(OOG: this has some minor inconsistencies with Arcana's last post, but bear with me -- I just didn't feel like re-writing the entire beginning scene. ^^ And...... once again, this post is a LOT longer than I had planned originally, but it was necessary. ^^ I'm really sorry about that!)

Well, here she was -- back in Solaris. Early.

"Myaru!" Mordon strode forward, with the girl.

"What do you want? She can understand basic surface language. Talk to her -- I need to be somewhere else." But she stopped anyway.

**Damn those advents......** She watched passively as Mordon looked down to speak with the girl she had brought back -- Irina. With a little prompting, the child could be her one true ally...... And Mordon would do anything to get his hands on her once he realized just what she was.

But what did the Advents want with her? Their 'father' did not want the child to fall in her hands? Who was their father? Nobody had even known of her presence in Nisan, or of her true identity. Even that old man.... **What was his name?.... Moui.....** Irina had not entered the Room of Sophia with her.

Of course, he left before she did...... and if he had seen her...... but what interest could one such as him have in her plans?

"Myaru?"

Who was he? That...... melody......

"Myaru!"

She started and snapped her eyes back to Mordon. Irina was beginning to wander off. "What? What is it?" her hand snaked out and seized the girl's wrist before she could move far. She only made a slight sound of protest before coming back to stand between Mordon and Myaru.

"Who is she? You obviously had a reason for bringing her to my attention, correct......?"

Myaru smiled, narrowing her eyes. "Someone I think you will want to get to know. But...... I'll save that for later. Right now I have someone to see. Would you mind watching her for a bit? Just tell her not to touch anything, and you should be fine."

"Why are you --"

"Oh please, Mordon. You can take care of the child for a few hours - it won't kill you." She glanced at Irina. "Would you like to go with this man for a little while? He can show you some interesting areas of Solaris while I'm gone." Irina nodded. "I promise I'll let you see more of the city later."

"This is ridiculous, Myaru. I don't have time -- "

"Make the time!" she snapped. "This is important. I need you to perform a routine check up on her, and I need details. All of her capabilities must be revealed if I am to make proper use of her." Her smile returned -- there was a spark of interest burning bright in his eyes. "I think you will like what you find."

The halls of Solaris Palace didn't give her a warm fuzzy feeling this time around. She was too concerned with what she had heard of the last week's events.

Well, she had known Ariath was close to what she could call a nanomachine colony, but the display she had seen in the records...... His condition was absolutely fascinating. Such power could surely be useful. ** Although he might not see it that way... ** He must be disturbed right now...... He must know about his latent 'abilities'. And the man was still a child in some ways. Surely he would be more impressionable now...... He might want someone to talk to... to understand...... to comfort......

Myaru stopped in front of his door, just as she had less than a week ago.

**The very air seems tense, doesn't it......?**

"Yes......" she responded, not really thinking. The air was thick with tension, nearly saturating her senses. She wished -- not for the first time -- that Myaru herself had not had such talents. All they did was enhance her own latent power from Zohar, and that made things such as this...... unbearable at times.

** Enough of this.** Myaru reached out and rested her hand on the doorpanel, ready to ring the bell. To her extreme surprise, the door slid open without a sound at her touch, and she snapped her hand back to her side. ** He programmed me into......? Why on earth......**

The interior was dim -- most of the illumination panels she remembered being on from her last visit were dark, only a few shining to light the room. ** Why do people like to contemplate their depression in the dark, of all things?** she wondered to herself, taking a hesitant step inside. "Ariath? Sir?"

He did not answer.

She took another step, and the door whirred closed behind her. At her approach, the other illumination panels flickered on, but Ariath was not in the front room. She turned her eyes to the two doors on the far wall. One of them led to his office -- that one was shut tight. But the other...... She pushed the second door lightly, letting it drift open. It led to a short hallway.

"Ariath?" She walked softly down the hall, headed toward the door at the opposite end. It was standing open, but the interior was dark. She knew that he would be in there -- he certainly wouldn't go anywhere else! Everyone had heard of the episode in the arena by now......

She peered into the room, standing just inside. Her eyes pierced the darkness and rested on Ariath's still form, covered carelessly by a blanket. **Still in uniform......** His soft, steady breathing and the rise and fall of his chest made it obvious that he was sleeping, and she turned to leave, hugging her robes closed. **Damn. He -would- be asleep when I return.** Kyouran's little display over Lahan had started it all......

"Myaru......"

She halted before completing her first step, breath catching in her throat. Or perhaps her luck was improving after all......?

"Don't leave, Myaru." His blankets rustled. She glanced over her shoulder, hoping her pose would make her appear nervous instead of impatient. Ariath was sitting up, eyes partially obscured by unruly strands of hair. They held her like a vice.

"I heard what happened," she blurted out, not really thinking. He flinched.

**He seems like such a nice boy. And handsome too. Why, if I were not a sister, I might......**

Her eyes widened, and she felt herself shaking, clamping her teeth together to hold back a scream. **Shut up!!! Go away!!!** Why? Why now, when she needed to concentrate? That woman was stealing her thoughts like......!

**Concentrate? You had better, if you want to heal the poor man. Look at him! If you have any decency in that block of ice you call a heart, you should......** The voice trailed off uncertainly, and a flash of amusement actually broke through Myaru's anger. Yes, what would a sister know about...... that?

She focused on Ariath again, pushing the incident to the back of her mind. No more than a few seconds had passed, but Ariath's glittering eyes had taken on a stormy, almost tearful expression.

**Doesn't that just tear at your heart?**

Myaru ignored the voice -- or tried to. She completed her turn and faced Ariath, taking a few tentative steps into the room again. "I...... Do you want to talk? I don't think I would help very much, but......"

"...... Talk?" He spoke as if he had never heard the term in that context before. Myaru felt an unwarranted flash of sympathy. Even she had had the oppertunity to confide in someone before. "Yes......"

**Talk. That's what you call it these days?**

She gasped, cheeks flaming. **Go away! Go!** Well, she certainly was not having any trouble coming off as a young, nervous, over-awed girl! "Sir......"

"Call me Ariath," he replied softly, before she could think of anything to say. "You seem to be in the habit of using my name already."

"Oh......" She covered her mouth with her hand and averted her eyes, glad the darkness obscured everything. Did she look shy? She certainly felt timid, after everything that had happened in the last few days. "I'm sorry......" **What now? How am I supposed to wrap him around my finger if I can't think of anything to say?** "Did... did you want to talk... Ariath?"

"That...... melody. I've been thinking about it ever since you left. Your voice is beautiful..... You...... you are hard to forget, Myaru."

She smiled and let her hand fall onto the sheets, leaning forward, as if to bow. **Hard to forget?** "Thank you sir. I...... don't know what to say."

"Sir?" He smiled faintly and lifted her chin with his fingers. "Say nothing."