Well, this was… awkward. Or well, it was past awkward really at this point.
"Again, I implore myself before you, O' Goddess. May you bless this world and all our pain and…"
Glancing at Vim for help, I found him frowning down at the sa scene before . Unlike though he looked genuinely unconcerned… as if his frown was not real and he was just in one of his moods.
"And upon our souls, may you also bring salvation. Guidance and calm understanding so that we may…"
Pointing at the, surprisingly beautiful, woman sprawled on the floor I gestured for Vim to do sothing finally.
She'd been doing this for almost an hour! It was getting ridiculous!
Vim sighed and nodded at . "Chancy, you're going to end up ruining your only chance of her liking you if you keep this up," Vim then said.
Chancy, the woman everyone else called The Chancellor, didn't move a muscle… but she did finally stop praying at least.
She went quiet… and my tail squird as I shifted and waited to see what she'd do next. Would she just… keep lying there? Face down? Bowed before as if I was so kind of queen or sothing? Or would she finally lift her head and talk to normally?
"Here I thought you had been beckoning for so happy reason, based off your smile," Vim then said to .
"I an… it had been neat at first, but now it's just uncomfortable," I said to him. No one else had been willing to even attempt to get her to stop, and nothing I had said had seed to make a difference either… so I had called forth the only one I knew I could both rely on, and also soone who didn't obey and respect the woman or outright serve her as a servant or sothing akin to it.
Even the ducks, Fressi and Tressi, had acted odd around her… after seeing her bow before , at the re sight of , they had ran off and abandoned … leaving not even a feather behind as they did.
"She's been doing this since we got here?" Vim asked, sounding as shocked as I felt over it.
"Well, since we t. I spent the first few hours with the others, I just an hour or so ago ca in here," I told him.
"Took that long for her to co to you…? Are you unable to walk now or sothing, Chancy?" Vim asked as he looked back down at the woman.
She remained silent… and I wanted to walk over and nudge her with a foot. Not outright kick her… but I sure did want to at least force her to sit up. Seeing her bow before like this was very unsettling… I was not soone that should be treated so.
Wasn't she one of the original sisters…? She wasn't even a Light, or the Chronicler… she was basically a Celine. A founder. One of the original mbers of the Society, one of the ones who had created it. Before even Vim had joined.
She was a legend. The faith, or rather the bible, of the Nation of the Blind even quoted her and her sisters in so of its pages. She was… well…
"I see you've not changed, Vim," the woman then said… though still kept her forehead firmly planted onto the wooden floorboard.
Wasn't that uncomfortable? She was sprawled out, but not in a comfortable way by the looks of it. I knew of course, what with her being who she was, that she was likely a pure-blooded non-human… but that was still undoubtedly uncomfortable, wasn't it? She wasn't just lying on the floor, she had extended her arms and hands outward and was angled a bit oddly in the waist and legs… as if she was…
"Genuflecting before her is sothing not even I do, and there are tis I probably should. So what's the deal?" Vim then asked.
Genuflecting. Yes. That was a fitting word. Even though I had no idea what it ant, the re sound of it made perfect sense… because it fit this unnatural situation.
"It's an honor to et you finally, Rennalee… My title is Chancellor of the Society… but I'd be humbled beyond belief if you called Chancy," Chancy then said, as if she hadn't heard Vim at all.
"Um… it's a pleasure to et you too, Chancy… I know I've been saying it this whole ti, but would you please get up? Please?" I asked, nearly begged her, now that she seed willing to finally speak to . Actually speak to , at least.
"I will. But only after I say one more thing," she then said.
My ears twitched and I almost scoffed and turned around, as to walk out of the room and leave… but I decided to just endure this mont. Maybe she'd beco… normal, if I did. "Okay…?"
The Chancellor shifted ever so slightly, raising her head off the floor… but only a sliver. She didn't lift it high enough to look up at , and instead probably only enough to see my boots. Which was funny, since although it was ridiculous it was at least sothing and better than before.
"We… the Society, and the world, have been waiting for you. All this ti. Know that everything we are, that I am and stand for, are at your service. Forever and more," she said.
My eyes narrowed… and I glanced at Vim, who finally looked upset. Though not in a good way. He crossed his arms as he stared down at the founder of the Society, and I wondered if this was what he and so many others had ant all this ti when speaking of her and the other founders, like Celine. I'd been told by many, from all corners of the Society, that Celine and her cohorts had been… odd at best. Maybe this was what they had ant…? All this ti I had simply figured their complaints had been about their strictness, or maybe their devotion to their faiths… or in Vim's case maybe their simple connection to the divine… not this.
"Um… I believe we all have a duty to the Society. To each other… so I can accept that, if I interpret it that way… at least," I said, choosing my words carefully.
Vim scoffed, but both I and the bowing woman ignored him. "You may interpret it as you wish, Rennalee. For it is your right to do so."
Gosh she sounded almost patronizing… which was disheartening, because I knew she wasn't being so. She seed to be rather… serious at the mont. If this wasn't so joke or prank being pulled on , and if she didn't do this to everyone she t then… well… this was likely sothing very important for her. This mont, or maybe even in general. And if so…
Should I be rude…? Or should I just accept her the way she is…?
A part of wanted to not let her act like this towards , but… what difference was there in my letting others act odd around and her doing this here and now…? Why couldn't I just look at her actions, her words, as… oddness? The sa way I did Hands' odd little tics, or rit's occasional rudeness, or Vim's indifference? Did I not still love them and overlook their faults? If so, could I and should I not do the sa for her…?
But it was so unsettling… "She's looking at you as if you're an ugly bug crawling near her food," Vim then said.
The woman, who had been still and resolute, finally twitched. And not in a good way.
"Vim…!" I chastised him through clenched teeth, since he had a huge smirk on his face as he chuckled at . I almost laughed with him, since although he had been partly joking… I knew he also hadn't been. And I had found it hilarious.
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"I'm more than happy to be seen so, for so long as I may be of service," Chancy then said.
Gosh, no…! Please tell that had not been serious…! She had almost sounded heartbroken, but had spoken so sternly at the sa ti…!
Vim's expression though told the truth. He sighed and shook his head in a way that told she wasn't playing around at all. He had basically just given up on her, in his own way.
"Well… I can't say I expected this, but for what it's worth she's always been a little odd. But she really is a good person, deep down. One of the more moral of the group, in my opinion," Vim then said.
I shifted and glanced at the still bowing woman, and wondered what she thought of his assessnt of her. "I'm… I don't like it. Please stop bowing to , Chancy… I had been looking forward to eting you, but I'm not sure if I can be comfortable with you if you're going to act like this," I said, deciding to speak honestly to her.
If it didn't work out, it simply wouldn't work… and I'd find a way to live with it. But that didn't an I'd have to oblige her while doing so. Many mbers in the Society co-existed with those they didn't like, or couldn't handle in their own ways… maybe it was finally ti I found my own version of such a thing.
Though for it to be soone like this, and not soone I genuinely found detestable or sothing would be very disheartening… especially since I likely knew exactly where her oddness was coming from.
I'd read the journals. The one's written by her and Celine. I knew… exactly why she was bowing before .
They had foreseen my coming. My arrival… and thus my children. Children who were ant to be important… but I'd never been able to really reason as to why they'd find or my children so special, but… well…
With Vim and his vendetta against the gods, I was able to reason as to the why and how… or at least co to a possible answer.
What if my association with Vim, and thus Renka, was what birthed Celine's and the rests misconceptions…? What if they foresaw being involved in montous things, and just… assud?
Assud I was the one who said events were centered around. Or fixed them. Or was sohow the cause. When the reality was the exact opposite.
Vim was the center. Or rather, the gods were the center. Vim was the antagonist in their world, in their story… and I was just his important person. Soone they wanted to influence or use as a way to either negotiate with Vim or…
"Renn?"
I blinked, and realized I'd gotten lost in thought. Far too deep of thoughts too, especially for this mont. "Um… uh…"
Glancing around, I was a little shocked to find the woman staring up at . Actually up at , to where I could again see her face.
She really was pretty. But not in the way Kaley was… no, this beauty was sothing more… personal sohow. Kaley was soone people fell for on a single glance, this sister though…? She was soone you fell in love with slowly. Looking at her made feel as if my heart was made of ice, and it was now slowly lting. That was the only way I could explain it… and it didn't help that her eyes were glowing in a rather spectacular way. They weren't just glowing, they seed to almost radiate heat. Like the sun, sohow, or a distant fire. It was the sa white glow as all the other saints I'd seen, but…
"Is all well, O' Rennalee…?" Chancy asked worriedly.
"Um… yes. I'm sorry… you're very pretty," I said, admitting to one of the reasons I'd just been stunned. I didn't want to tell her the real reason, the one that had made go quiet earlier and stop paying attention originally had instead been my making sense of a possible reason they all saw as soone important.
They could not see Vim. They could not see divinity. Which ant they could not see Renka, or any of the other gods…
But they could see . And my children. And that's what they foresaw.
and mine interacting with those who perford true miracles… or disasters.
Gods, it made perfect sense… why hadn't I realized it before? It should have been so bloody obvious…!
"Renn…? Are you sure you're okay?"
I flinched and thumped my own thigh with my tail as I nodded. "Yes, sorry. Um… please, Chancy. Get up. I really don't like seeing you down on the floor like this. Even if you weren't soone important and just an ordinary person I'd still find it uncomfortable," I said as is stepped forward and went to grab her and force her up onto her feet if I had to.
The stunning woman felt strangely thin as I grabbed her by the arms… and helped her to her feet. Luckily she had not fought , though I did notice she really didn't put much effort into doing so herself. As if she had been willing to let do whatever I wanted to her, which sohow made feel even worse about the situation.
She had not stood on her own, but because I had demanded it. As if obeying an order…
"Are you and I going to not be friends…?" I asked her plainly. She was surprisingly shorter than , though not by much.
"I'm your servant, O' Rennalee. It's not possible for us to be friends, it's beneath you," she said simply.
I grimaced and released her shoulders, as if dropping an ugly bug or sothing, and stepped away and towards Vim. "Vim…" I groaned and hoped for him to step in and help out.
He didn't though, he just smirked at in the way that told he was enjoying himself.
"I understand your discomfort… and I can try to alleviate it if feasible, but I'll not resign to playing a part as the rest have. I know who and what I am, as I know who and what you are, Rennalee. It'd be a farce to act otherwise, when we both know the truth."
Truth…? More likely a misunderstood dream half rembered, likely. "Even if I don't want it to be that way?" I asked.
She nodded. "You being humble is a good thing, but… unneeded. At least for . I had been told you'd be this way, but it seems you're even firr in your beliefs than expected. A fault of Vim's, I'm sure," Chancy said, and then glared at my husband as if my dislike of her attitude was all his fault.
"Wha…? Now you're blaming ?" Vim genuinely sounded offended as he pointed at himself in shock.
"Who else but you, divinity defying creature that you are? Though maybe the better target for bla are the others, for not allowing us contact with her from the beginning. For the record I had not agreed with that at all, and had been outvoted," Chancy said with a nod.
Oh…? "You… had wanted to et earlier?" I asked.
She nodded, rather firmly. "I had returned to the mainland not long before you joined the Society. I had been hoping to connect with you then, but… well, let's just say my word no longer has much weight anymore it seems, at least amongst those who listen," she said.
Huh… I wonder if she spoke of Light or soone else…? The Chronicler, maybe? But from what I'd reasoned lately, she was one of the lower rungs of the ladder when it ca to their little order… maybe I'd been mistaken…?
"What uh… what does chancellor an anyway?" I asked, since my mind was on the topic. The Chronicler's title made sense; she oversaw the tos and records of our people, and even had duties extending into the church and the keeping of their faith… but chancellor? Wasn't that so kind of political title?
"In her case it's two separate titles. She handles what so would consider foreign affairs. Or at least, did, back when they were sothing we actually had to deal with. Back when we had nations and whatnot, she had been the one to oversee the relations we had with other political entities. Today however, her secondary title has beco more apt. She's the head of our schooling system," Vim explained.
Schooling…? "You… you an the schools? The orphanages?" I asked.
"No, the actual schooling and education of our mbers… not our human ones, our real ones," Chancy corrected .
Oh. Oh…? "We… have schools?" I asked. I an… I knew we had so schools for the orphans, as a way to find and train them to beco upstanding and useful mbers in the Society but…
"We used to, and will again shortly. Thus why I'm headed to Lun, alongside you. We're to again start a university, finally. I'll be honest I'm looking forward to raising the new generation, though forgive if I end up favoriting yours O' Rennalee. I look forward to teaching the ones who will one day lead us," Chancy said with a happy smile as she closed her eyes and nodded, as if thinking of a distant but favorite mory.
Why did she keep calling O' Rennalee…? Seed so silly… "Um… I see," I said, not sure what else to say about it.
Also... I wasn't sure if I wanted her to teach my children, if she was going to act and treat them as she was here and now with . Though it likely didn't matter what my opinion of such a thing was. Sothing told Vim would never allow our children to be taught by her, or any of those like her. Odds are Vim would teach our children himself, knowing him, but… I wasn't going to say that here and now. Especially since she seed so very serious and excited over the idea.
Though… a school? A real one? In Lun…? Did they an and plan to build sothing where even those who couldn't live comfortably or safely with humans could go to learn, or… were they just going to only teach the more human mbers, I wonder?
"This is nice and all, but we now have an audience. Now that she's up and about, can I leave now?" Vim asked , turning around as he did.
I turned too, and watched as several faces hurriedly disappeared from behind the door-fra that they had been peaking around… and I smiled softly as I listened as man feet, of children and adults alike, scampered off at being found out.
Chancy sighed. "Faulting them for gazing upon her brilliance is…"
"Yeah, you're on your own Renn. Good luck," Vim didn't let her finish, and even though I was half tempted to complain or whine I decided to just accept my fate as Vim actually stepped out of the room and left behind… abandoning to my fate.
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