It’s been a couple months since I got here already. Though what I’ve learned… feels a lot more than that.

  “Alright Ora, ready to share what we read today?” Looking down at my sister Oraxia, who I’ve taken to calling Ora as a cute nickname, she nods.

  “Ready! So, I learned why it’s so much easier for me to speak here, than it was in the city. When something wants to bend the rules, it needs to be agreed upon. It’s why certain rules can’t be broken, like the dead coming back to life. Too many people believe in their souls it’s impossible, so their wills make it so.”

  Nodding a bit, I look up in thought. “Makes sense… it’s why using the power of true names is so dangerous, you’re using the owner’s will to cause something to happen, but they’ll notice it being pulled on.”

  Making almost proud chitters, she moves to the cup of tea mom made and takes a weird little sip… I still don’t quite understand how she drinks, but I don’t question it. “Exactly! So, when we’re somewhere with only a few people, my will has more weight, or is being countered by less weight, so I can speak to you more easily. And the people here would also let my will be acted out, so it’s even easier than the outskirts.”

  “So is that why cults are so dangerous? Like the lobster cult that I heard about?”

  “Lobster cult?”

  Chuckling, I grab my tea. “Well, it was some cult dedicated to a lobster… or was it a crab? Regardless, they worshipped Crabulon, some crab they wanted to keep growing and living forever. Or something like that. It’s been around for around a century, before it was torn down.”

  “Why is it funny? It sounds interesting. Can we learn about that next?”

  I almost choke on my tea, not expecting her to be curious about it. I mean, it makes sense in hindsight, she doesn’t have the cultural bias of thinking it’s ridiculous. “Alright… alright sure, but not now. I don’t have signal out here to find out more.”

  “Okay, makes sense. So what did you learn?”

  Smiling, I sip more of my tea and speak through my mind instead. It’s a bit easier if I want to enjoy this drink at the same time, anyways. “Well, using magic can mess with your head and soul. For the mind part, it makes you see things that aren’t there or that you couldn’t see before. It also makes it hard to focus… Huh. Wonder if that’s what Sal was dealing with when she first showed up, she was dazing off a lot.”

  “She is really smart, maybe she used magic.”

  Smiling and nodding, I stand up and go to the middle of the floor, deciding that doing a bit of yoga while I think is a good idea. Hate being still for so long anyways. Always did, even if Lulu would get annoyed that I wouldn’t stay still when she’d teach me.

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  Touching my toes, not really minding what Ora might see behind me since she’s literally bathed with me, I continue. “Well, there’s also soul damage. If you use a spell and either fail or can’t fully understand it, it can wear away at your soul. And that’s… way more dangerous. Besides just being able to kill you, it also messes with your emotions and mind. Chip one part, you might not feel love. Another part, you might go blind.”

  Shuddering, I lay on my stomach on the floor and go on my hands and knees, doing a cat stretch pose, feeling my back crack and pop from the tension being released. “Ah~ better~”

  “That makes sense. I should learn more about my own webs and powers. I have certain things I can do, like in your dreams to keep you safe or give you nice ones, but I can’t do soul stuff yet.”

  “I’m sure we’ll figure it out.” She looks over at me as I speak. “I mean, you figured out all this on your own, right? I’m sure we’ll figure it out with all this talk of transcending and all these scrolls based on your kind.”

  “Right.”

  After a bit of comfortable silence, me doing stretches and her sipping tea, a knock comes from the door. “Come in!”

  Mom walks in, smiling softly. “So how’s your studies going?”

  “Pretty good. Oh… but I do have a question for you, actually.”

  Sitting on the bed near Ora, she nods. “Go ahead.”

  Standing and sipping some of my tea first, I smile softly and speak. “Well, I know Soul Weavers had a lot of abilities… but what were those exactly? I want to help Ora learn what she can do.”

  “Oh. Well, that’s not too hard to explain. In the same way as they can enter our dreams and weave them to what they wish, and feed on them, a soul weaver can weave our souls and eat them should they wish. Eating the parts they deem harmful, like addiction.”

  I’m not too surprised at that, sitting next to her in thought. I mean, it makes sense, it’s a logical progression for her. And I can almost see Ora’s eyes shine in excitement. But… “Wait, so can she do that now? Or is that where the transcending comes in?”

  “Yes, exactly so. We think it’s a natural part of a soul weaver being born to be with a human. But… well, the lifespan of such a creature is so vast, we didn’t know if we’d ever see it. It’s… actually why I wanted to tell the village.”

  Seeing my tail curl around Ora, she sighs. “Look, I understand why you wouldn’t want to tell them. But it’s also what their lives are built around. You wouldn’t be shunned, you’d be an idol. And everyone would want to learn from you, when you succeed.”

  Sighing, I look away. “I get that… but it’s also too much for me. I’m no teacher, or writer. I can’t share this, it’s all learned by feel… besides, I don’t want to be stuck in that way.”

  “Stuck?”

  “Well… look, eventually, I’ll want to return to my other family. And when I do, I don’t want it to be a borderline war here over my departure. Even if they won’t be jealous of me, they’ll be jealous of them.”

  I remain silent as I sip on the tea, the warmth down my throat only helping my anxiety a little.

  Standing, she steps towards the door. “I get it. But… consider it. After all, there are some steps of your journey where you’ll need the help of specialties in the village, I believe.”

  Before I can ask her what specialties, she’s gone out the door.

  ‘...probably those implants of theirs. I still don’t know what they do exactly, but it must be important.’

  ___

  Any guesses on what kinds of implants those might be?