about that important Fos, right? Have we earned the right to know who he is yet..?”

Aither shook his head absently. He began wrapping the cut. “You don’t need to know who he is. Actually, knowing would probably put you in a worse situation. All you need to know is that he’s extremely important to what’s going to happen.”

Honestly, that much alone was probably too much information. But he knew such secrets were safe with Olle and Evelina—and perhaps soon, he could entrust similar ones with Demery and Koyana.

“Well, I know you don’t need to eat, but would you like something?” Olle prompted. He never pried into matters he knew he wouldn’t find answers to.

“I’m fine, but thank you. Is Evelina here, or..?”

“She had a… rough morning.”

“That doesn’t sound good.”

“It really wasn’t, no matter how hard she tried to pretend like it was. I’ve convinced her to get some rest, though. The nun that came to check on her said she’d be fine after that.”

“So, do you think you two will be ready to travel soon..? I’ve finished everything with the other two—the next stage is to have you all together.”

“We’re finally going to be meeting these mysterious strangers you keep talking about? I’m already looking forward to it.” Olle gave it all some consideration. “Evelina should be fine by then. Even if she isn’t, I’m sure she’d hear of this one way or another and then there’d be nothing I could do to stop her.”

“Make sure you’re well-prepared for a trip. It’s not going to take too long to get there, but it’s only the beginning of something bigger.”