Mysterious Lights - Riverside Inn

[Wylinna Newhaven]

It was cold and it was snowing. Both things were an unpleasant experience for Linna, so shortly after returning from Arizona. She had a thick coat handy, but she was also wearing the dress from the challenge, not a warm outfit.

She was mildly disappointed at Haru’s defeat, naturally. But not at all with Haru himself. He was using unfamiliar magic in a field where he had the disadvantage. No, Linna was incredibly proud of her boy. And she intended to show him tonight.

She was walking home tonight. Haru was presumably still at the isle, visiting with his family and celebrating the end of the challenge. Linna has asked him not to hurry, and she was making good on that time for a walk through the city. Cold aside, she was never more at peace and at home than when she was here. She missed it. It was long time to come home.

Maybe that's why she felt so drawn to this inn. She didn't remember seeing it before now in all the ties she'd passed from Dragon’s Gate to New Market, but something about it felt nostalgic and welcoming. Linna knew she needed to be on her way, so she wouldn't be gone too long and worry Haru.

And yet, she found herself crossing the threshold into a warmly lit common room, every table seemingly occupied by couples talking and enjoying their time together.

Everything seemed hazy, like in a dream. Smoke from the fireplace, maybe. As she made her way further into the room, she found a table with a lone woman nursing a bottle of something, staring off into the fire. For reasons Linna couldn't understand, she sat down with the woman.

She looked to the new arrival. Her face seemed to go from excited, to disappointed, and finally settle on warmly welcoming all at once. “Oh, dear, it's good to see you. I didn't expect you to be here anytime soon. Then again, you've always been the impatient sort.”

The woman seemed eerily familiar to Linna, but she couldn't place it. She was human, so not one of her relatives. She had blonde hair cut short and a round face that seemed almost Japanese by appearance. Brown eyes regarded her like a long-lost friend or distant family.

“Sorry, do I know you? I can't seem to recall.”

The woman laughed, musical and mischievous all at once. “Oh, you haven't seen me in a very long time. In fact, last time we talked, you were in quite the hurry to go and... well, you were looking for something.” An eyebrow lifted at the corner. “I think you found it.”

Linna blinked. “I don't understand. When did I meet you? What did I find?”

“The same thing we all look for. Though you're here much earlier than expected. Actually, you shouldn't be here at all, but that's just how you are.”

Linna shook her head, more than a little annoyed now. “You're not making any sense. Why do people in this city have to be so damn cryptic?”

The woman laughed again before giving Linna a warm, sympathetic smile. “Right? It's like everyone is the hero of their own video game or something. Since you're here now, you'll find out on your own soon enough. Just know for now that we've all been down this road before, though not as directly as you.”

At this moment, Linna realized none of the faces, aside from the woman’s, was distinguishable. It's like she was looking through a thick fog, but the air was clear.

The woman continued. “Best I can do is give you a hint to get you going. Look more closely at your uncle’s papers. Look for your grandfather. His story is far more interesting than you believe. He has a cousin on Earth, or had. He's been dead over a hundred years now. But his great-granddaughter is there. Living the life you should have. You'll figure out the rest.”

The couples began to look familiar. The women all seemed to look like her companion across the table. They were various ages, some only girls. Almost all were human. The young men with them, though...

A voice she knew called from behind Linna. “Hey, babe, sorry I'm late, got caught talking to my parents. You know how it is. Oh, is that...?”

Before Linna could look, the woman said, “Linna, don't turn around. It's important.” She looked past her. “Give me a second, baby. I'll catch up.” The stranger looked back at Linna. “Get home to your boy and take care of him. Look for your grandfather, and you'll figure it all out. You and Haru are going to be just fine. Fantastic, even. You were always going to find him, you made sure of that.”

The woman stood and walked away. Linna stood and turned. “Wait...!” There was no one there. There was no one in the room at all, in fact, except the man behind the bar, sipping coffee as he read a newspaper.

“What just...?”

“Sorry, ma'am. That was the last call. I need to close up and get ready for the next one.”

Linna was standing outside in the road, snow falling around her. Wasn't she just in that inn? The building she looked at was old and dilapidated, no sign of another living presence in years inside its wooden frame. She pulled out her phone, checking the time. Barely any time had passed. Was it a daydream?

“I was born in this damned city. I should be used to this by now.” She walked off, heading to the district gate to set up the hot tub and wait for Haru to arrive with dinner. She might even need a glass of wine after this.

------
That was her? Wow, I didn't expect to see her.

Well, you know how she is. She got impatient. So now, she gets to figure it out early too.

Do you think she'll get there? Not all of them do the first time through.

Yeah, I really do.

I really didn't recognize her, she was in such a rush, that's not even...

I know. She didn't want to wait for that either. But I put her on the trail. She'll find her, and she'll figure it out. The life she would have had if she'd waited a bit longer.

If she'd done that, what state would he have been in, though? She’s his second chance, that girl really did show up right when he needed her, he was almost back in his own shadow.

Yeah, he really was. He got lucky. But it was going to happen anyway. Maybe this way, they can do even better than we did.

All we can do is wait and see.

[Marissa]

"Marissa ..." A woman's voice called in the dark of the night, like a whisper on the wind.

Marissa stirred in her bed, the voice calling her from sleep. The house was dark and quiet, but for the embers in the fire, Emrys and the children already asleep. Had she really heard someone calling her, or had it been a figment of her imagination? Stranger things had been known to happen, especially in Rhy'Din, and especially during this time of year. It was the last night of the year, after all, a time for biding the Old Year farewell and welcoming the New; a time for saying goodbye to the ghosts of the past and looking toward the future.

Marissa rolled over and tucked the blankets higher, but there it was again, clearly a woman's voice summoning her from sleep, one that seemed vaguely familiar, but who or what was she?

"Marissa ..."

This time, Marissa sat up in bed and looked with preternatural sight about the room, but no one was there, except herself and her mate. She felt a little like Scrooge on Christmas Eve being summoned by Marley's Ghost, but that had only been a story, and this felt very real.

"Marissa!" The voice called again, more insistently this time, and Marissa felt a chill up the back of her spine, like the caress of ghostly fingers. She paused to listen a moment, feeling a strange compulsion to rise from bed and follow that voice wherever it might lead. She knew she should wake Emrys, if only so he wouldn't worry, but it wouldn't be the first time she had wandered out at night alone. She was a hunter, after all. It was in her blood and could not be denied. And she would be careful. She had too much to live for to be otherwise.

Leaning over, she touched a tender kiss to her mate's cheek and murmured a promise that she'd be back soon, before climbing out of bed and moving to the door. She dressed quickly and stepped out onto the porch, looking over the snow-laden landscape before slipping away into the night, and there was the voice again, beckoning her onward.

"Marissa ..."

The woman that was Marissa melted into darkness, flesh and bones effortlessly shifting and changing into that of claws and teeth and fur, padded paws carrying her silently toward the city, answering the call she'd heard whispered in the night.

It was a cold night, the wind whipping through the desolate streets of the city, mysterious lights in some of the windows, like those of the will-o-wisp beckoning her closer. She stopped finally outside a ramshackle building that might have once been an inn, but now looked as lonely and forlorn as the ghosts who might inhabit it. She did not need to hear the voice again to know that this was the place to which she had been summoned; somehow, she felt it in her bones.

She shivered as she shifted again, fur changing to flesh, and she felt the icy sting of cold despite the cloak that was tucked tightly about her shoulders. Stepping inside, a bearded stranger produced a mug of steaming cocoa and wordlessly waved her to a table, as if she'd been expected. Marissa looked around to find a few others present, all of them seemingly engaged in conversation with someone she could not see or hear.

She was just about to turn back to the tender when the air in front of her rippled, and a woman appeared as if out of thin air. She was tall and stunning with long, red hair and vibrant green eyes, and Marissa knew without a doubt that she was seeing a ghost.

"Mother," she whispered, as if speaking aloud might cause her to disappear. "Am I dreaming?"

The woman smiled warmly, a hint of amusement sparkling in her green eyes. "Does it matter? I'm here, you're here. That's all that matters."

"But you're ..." Marissa stammered, unable to bring herself to say the word.

"Dead?" the woman filled in the blank, with a hint of sorrow in her eyes. "Unfortunately, that's true. At least, in this reality, but you know that already. You've met me before, haven't you? In other realities, other timelines."

"Yes, but ..." Marissa furrowed her brows. It was hard enough to understand herself, much less explain to someone else.

The woman whose name in life had been Lydia waved a dismissive hand. "Never mind about that. I don't have much time," she said, with a flicker of a glance at the bearded man at the bar, as if he had something to do with how much time she had been allotted. She reached for her daughter's hands and drew them between her own, as warm and real as if she was still made of flesh and blood. "There is something I need to tell you, something you need to know."

"I already know that you loved me; loved us. That you did what you thought was best. Kirin told me everything," Marissa replied, blinking tears from her eyes, unsure what it was that had drawn her mother here tonight. Kirin had been her mother's closest friend, and it had been Kirin who had taken Marissa in after her mother's death and raised her like one of her own.

There was that sad smile again. "Love, not loved, Marissa. I have never stopped loving you or your siblings. Death is just a door. Nothing more. I am no longer flesh and blood, as you are, but the energy that gave me life still exists, as does your father's." The ghost that had once been Lydia smiled again. "No one ever really dies, Marissa. We just change form, like you do when you shift from human to tiger. But that is not why I am here. I am here because your siblings need you, and it is time you become a family again."

"But I thought ..." Marissa started, trailing off again as her mother raised a finger to let her finish.

"They are old enough to protect themselves now, as are you. I am sorry you were separated from them, but at the time, you needed Kirin's protection and her guidance. I know you think you are different, Marissa, but what makes you different from the others is also what makes you special," Lydia told her daughter with an expression that could only come from a mother's love.

"I know that now," Marissa said in a voice as soft as a whisper. There had been a time when she had hated what had made her different from the others, but those differences no longer seemed to matter. Of all her siblings, she was the only one whose DNA had been tampered with, the only one who possessed certain qualities the others lacked, and it was a secret that her mother had only shared with Kirin before taking it to her grave.

"Marissa, darling, I don't have much time," Lydia said, a look of sadness, as well as urgency, on her face. "Skylar is looking for you. Dante, as well. He is ..." There was that frown again. It seemed that even in death, she still worried for her children. "Well, you'll see for yourself soon enough. Be patient with him and all will be well. I fear you and your mate may be the only ones who can help him."

"Emrys?" Marissa asked, surprised her mother seemed to know about her mate without being told.

Lydia smiled, her form flickering briefly, as though she were nothing more than an image on a video screen. "Remember me, Marissa, and know that I am always with you, always watching over you, whether you can see me or not. I love you, my darling. Now, go home to your mate and your little ones and be happy. Life is too short to be otherwise. And when the time comes, you will know what to do."

And with that said, her mother disappeared as if she'd never been there at all. Marissa wiped the tears from her face, her heart a mix of sadness and wonder, one hand moving to clutch the locket she wore around her neck - a locket that had once belonged to her mother and had been a gift from Kirin. "I love you, too, Mom," she whispered, though there was no one there to hear. She might as well have been speaking to them both - Lydia and Kirin - the two women who had once loved her and called her daughter.

After a moment, she rose from her chair and turned to leave, a grateful smile for the bearded stranger who had welcomed her upon her arrival. She smiled a little as she wondered what she was going to tell Emrys about her latest adventure. Perhaps it was just a dream, but what a wonderful dream it was, and one she'd not soon forget.

[Anya de la Rose]

On the last night of February, the lights in the windows were extinguished. The warm weather that blew in to the city stirred the ragged blinds through broken windows. The fire in the hearth guttered and died.

The man who had run the Inn for two months left at midnight. He carried his ferryman pole towards the river. He did not close the door behind him. It stood open to the empty room that had briefly been an Inn.

[Amaris]

Halloween was Amaris’ second favorite holiday. Christmas, or Yule, always came first, of course. It was late, midnight maybe, as she wandered the streets in costume. Even at fifteen years old, she’d trick or treated until the streets were empty, except for the trouble makers out TPing the houses… the ones with their lights now turned off, and most likely, the ones that gave out toothbrushes or some other form of unacceptable candy that they considered “treats”.

Her feet led her down silent streets as she swung her fairly-full bag of treats, lost in thought. Her mind started to drift toward thoughts of her dad: how he’d led her down the paths as she trick or treated, and how he’d been the life of the Halloween parties and parades. She had gone to the village's Halloween parade alone this year, over the weekend. It was sweet that they had a little memorial float for him. Everyone treated her so nicely, but she didn’t like being coddled like that. It bothered her, but she kept herself polite and just took deep breaths when they tried.

Halloween had been packed this year for sure. The parade, trick or treating, roaming, then she headed for the gardens for her match. Another year of IFL had started, and what a perfect night for her match. She didn’t like that she kicked off the year with a loss, but it had been fun and a whirlwind. Still, she always felt like she was hindering more than helping sometimes. She knew it wasn’t true, but those thoughts had always resonated in her head from the time she started to the present day. It’s that ‘imposter syndrome’ she’d learned about in school. She recognized it now, but it still sometimes sat in her head, and she mulled over it.

Still in costume, she blinked and looked around when she heard her steps making eerie echoes, noticing she was in Dragon’s Gate, near the wall with Old Market. It was the witching hour, and as she walked on, she heard the thump of a door opening. She glanced to the side, seeing the door hanging open. She wandered closer, then recognized where she was and moved towards the door, peering inside.

This was weird… the inn wasn’t supposed to be open this time of year. It was usually during the New Year. The ‘tender who had given her tea the last time she’d visited was there, but he had his feet elevated and was snoozing softly. She considered this, thinking about how this time of year was for a culture called the Celts; this was their New Year’s. Was it possible that the inn was open this time of year as well, but only Celts came, as a rarity? She could think of a few, but they had other connections too, so maybe it was less traveled than during the January New Year.

Taking a slow careful step, she went in, not wanting to wake the ‘tender who’d been so kind before. The hearth was freshly cleaned and warm, with a small fire kindled. Eyes swept the room… no Wilder, no Rhionna. No one she knew was in the room this time, and that brought tears to her eyes that she worked very hard to keep from spilling over.

She thought… well of course she had thought that Mist would be there, but he wasn’t … yet. She decided to stay to see if he was running late. Late in life and late in death… made sense to her. She imagined his happy smile as he slipped into the inn and apologized about… who knew, being a guardian angel to some other child that was in the clinic of his past, causing him to lose track of time and making him, of course, late.

Hours passed, and slowly she nodded off, a small tracing of tears playing down her face, streaking her white makeup from her costume. There were spirits that shifted in the shadows here and there, spirits whom she might have recognized if she was awake, but none were who she was looking for. And perhaps, they didn’t want to disturb her and shatter that hope she was keeping, of getting to see her dad this night.

Sometime after 3 AM, a soft snore woke her up, and she shivered a little, noticing someone had given her a blanket. Threadbare, but still someone had cared to cover her. It caused her to sit bolt upright, thinking, did I miss him…? I can’t believe I missed him. Why did I fall asleep!

A soft voice blew through the wind, whistling at the windows: “You’ll nae be finding him here, lass, tonight or other nights.”

The words unnerved and at the same time calmed her. At least she hadn’t missed him, but… why wasn’t she going to see him tonight or other nights? He was gone… had he already been reincarnated? She thought she’d need to speak with Maggie about that one. She longed for the comfort of her Sissy, like the last time she’d been here and met her birth parents. It seemed she wasn’t going to get it this time around, not the comfort nor the reunion.

With a heavy sigh, she folded up the blanket and set it back on the seat whispering, ”Thanks anyway”

She made her way out sadly and headed aimlessly, trying to decide if she wanted to go home or to family. She felt like she’d be better off alone, and instead headed back to the cave to remove her face makeup and get into her warm snuggly pjs and maybe get to sleep. She still had school in the morning, after all.