(OOG: I just want to ask a favor from all others who write for Myaru from time to time -- please don't put the "Sister" in your posts. I have a specific plan for her, so I'd appreciate it if you didn't. You can mention her, or whatever, but please just don't have her show up. And thanks for your help, Hobbes!)

Strange, how such small things could worm their way into a person's heart.

Irina slept, curled up on Myaru's bed much as she thought a child would sleep, breathing slowly and regularly, not unlike a normal human. She had replaced the girl's messy braid with a neater one, and it shined dully like spun gold in the moonlight. A perfect picture.

There would be an invasion after all -- a force would be sent to taKe Aveh back from Kislev, supposedly the war would be ignited again, though the Ministry refused to say how. They -refused- her, even when she had used the power of her birth -- of -their- birth. The machine shouldn't have protected them from it; even as binary numbers, they still had remnants of the souls they started out with. It was their built-in weakness, something guarantteed to assure her complete control.

But something was stopping her from using it. What? What was protecting them from her?

The little girl stirred, rolling over on the quilt and throwing her arms over her eyes. Myaru couldn't help but smile in amusement -- human or not, she had the mannerisms. That was what mattered. It was so cute, just to watch her...... she almost didn't want to leave.

She HATED that feeling.

What a weakling. Was she still vulnerable to this sort of human idiocy? It was enough to make Myaru grind her teeth, more so because she couldn't help it. SHe couldn't make herself hate Irina, just as she was finding it hard to make herself hold onto her contempt for Ariath.

It was hard, hard to hate children. Especially sweet children. And desipte their ages, they -were- that.

Damn them for it!

**No, damn you for it.** The Sister's voice was only a whisper, tonight. **If anyone deserves to spend an eternity in hell, it is you. You!**

Myaru shook her head once, and closed her eyes. **If I go, you go with me. Remember that, -Faith-.** The name tasted bitter in her mouth, though she had not spoken it aloud. **We're going to suffer the same fate eventually, so I suggest you not wish anything on me that you wouldn't wish upon yourself. That -is- Nisan's teaching, isn't it?**

**You have no right to preach Sophia's teachings to me. Even she did not blindly embrace demons like yourself.**

**And what is your definition of a demon, Faith? I am only doing as I have been programmed to do; you always did what you were told to do. Does that make you someone like me?**

She could almost feel the Sister glare at her, with resentment so strong it startled Myaru into opening her eyes. **The devil's reasoning. Why am I surprised?**

A smile crossed Myaru's face. Faith receded into her hiding place, wherever it was, though her anger still lingered behind, lika a miasma, a poison....... No, she did not want to suffer from those feelings. It was something Myaru hated, about inheriting other memories, sometimes other personalities -- she could not choose the good from the bad, always forced to accept weaknesses as well as strengths.

As if she was not suffering from enough such weaknesses already. Kyouran was only the first of such examples.

Taking a deep breath, Myaru opened her mouth and sang out a soft, low C, trying to get a feel for the darkness she stood in. It resonated in her throat, but hardly seemed to make an impression on the silence that shrouded her apartment. Silence created not by Irina's sleep, but by another's absence.

She raised the note an octave, and heard the emotion she had so far denied tinge the music blue. But she refused to name it, even in her thoughts.

Instead, she fell into a familiar, yet ancient pattern, recalling dimly that once, as a child, somewhere, she had had a mother who would sing this song on nights like this. Someone else's mother, but that distinction wasn't enough to scrub the distant affection from the memory.

Because, of course, -she- didn't have a mother. She -was- the Mother.

Myaru sensed her voice grow louder, and the notes more accentuated; but she didn't lower it again, and she had the satisfaction of seeing Irina relax, and smile in her sleep, as if she could hear it in her dream, wherever it had taken her. Sweet smile......

The lulluby trailed off in a slow decrescendo -- something else that pleased her, in a way, it felt so natural -- and when the sound of her voice finally disappeared, things didn't seem so...... empty anymore. Still quiet, but not empty. Irina's breathing, and......

"It always sounds so familiar......"

Myaru straightened abruptly, pushing away from the doorframe.

"It always sounds familiar when you sing...... like something I've heard for years, but just can't remember......"

Myaru looked over her shoulder hesitantly, drawn almost involuntarily to Ariath's voice in the warm darkness of the hallway. His breathing was in counterpoint to Irina's; she was surprised she hadn't noticed it earlier. Berated herself for it.

She wasn't ready to face him yet.

"...... Like a mother," he finished softly, an unreadable look in his jade-green eyes. "You looked very much a mother, a moment ago." A half smile crossed his lips, but she couldn't discern what was beind it, thanks to the deepening moonshadows. "I'm almost...... jealous......"

Amusement? She smiled in return, hoping he wouldn't see the strain, and turned back to Irina. "Of what?" She hadn't been able to speak to him since the incident with the scroll Kyouran had left...... and damn the man for this inconvenience! It was -his- fault!

"This slip of a girl seems to be getting most of the attention that was reserved for me." It was amusement; a part of her felt inexplicably relieved that he felt nothing out of the ordinary. "I can't say I don't feel just a little left out......."

She couldn't help a short, soft laugh. "You've been very absorbed in your thoughts the last few days -- I've only tried to give you enough room to deal with it."

"And time to forget about the drawing?"

An almost violent shock, and then Myaru's mouth twisted. **I'm that transparent?** She was glad she was still facing the other direction. "The drawing --"

"-- Is irrelevent," he finished, cutting her off. Irina stirred, and Ariath lowered his voice. "I don't understand what upset you so much......" It was a partial lie, resonating in her ears, but she let it pass. "What bothers me, is that you refuse to say a word about it. You don't...... trust me."

Could he possibly know the bitterness those four words dredged up? Myaru sighed. She wanted to think so, so she could snap at him, shout at him, put him in his place as Mordon had done so often...... But it was not something she could -do-. She just...... couldn't. That nagging part of her, and Faith, somehow........

"-Will- you trust me with what's wrong? Will you tell me what happened in that room?"

Another sigh. **He's such a child...... such a child......** She hugged her arms around her chest, bowing her head. She couldn't tell him about Kyouran! It would be impossible to explain to him, without revealing things about herself that should not be revealed yet...... she was alrady forced to walk a thin line as it was. One misstep, and everything, years, centuries of planning could fly over the edge......

Oh god, how she wished she could hate him!

"There....." She shrugged, not quite seeing Irina, though she was staring hard at the bed. "...... Nothing."

"Burns and bruises aren't 'nothing' Myaru. A shattered bedpost isn't nothing, and I know that scroll I gave you means something. Don't lie to me." An edge, dim but true, entered his voice. Anger? Almost definitely. Any man would be angry, if he knew he was being lied to.

She would lose if she told him. She might lose more if she didn't tell him. Was this some sort of joke? Caught between the proverbial rock and hard place......

Several colorful curses welled up, begging to be let loose, but instead Myaru said, "Irina must be moved to her room." Implication enough for him to be quiet about it for the moment, she hoped. She started to move forward, intending to wake the girl up, but Ariath caught her hand and stopped her.

Instead, he walked forward and picked Irina up gently, careful not to jolt her awake. Myaru blinked, then backed out of the room and pointed to another door a bit further down the hallway; Ariath brushed past her and disappeared through the door.

The room was very, very quiet without Irina's presence to fill it. Myaru settled on the edge of her bed with a sigh, smoothing the covers out half-heartedly. She had as much as decided to tell him about the incident; but not how much. She certainly couldn't spill all of it, with so many plans at risk -- not to mention her own life in this case -- but there would have to be enough to satisfy him.

Enough to make him hate Kyouran. Not a difficult task, with the rivalry between the two men. At least, she hoped......

The click of the door startled her out of her thoughts, making her look up with too-wide eyes. And she followed Ariath with her gaze, as he shrugged his coat off and laid it over a chair, and moved over to seat himself next to her on the bed, all the time watching her in turn with those vibrant eyes of his.

She almost wished he wouldn't look at her. It would make this little confession so much easier if she couldn't feel his eyes staring through her, as if he already knew what she was going to say...... and perhaps also how he might react...... was he expecting something? How should she say this? "It's nothing much, Ariath...... nothing important at all."

"Like hell it isn't. I doubt a 'nothing' would scare you -- Miang."

Her mouth seemed to go dry instantly. Except for the blood.

Blood flowed from the wound on her lip, where her teeth had scored the soft skin. Her hand flew to her mouth in reflex; when he reached over to pull it away, her fingers were stained dark, glittering wetly in the moonlight. But his eyes...... they registered no hostility; only a curiosity, like he had the name, but knew nothing of what to do with it, or what it might mean to him.

She thanked whatever god was listening for -that-. He must have heard the name somewhere -- likely from one of Mordon's clumsy remarks -- but he had no idea what it was supposed to mean...... only that it was important to her.

"Your name?" he asked quietly, tone inquisitive.

"Yes. The name I was...... born with." Close enough to the truth.

He was silent. And his silence stretched, from seconds, to minutes, so long, watchful, that she knew he was waiting for -her- to continue. Waiting for her to tell him what he wanted to know. Expecting it -- because he wasn't a man people refused anything.

Finally, she tired of it. After all, everything else had gone wrong, to some extent -- why not take more risk? "-He- was in the room with me."

"Who?" Such a soft word -- had she not been listening, she would have missed its edge.

"Who?" She couldn't keep the bitterness from her voice. "Kyouran. Kyouran was hidden in the room. We had a little...... discussion...... and I emerged with these --" she rested her fingers on the still-fading bruises, "-- and the burns."

"And?"

What else was there? "The discussion was a...... a private matter involving the battle. That's all." The nervous edge in her voice annoyed her; she should have better control. Why was this disturbing her so much? Kyouran wasn't a threat to her. He couldn't touch her.

"He threatened you." It wasn't really a question, though he didn't seem as sure as she thought he would have been. He sounded...... angry.

"I suppose so." Wasn't he always threatening her? If he didn't, she usually took it as a sign that something was wrong.

Ariath's bitter laugh startled her. "I wouldn't put it past him. The arrogant son of a bitch is -always- making threats. If he thinks he can interfere with what is -mine-......" He stood, reaching for his coat.

"What are you doing?" Miang rose, placing a restraining hand on his shoulder. He shrugged it off. "Ariath, he's long gone! There's nothing you can do."

"There's always something --"

"No!" She grabbed his shoulders, turning him around to face her. Their eyes met, and she seized the moment, calling upon her ether to snare his senses, enthrall him. His body seemed to freeze under her hands the moment she exerted that force, and she relaxed again -- slightly.

She didn't use this very often -- didn't like to use it at all, as a matter of fact. It depended so heavily upon the perceptions of the person influenced...... It was unreliable at best, but if it worked, just this once......

"Ariath, listen to me." She cupped his chin in her hands, staring hard into his pale irises. "Do not listen to a word Kyouran says. Do not believe anything he tells you! He seeks to bring me down -- bring -us- down. He is our enemy in every sense of the word. Trust...... Trust only -me-."

Release.

Ariath blinked, as if moving in slow-motion. No other sign of her tampering manifested, and she sighed in relief.

Hopefully he would take it as exasperation. "Ariath, please just stay here. Kyouran is gone. Do you really want to spend the rest of the night trying to drag his location out of the Ministry?"

He blinked again, then shook his head. "I won't put myself through -that- torture....... But Myaru --"

She silenced him with a kiss, and wrapped her arms about his neck. "Later......"

(Summary: Myaru contemplates emotion, has another little tiff with the Sister residing in her head, and then convinces Ariath that Kyouran is a lying bastard. ^_~)