Ni'Srilan: The Desert: where'd hear that ? ;

Hypatia was not pleased that Althea had her children and gained Seership all while in another realm. The Naphtha wanted her here, to congratulate the mare on both accounts. But she had to wait, and wait, until Althea approached her. Strandwolf was off-limits: that much she figured out within the first breaths she took of the mare’s mind. It was cold and Hypatia understood. No Strandwolf.

Why not? Kail wonders. He’s even more clueless about love and relationships than Hypatia is. I dunno. Hypatia answers her companion back, who simply shrugs his half-cub, half-adult lion shoulders and moves off with her. Oh! A viper! Hypatia isn’t sure if it meant Kail was excited about eating it or excited about the matching names.

“Congratulations, Althea!” Hypatia says before Althea is even finished her question. Hypatia had an idea, but it was up to Althea to begin it. “Don’t worry.” The Queen wants the mare at ease – her thinking about not thinking about things is certainly not progressive. Instead, Hypatia reaches her voice inside the mare’s mind and breathes. It is a soothing breath, like a rush of water over flames (though that might not seem nice to Althea, fire mare). Viri, hello. She can’t hear the Viper reply, but Hypatia looks at the snake anyway. And your twins are well. I’m so pleased. And she is. Minus the Andarin part.

“I have an idea.” She missed the mental link when it was gone. It was so much easier not using her voice, letting instead her mind flit and float where it pleased. More like burned, but whatever. “I want Ni’Srilan to celebrate. We’ve had nothing to celebrate for awhile. But we’re going to find something…” She wonders if being alive counts. “And I want you to plan activities. We’ll run it together, I suppose.”

There is a spark, literally, in her eye. It grows and bellows there in the darkness. “I could run a booth for seeing things for people through Dreams!” She laughs at the idea. “The warriors could have a battling contest of some sort. Not too strenuous.”

She pauses, looking at the dunes, and back at Althea and Viri. “What do you think?”