The First Age

Feed on their power. It made sense - the cold seduction of the ijiraq's touch, drawing the spirits through her. It had left her drained, almost dead on her feet, but she had not thought about it consuming what it had stolen from her. If the ijiraq Aria had seen dead were eliminated with the help of other godlings, then if Tehya were attacked next time she encountered one she would be unable to protect any of those present. That didn't sit easily with her. But if the ijiraq were trying to communicate with the gods who had once held their leashes, nothing good could come from it. They had a duty to get to the bottom of it. Preferably without anyone getting hurt.

Tehya thought briefly of Mr. White, then. He had not asked invasive questions before; had in fact sat outside the door the whole time she had experimented with the rougarou. If extra help was needed, he was the only possibility she could think of. The only one loyal enough to the Atharim who, if he did discover her secret (and she prayed that he would not) might not see her strung up for it. Though he was not a godling either. "Connor drove the ijiraq off with a fire extinguisher. Heat and cold, he said; extremes of either. If it incapacitates me, we will need to be prepared."
She was musing aloud, cycling through plans in her head. Usually such things would be kept silent in the confines of her thoughts, but Tehya took their trust shared pledge seriously, and it loosened her usually blank exterior. "A few days to prepare should be sufficient; less if possible. I don't want to chance the possibility that the ijiraq will return when we are not there.

"As for the rest of our plans, I shall keep in touch."
She nodded, mostly to herself, and felt the weight of it settle on her shoulders. I need to speak to my father. If she was taking this risk, he needed to know. He needed to understand why.

"It's natural to be wary of the things outside our consideration of normal. But his behaviour is abhorrent."
Tehya was not a political creature, and she was loath to involve herself in the inner workings of the Barracrat HQ - she had too much to lose, for one, but also because the bureaucracy itched against her more direct nature. She did not want to become tangled in things that would prevent her from doing her job, and she was quite sure Aria could hold her own, but protectiveness none the less stamped the words. Inside conflict was a face of her brethren she did not like to see.

Aria nodded at what Connor had told Tehya. "That's what I read. Cold works nicely, fire didn't do so well, only made the thing made. I'm not sure ordinary fire can hurt it much."


A few days to hunt another Ijiraq. Fun. The hunger they have should be easy to find, if you know where to look, sadly Aria did not, but maybe the two (or three) of them could figure it out. The ijiraq were hungry for the power, they'd be out, and roaming. Aria wondered how many were in Moscow.

Aria nodded. "As will I."
keeping in touch would be a good thing. Aria now had many things to do, the first would be finding her savior, of them all he seemed to be the one who understood things the most.

Aria wanted to threaten Father Stone he'd get what was coming to him, but that wasn't something she wanted to tell Tehya, she only nodded. She took a deep breath and smiled. "I'll survive, it could be much worse.


Aria stood up with a smile. "It's been a very interesting conversation, we both have much to do I think. And I need to find a quiet place."
It wasn't a lie, but the people were not bothering her really, but she needed to be away from here just as much as she needed to be away from Dane.

Aria didn't offer her hand. "Feel free to use the research if you think anything can be useful.
Aria indicated the room and everything in it. She'd be back later, right now she wanted to hunt something. She didn't care what, just something.

Tehya nodded. The conversation had gone well, a surprising revelation. An ally in the darkness of Moscow was more welcome than she'd realised, loosening a knot in her shoulders she'd not really been aware of before now. Tehya dealt with her lonely life with the same dogged determination she dealt with everything, but she was not by nature a solitary person. When she offered her trust she did so unreservedly; a friend amongst the Atharim was more than she could have hoped for. The smallest lift of her lips offered a smile, a rarity indeed, and then Aria was gone. Tehya turned her attention to the woman's research, determined to arm herself with knowledge.