Kieran wasn’t surprised when she agreed to help. He nodded, trying to be confident when she was hesitant. “I am glad that you are not going to simply leave and forget about this. Even if you don’t want all in, you need to learn how to control what you can do. I can help you with that…Or I can part the veil and bring you all in. But if you want that… you will need a day or two off. We will be traveling. Give me a call and let me know what you decide. Thank you Anabelle.” Kieran let the girl depart, finally, and then pulled away and began to drive back to his house. 

He hadn’t wanted to scare her, but a healer who was untrained could cause major chaos. In addition to healing, a healer could suck the life out of a person, or even unleash a plague on humanity. She might choose later not to join the fight, but she needed to understand what she could do. Kieran could help her some of the way, but he hoped to find another healer who could help guide her, someone who knew what they were doing. Kieran would certainly talk about focusing energy, but it might not work for her.

He went back to his own house, and organized a few things, debating whether he should go home, or stay here for a while. He ended up going back to his world for the afternoon, for a few hours, checking his letters at that house. Kieran sent a few messages, coded some of his plans and sent messages to his comrades in different areas. Some were working undercover, some needed aid, and to be set up with contacts. Kieran helped negotiate things when he could, but right now, his mind was preoccupied with Anabelle. It was evening, was she off of her shift now? Was she already home, confronting her mother about the deception? Perhaps he should be in the other world, in case she called. Kieran made himself some dinner, and then went back to Anabelle’s world, hoping to receive a message from her. He rarely slept here as an adult, but he did tonight. As he slept, he had visions.

Kieran stood on the side of a mountain, looking over the forest and the small towns off in the distance. There were fires, some still going, and others having just been stopped. One of them had spread to the trees. Kieran turned to the side, where Devon stood, pointing his finger out towards the horizon. Beside Devon, there always stood another woman. Kieran had never seen her face before, but this time… she had a face, and it was one he recognized. Anabelle stood there, with a look of concern, following Devon’s pointed finger. Kieran tried to turn the other direction, to see the other face that accompanied them. He could feel that there were four of them, he knew it, but the vision changed and became muddled before he could see the final person. 

-.-
What Devon had seen and experienced in terms of fighting surprised Rhys a little. She was naïve because she chose to be. He had seen groups burn buildings to the ground. She had heard rumors about that sort of thing in the taverns, but she hadn’t seen it, apart from an accident in her own childhood. Devon changed the subject a little, saying that he wanted to be a part of the solution. Rhys gave a small nod, but she wasn’t sure just how this fighting could be simply ended. To her, there was no end in sight. It was just going to get worse and worse until everyone killed each other. Perhaps she needed a friend who had visions of the future, so that she had something to give her hope.

“Yea, let’s forage.” Rhys agreed. She filled her water once more and began to walk along the river a short ways, knowing that berries would grow well near a source of water for their roots. Rhys took out one of the spare garments in her bag, and clustered the dark fabric in the shape of a bowl to hold the berries she found. 

“When I was a child, I used to forage with my sister and brother.” Rhys said. Her brother had taught her which berries were good to eat. She remembered him teasing her when she had approached him with some berries she found without him. 

[i]”Elijah! I found berries, all by myself!” Rhys told him. She couldn’t have been older than six years old at the time, but the memory was still fresh in her mind.[/i]

[i]”Oh. Rhys-ee…” Elijah began, shaking his head. “You can’t eat these.” He protested. Rhys asked him why not, a huge look of sadness and disappointment on his face. Elijah looked more closely at the berries, and then picked one up. “Rhys…these are poison.” He said, and popped one in his mouth.[/i]

[i]”No! Elijah!” Rhys yelled, reaching out to stop her brother, but he ate the berry, and then fell to the ground. She began to cry, but a crackle of thunder on the otherwise sunny day made him jump.[/i]

[i]”Jeeze, Rhysee… I was just playing.” He said. “You don’t have to cry.” He sat up, and reached for the other berries she had gathered, which were now in a pile on the ground. “I should probably have another, though, just to make sure that they are good.” He said, taking a handful and eating it quickly.[/i]

[i]Rhys relaxed and began to gather the berries once more, eating a few as Elijah said that they needed to return home before the storm came. Fortunately, whatever storm had been approaching missed them entirely. Unfortunately, that meant they had to help hang up the laundry. With their mother caring for their infant sister, Elijah and Rhys tried to help make things easier for their mother by doing whatever chores they could manage.[/i]

After they gathered berries, Rhys shared what she had procured with Devon, and then continued to walk until night fall. She could see a town on the horizon as the sun set, only another mile or two away. She preferred to camp in the woods, even with the possibility of bandits, but it wasn’t just her choice. “Do you want to camp here? Or try to find a place in that town?” Rhys asked, gesturing to the path in front of them.