Birds in the Breeze [Closed | Frey]

The soft melody carried through the wind and through the trees in the forest. Freyleif had been practicing with her flute; one she rarely had time to take up an instrument, thus some notes were off beat and she cursed in her native tongue. She let out a sigh as she felt a spiritual signature homing in on her - one familiar so long ago and heard the squawks of her white raven and her left eyebrow twitched.

Another exhale escaped the young Quincy’s lips and she placed the flute upon her lap as she sat cross-legged in the clearing, watching the grass sway through the chilly breeze and her skin crawled as the coldness touched her exposed, scarred, forearms. She trailed a finger down along her right eye’s middle scar from top to bottom where it stopped just a little further than the other two on her cheek. She wondered how Marshal was doing after their first meeting and if he had decided on a path to walk down and take that power he always wanted.

Freyleif stood up and slipped her flute inside her denim jacket with a t-shirt underneath and blurred away leaving traces of her spiritual energy behind in a circle of the clearing before concealing herself. She waited in the trees sitting on a branch that had most of the leaves to hide her petite form and peeked through them wondering of the boy or raven would find her first.

The white raven drifted in the air and tilted its head as its keen eyes spotted the blonde woman then swooped towards the tree and began circling around it to Frey’s dismay. The Icelander let out a curse as she saw the bird being a beacon and flipped it off with a bird gesture rudely.

Just as his ears picked up on a fluttering tune drifting on the breeze, the fullbringer felt the source move. There was no doubt it was Freyleif. Even in their brief meeting before it was evident that the woman was mischievous. More out of curiosity than any serious inquiry, he reached out with his senses just before he entered the clearing. Forming a ring around it was a trail of the quincy's presence, a very apparent attempt at hiding. Before he even had time to look for the woman the raven gave her position away.

"You tried!" he called, letting the winds carry his words in Frey's direction. A quiet chuckle followed in their wake but fell far short of the Queen. "Quite the companion you have there. He's able to find and fetch me but not able to let you succeed in hiding." 

Reiatsu unfurled from Marshal's form in waves as he released his fine control over it in the woman's presence. He didn't claim to know the woman well enough to say she was without a doubt no threat, but he liked to think he was a decent enough judge of character to say she was someone who could be trusted with seeing the reality of who he was now. The wind seemed to shift around him as he let his presence flow into the surroundings, washing the area in his emotion.

"It's been a long time, Freyleif." he allowed himself to bow, a playful whimsy that hadn't been present the last time they met thick in his voice. "I heard you're a queen now, no? I do believe some congratulations are in order."

Unfolding himself to stand and stare where the woman still sat obscured by leaves, he offered a warm smile. He was pleased that she'd done so well for herself and his congratulations, despite the way it may have come off, were genuine. From where he stood it seemed that the both of them were in very different positions than when last they'd met. Excitement pulsed through his reiatsu as he waited for the woman to come out from her hiding place, anxiety quick at it's heels as he began to anticipate the questions he knew were bound to come.

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Sometimes she wished she could burn that bird into marshmallows when it ruined her day but it was a gift from her grandfather that denied that pleasure. Oh well, one day she would get her payback or just not feed it crackers.

Frey waved down at Marsh upon hearing him and shouted back, “Hey! Long time no see!” she giggled. “Apparently I can’t play a bit of hide and seek.”

A shudder crawled up her spine when he carefully leaked out his spiritual energy. There was no hostile intent from either of them and she giggled when he made his presence known in place of trust.

“It has been a while, no?” she said swaying her legs as she sat on the branch and gave a playful grin. “Word seems to travel fast it seems. Thank you. How have you been?” with a yawn, the Queen slipped out of the branch and landed before the man with a grunt before righting herself. A soft pulse of her own reiatsu spiraled out to show her own excitement in seeing Marshal, wondered if he managed to push his soul to new heights from the last time they had met.

"You seem different," she eyed him up and down. "Have you been training or is something else?"

"It has been a while, a lot has happened." his smile widened the slightest bit as he recalled all that had happened since they had last met. As the memories of his time with Alex flashed in his mind, he raised a series of three pillars from the Earth in the space between them. "We have a lot of catching up to do."

A series of quick strides brought the fullbringer to the pillar closest to him. Despite being made of dirt, the thing seemed solid and smooth enough that one could come away from it without residual debris clinging to clothing. Seeing as the pillar came up to about his knee it took Marshal no time at all to fold himself to sit atop it. The center pillar was then just the right height for him to comfortably lay his forearms across its surface after gesturing for the Queen to sit herself at the pillar opposite himself. "It seems you've got a bit more control over yourself this time."

The mischief had yet to leave his voice and even flowed into his reiatsu as he gently imposed on the space her soul occupied. Effectively, it was little more than a playful nudge one would give a friend. The very tip of his tongue just barely slipped from between his lips before he picked the conversation back up once more. "But to answer your question, yes to both parts of your question. I have been training but that's not all I've been doing."

"Not so much on my skills, though the important ones seemed to have improved on their own, but I've been training myself. I'd like to say I've come a long way. I've met quite a few new faces and reconnected with a few old friends too. I've learned about your people some." he silently hoped she wouldn't take offense to the comment. He'd enjoyed most of the time he'd spent with the Quincy he'd come across. For the most part they'd been pleasant people he was happy to say he shared the world with. "Mostly though, I've learned a lot about myself. Who and what exactly I am, and what exactly I stand for."

Noticing the bird circling in the winds once more and not wanting him to feel excluded, because even though he'd been shat on by it the mortal did feel a fondness for the raven, he drew out a slender rod from the center column. It began to bend and twist until it came to form a perch. Should the bird come to rest on it, he would be the third party at the impromptu table with his seat just slightly more elevated than that of his companions.

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The teen eyed the pillars that grew out of the ground; a rather curious form of manipulation, she ran her hand over the surface of the pillar for her to seat herself and notice that no residual debris wiped off - a smooth surface amazingly made. She nodded before finally sitting down and rested her hands on her lap. A small smile forming when he mentioned tighter control of herself and there was a flash of a glint in her emeralds before that smile faded back to thinning out. A shiver went crawled up her spine as her reiatsu vibrated into the air in waves, and there was the sound of a soft cacophony of her soul crying out. A wince flashing by as she buried the thoughts of her children resurfacing and she let out a sigh before shaking her head slowly to get the feeling out.

She stayed silent as Marshal explained he had been training which made her feel a bit relieved he managed to push himself in his own way. An eyebrow rose when he said “her people” as if they were some kind of alien in their own way, she gave a soft chuckle to that before brushing aside some of her fringes.

The white raven swooped down upon the makeshift perch and its red eyes bore into its master before circling around carefully to face the man, fanning out its tail feathers as it balanced in place from pacing back and forth along the perch.

“So what did you actually find?” she finally decided to speak once hearing him through. “I hope my raven hasn’t caused too much trouble for you? He can be a pain in the, well, tailfeathers.” she eyed the bird and reached out with a hand to brush against his back. With a giggle, she shook her head as the bid just squawked in response and continued. “What have you’ve learned of the Quincy, hmm? Have you met unsavory ones hiding?”

"I've found out a lot." he watched as she pet the bird, its feathers nearly as fair as the skin on her fingers. He hadn't missed the shiver. It echoed from her body and into her spirit, a double whammy for someone like him. "Primarily, I've found that the Quincy and people like myself share the world."

It was a simple statement. One that should have been a no brainer but some inhabitants still held a 'holier than thou' mentality. Most everyone that called the planet home was made of flesh and blood. They all bled the same crimson blood, they all came from the same place, and no one person was ultimately any more capable than another. Bringing his and before his face, Marshal's eyes focused on his skin as it changed from his own shade of paleness to that of smoky grey. Something about learning so much had changed the way he felt about his fullbring. What, exactly, he couldn't say. "From what I can see, Quincy are gifted with a set of skills that are passed down through lineage but they're no more inhuman than someone like me. The ins and outs of how you guys do what you do is a bit lost on me but, then, I haven't been explicitly taught."

"Just like the rest of humanity and other spiritually aware mortals," he focused on Freylief once more, smiling. "I've found good and bad Quincy. We may not have shared views on everything under the sun but, for the most part, the Quicy I've met have been 'good.' One or two seemed a little lost in who they were but they seemed on the right path."

"I suppose it's worth mentioning-" he flexed his soul around the girl. Nothing harmful, he was well aware of the gap between them and he'd have been stupid to make a threat. His hand, changing back to a normal skin color."well, first off, I felt that."

It was heavy, whatever it was that plagued the Queen. The weight of it pressed an unwilling sigh from his chest. Having said his spiel, the fullbringer's mind spun as he tried to direct the conversation. "Second, I've fine tuned my own control over myself. I know the ins and outs of the flow of my soul and I've come to recognize patterns in other people's as well."

He had no doubt she got what he was trying to imply. He wouldn't pry. Instead it was his turn to ask a question of the Quincy Queen. "What happened?"

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A brow curiously lofted upward in his words that Quincy and humans shared the same world, a soft chuckle escaping her lips at that notions. Yes, they were one in the same - she still wondered if the so-called genetics played the part in what made humans and Quincy different. Humans could learn to harness reishi too with a soft(or forceful) hand to guide them along.

Freyleif blinked twice when his skin color changed a smoky grey and tilted her head at such ability. He surely did grow in a way and just by peering into his soul Freyleif could tell there was something special about him. The teen nodded along to his statement about Quincy lineage while petting her raven absentmindedly as he paced about the perch.

“Anyone would be scared opening their eyes to the real world,” Freyleif gave a somber sigh. “Quincy just experience it since birth and..suffer earlier. Sorry, I’m just rambling on.” she let him continue while focusing her emeralds intently on him and listening to the soft breeze pass by the clearing and rustling the grass.

His reiatsu hugged around her soul as she kept hers suppressed - though it was dripping out like a clogged water faucet, and the soft crying could be heard. She grimaced when he noted the heavy malignant tumor in her soul and peeled her eyes away to look at a random tree and rested her hands on her lap before giving out a sigh. He suddenly turned the question on her in what happened causing her to look back at him with a frown.

“I-” she began and found herself lost with words. The memory of her children resurfacing made her skin crawl but there was no hiding behind a mask as he obviously could sense something was off about her. “A bad fate has befallen me as usual, nothing ever comes out good and is taken away from me,” she answered with bitter tone before switching the subject back on him. “I’m glad you were able to find control and that is interesting ability to change skin, are you a chameleon now?” a giggle resounded out and she folded her arms while looking back at her raven preening his feathers.

"No," despite his question more or less being dodged, a smile quirked at the corners of his mouth. "I'm no chameleon. That's the power I had when we first met, remember?"

The fullbringer pushed the memories of his own view of the woman as his power took hold to the bits of his soul that surrounded her. He coupled them with the feeling that he was no longer afraid of the power. What it did still made him uncomfortable but he was now at a place where he could see the value of it. He didn't enjoy it but one didn't have to to see its value.

"I'm sorry for what happened back then. I know you were trying to help and that you, probably, will say its for the best. And you're right. But that doesn't stop me from feeling bad about what my power did to you." his dark eyes scanned the woman. Since he'd asked about what had happened to her, she was looking everywhere but him. Not even in a subtle way as if she were casually taking in the surrounding flora and fauna. Even her own bird seemed to be a distraction. A soft, almost eerie, cry had begun to drift on the winds to his ears too. "I know its not my fault but for what it's worth, I'm sorry too for what happened."

Marshal's eyes trailed from Freyleif's averted gaze, and her new scars, to her shoulder and down her arm to where her arms hugged her midsection. That was as clear a sign as any she was hiding something. Arms crossed usually meant that one was defensive or, possibly, protecting something. "That said, you and I both know that's not the whole story. We also both know I'm in no position to demand answers from you but I can feel your pain. I'd like to know how you managed to get hurt so deeply."

"I'll do what I can to make telling me worth your while." without a doubt, that was a lie. He'd come with every intention of making a display of the phenomenon. There was no way of knowing before he arrived that the queen would be carrying so much baggage. It was just a happy coincidence that he was able to levy his desire to display it as leverage to know more about the woman.

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The Queen rubbed at her arms absentmindedly again and frowned as he recalled their last meeting, to which she nodded once the memories resurfaced. She shivered as did her spiritual energy rippled for a moment before forcing out a smile that he had broke the fear surrounding his power.

She shook her head when he apologized and carefully waved it off as she kept her eyes off him and onto the trees. “It’s not your fault,” she answered tersely, finally giving him a quick glance before keeping her mind on something else entirely. But no matter how much she tried to hide her emotions, her movements kept going; from shifting on her chair to hugging herself, and looking at the flora and fauna that captured her interest - he still could see the spiritual energy leak out with a sense of foreboding dread, like a heavy cloud was hanging over them.

When he spoke of her pain she slowly looked over at him and her facial expression slowly turned that of confusion before returning to neutral. “I was pregnant - then my twins were taken from me by a Shinigami. Death was their fate.” her eyes lowered onto the makeshift round table and her frown reinforced once more then turned into a scowl. No matter how much she put caps on the bottle, it would still overflow and break open, and her spiritual energy wavered out in a misty cloud around her.

First, her body began shaking then the tears broke free from their dam and silently streamed down her pale cheeks, hopefully, concealed by her long hair to curtain. Slowly she curled her hands into a fist on her lap before turning her head to the right and taking a breath.

“It’s not worth the story,” she said somberly before sniffling and keeping her gaze off him. “No mother should have to suffer through that. I don't know what I did to pull in the wrath of the Shinigami - hell I was trying to work with them.” the soft chirping of the white raven tried to ease the Quincy's tension and lightly moved forward to nibble at her hair as she propped her elbows on the table and rested her chin in her hands. She watched the bird with a weak smile but its comfort did little to ease the pain that was growing both spiritually and physically.

He watched as the queen began to break down, his own expression staying composed as he took in everything through even his spiritual sense. Pain was no newcomer to his life. He felt the deep ache coming from her which he could now identify as the pain of loss, something he should have recognized from the get go. His back stayed straight as he thought he caught the woman crying. He restrained himself from wiping away the tears as he caught a glimpse of the fat tears falling from her face and into her lap.

"Every story is worth telling." he offered the quincy a compassionate smile as he stood and offered her his hand. "At least to me. I'd like to hear yours, if you'd let me."

With a deep breath he let the entirety of his soul spill out. The tight control he kept over himself released almost instantaneously and the result was almost surprising, given his comparatively minute status compared to his companion. The wind that had just been blowing through the trees seemed to stop in its tracks, if not be pushed back completely. What few leaves that were left in the wake of the winds were certainly pushed back by the outburst. "I'm not on your level but I'd like to do what I can to help you because, you're right, no one should have to go through that."

He let what had been his chair fall back into the earth as he waited for Freyleif's hand. Any minute now he'd let the phenomenon loose. Even if he hadn't been planning on it, he'd almost have to to let her talk to him without the weight of her grief weighing on her. With how exposed he'd made himself and what seemed to be a lack of control on her part, he knew very well how deep the grief went. It'd be a lot of work to help her get passed this but it was a task Marshal was more than willing to undertake. 

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“Not my story, my story is worth nothing.” the Queen said with bitterness dripping off her tongue. She picked up her right arm to wipe away the tears that began dripping down upon the perch table and readjusted it back under her chin giving a dull expression.

Losing her children put an even bigger scar on her soul - even if she tried to bury it away, she knew the dam would just keep reopening. Like now. No matter the times she tried to wipe away the tears from growing down her cheeks, her eyes kept producing such and the emeralds lost their gleam and joy. “It’s pointless and hopeless,” she looked back to Marshal as the bird moved to the side some for their eyes to meet. “I just want to protect humanity and our own, yet no one, not even Jian, wants to help.” her nails dug into her cheeks. Just thinking about asking for the aid of the Punch Boy he had turned his back on her and lost her children, even if her best Quincy tried to stand against the Shinigami force - just one man that took out three.

As Marshal stood up it took the young Quincy a moment to stand herself and held out an arm for the white raven to climb up it and onto her shoulder. Hesitantly she reached out with a shaky right hand to take his, putting her trust in him even if she didn’t believe in herself. The bird coon softly into her ear and nuzzled along her cheek as if sensing the turmoil inside her yet she chose to ignore that comfort and watched Marshal with a frown forming.

Unfortunately it would seem that the queen couldn't be reasoned with. With her hand in his Marshal drew in a deep breath, seeming to suck the air from the immediate area before he exhaled. As his lungs reached their max capacity and he exhaled, power poured off his body. Not unlike the cloud that breath forms on a cold winter's day, an opaque gray fog drifted from the fullbringer's mouth. He breathed for what seemed like too long until the fog overtook the small forest clearing. The fog swelled to the sky and swallowed everything in their immediate area until all at once things became clear. They were bathed in a world of blacks and grays, the fog seemingly having swallowed the colors as it had the clearing. As the world came back into focus his dark eyes fell back on the quincy.

His own anticipation was gone. What he'd been so looking forward to was over with, now all he had to do was see the look on the woman's face. He wanted to care about what he'd see but, for whatever reason, he found he couldn't. This was the phenomena he'd experienced in the brawl between the other races, the thing that had flared to life from his own soul at the very end. He wished he knew what it was, and what it could do, but in the end it was all only speculation. From his own experience with it, he found things were harder to feel. He could, if he really tried, but mostly he found himself apathetic toward wanting to feel them.

"This is my strength, I suppose. It's what I've become." he squeezed her hand inside his own and smiled at Freyleif. Raising his free hand, the blonde stroked the feathers of the raven. "Or, more accurately, it's what my power became. I'm sure I don't need to tell you how much work it was but, still, it was mostly an accident."

"Your story is worth telling, by the way." he'd wished he could have said it with more conviction, but whatever his power was prevented him from doing so. It was almost futile but he hoped she understood nevertheless. "You're the leader of a people. Any who are worth leading should be willing to listen."

"And about Jian," he worked the inside of his bottom lip between his teeth, a nervous habit that even his power apparently couldn't shake. "he means well. I think. His direction is just... off. In any case, I'm willing to help. I feel like I owe something to the world and, to an extent, you. Even if I can't help you're people, I'd like to help you if you'd let me."

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For some reason. Perhaps it was the energy she felt from his hand, Freyleif smiled softly and just stared into Marshal’s eyes without blinking. Her soul raged within and yet he felt like the beacon of light that everything would be ok in the world. In silence she watched the opaque gray fog build around them without fear even if she was shaking from the loss of her children. Her own spiritual energy poured out in a ting of oceanic blue in swirls around her body, and it didn’t stay in tune as if unsure to flow out in a euphony and cacophony with the sound of children crying.

Her soul resonated as a great beast wishing to tear down those that harmed her babies. Even she couldn’t contain the gritting of her teeth for a split second and winced as if a spear stabbed her in the chest and gripped it with her free hand. She tried to resist the malignant reiatsu Obsession left in her soul and shook her head to shake the feeling off.

The fog swelling out felt like she was falling into a blissful death until things returned back to normal. Her dull emeralds blinked and gazed into the dark orbs of the other blonde with tears break and forming into fat droplets at the end before falling off her cheeks and chin to the ground. The ravens croaking snapped her out of her dark thoughts of her children and squeezed Marshal’s hand; wanting to hold on for dear life and not fall back into that darkness.

“The Old Gods must smile upon you,” she said in her native tongue before wiping away the tears with the back of her free hand. “I’m proud of you Marshal. I wish I wasn't in this state to celebrate more with you.” she reverted back to English.

A shaky hand gripped at her Nordic cross with a wolf head at the end attached to a silver necklace. Whatever the object meant to her helped with calming her nerves and she let out an exhale as she listened to his next set of words. Eyes squinted as if trying to read the apathetic tone. “Being a teenage ruler doesn’t come with a lot of perks but - no, you're right, I just wish people did listen to me.” she shifted her weight on one leg and bit on her lower tongue as her gaze pulled down to the ground for a moment. She wanted to hold him and be comforted, but that would just be odd.

Help her? She blinked in surprise at that. Straightening out she let out another sigh and gazed into his eyes with confusion written across her face. Head tilted a bit to the side wondering what he could help with.

“If you would be my friend - if you want. Nothing more than that would make me happy,” she responded with a slight smile forming. If he was going to be her friend then she would have to open that trust box a bit more and that made her afraid, all this time she had to hide behind a mask about her feelings and it made her paranoid to those that would sneak up and bite her like a deceiver snake. “I wish I could pray to the gods to return my children, but I know pleading won’t get me anywhere nor revenge - I think.”

She began to shake again. Taking a step forward in a small distance she let go of his hand and threw her arms around him in a tight embrace and buried her face into his right shoulder startling her raven from the sudden movement in a flap. “What should I do, Marshal? I can’t make my people go to war and have another culling on our heads!” she sobbed out and nuzzled her face into him. “T-the Shinigami are just too powerful! Not even my Sternritters could take out just one! I-I couldn’t do anything with being unconscious either.” she muffled and sniffled into his clothing. The spiritual energy around her body flowed out like a small wave going out like water lapping to a shore making the area a bit denser but reigning it in from snuffing out the life around her. Her raven blinked unfazed by the emotional turmoil that raged around the teen and let out a low, knowing, croak.

"Hmmm." the woman's cries pulled at his heartstrings, he had to admit. Almost akin to a phantom limb, he could feel them being pulled to an fro in her plea but something stood between them and himself. "I'd be pleased to call myself your friend."

His lanky arms wrapped around the smaller quincy in a hug. There was little pressure in it as it was little more than a reassurance that she was alright. "As your friend, if I may, I have some advice. Your people need someone that is more than just a figurehead. Someone who is more than just the title they're given, someone who is worthy of leading them. I think that someone can be you, you just need to get to that point. To get to be someone in their eyes."

"That can start here and now, if you like. I can help you." setting his hands on either of the young queen's shoulders, the fullbringer pushed her back enough to open some space between them. He offered her a smile, his mouth awkwardly making the expression in the midst of his power. "I'm not sure all of what this power of mine can do but I believe it can begin to help you heal. As it is, I struggle to feel most any emotion in its presence but that could be my own lack of experience with it. I think I could feel, if I really wished it, but I simply don't have such a desire. If you're willing to try something, I have an idea."

Marshal lifted a hand to brush away the straggling tears before letting his arms fall to his side as he stepped further away. He could feel very keenly the emotions she was experiencing, he knew what she felt beyond a shadow of a doubt. What she felt was strong and what he hoped to accomplish but what some might call a pipe dream, but it had to work. Something had to help her. "I want you to let go of what you feel. Don't try and feel at peace, don't concentrate on your anger, or your sadness, just let it all wash away. I know it's difficult but try. I think with experience, I could do it for you but for now I need cooperation."

"From my friend." as he waited for Freyleif's affirmation or refusal, the mortal considered what she'd said. There had been something called a culling, from the sounds of it it was something like a war, but  somehow worse, between the quincy and the shinigami, and she was afraid of starting another. Some of her people had fought one of the shinigami and had lost badly from the sounds of things. As he let his eyes rest on Frey's face, he knew just where they were going to have to start. "I think it's my turn to train you. For you to lead your people you need to know what I do."

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Him accepting being friends brought a tug to her lips that curved upward. Still, though, she felt bad in a way of pushing him on their first meeting, but it had to be done. The hug brought her a sense of relief and her tearful eyes lingered into his for a moment before looking down as she listened to him.

“The Quincy are too prideful, if Weylin couldn’t stick around, then no one can,” she shook her head lightly. She blinked as he pushed her back some at shoulder length. “I’m glad so few have faith in me despite the curse that drove me into an obsession loony.” she lingered off and frowned, looking off to the side closing her eyes.

With Erasmus’ influence over her, it had been a struggle to keep her head above the water and not be consumed by her own pride in strength. She half wondered if it was for Aitrus’ help she managed to get this far or was it because the obsession that drove her?

Whatever. Freyleif shook her head and looked back at Marshal as he explained that maybe he could be of help. Her eyes blinked as he brushed away the straggling teardrops but did not flinch away and looked on with that sorrowful expression.

“But I-,” the Quincy said in a doubtful tone. How was she going to feel ‘nothing’? It was an odd request, but she would just have to try. Letting out a sigh, Freyleif closed her eyes and tried to focus on absolutely nothing - no happy thoughts with being with her family, or falling into despair over her lost children. Her eyes quickly opened when he mentioned in training her and that frown deepen. So many had helped her before and no matter what she did fate still had a cruel way of taking things away from her. “Just do it.” she waved slightly, a bit skeptical in what he was going to do and surrender her current feelings.

He could feel her emotions beginning to drift as soon as his friend relinquished them. Something worse than a simple sadness, grief, weighed heavily on him as it poured off of the woman in thick waves. A sense of pride trailed in the wave's wake. Drifting in the tide beyond that was everything else the young queen felt in her heart of hearts. The fullbringer took a deep breath and with his exhale came another, darker cloud. This one drifted over to Freyleif rather than encompass the world around them. As the fog broke on making contact with her and began to pass over her body color leeched from her skin, her hair, her clothes, and anything else immediately on her person. A ghostly replica of the quincy composed of the stolen colors wavered in the air behind the girl as the fog finished bathing the woman in its power. It disappeared into the air before the real queen could catch a glimpse of her doppelganger.

Marshal's eyes watched it go before he turned his attention back to Frey. He'd felt the separation of her mind and her emotions as she let his power take over, a sort of chasm being opened between her mind and feelings with a rickety bridge suspended between them. She could feel if she wanted to, her will to do so was not affected, but it was considerable work to do so. Everything she'd been so hung up on moments before still mattered, in the end it always would, but if his suspicion was right she could afford to be more focused now. Or, rather, she could try to be. "How do you feel?"

"Better, I hope?" he took a half step toward her, offering a smile despite his power and reaching to gently squeeze one of her hands. He wanted this to work so desperately, to be of help. If he could help her then surely he could help others. There could be a future for him. One he could shape with his own hands over one that was seemingly predestined for him by the cosmos. "You're strong, Freyleif, I'm sure you know that. If you're feeling up to it now, we need to focus on that strength."

His words were quiet in the space between them. The world around the pair had seemed so close before, on the verge of being able to swallow them both whole. Now, at least to Marshal, the world seemed distant. A far away place that had no bearing on who he was or what he was trying to do here and now. It seemed, finally, like it was manageable. 

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Freyleif braced herself as the strange fog latched upon her person, at first she froze in tension, then let out a breath to calm herself. Her face contorted in confusion, yet she had to put her trust on her friend in helping her in any way his power could do to help. She looked back at the ghostly doppelganger as it wavered into form taking her color and dispersed before she could fully make it out.

The blonde teen looked back at Marshal with a neutral expression. The loss of her children, the Pride she felt, and worry over her kin slowly sapped away from her mind and feeling - it lingered in a lesser way but it didn’t cause her too much grief. Her brows narrowed in concentration on a single emotion: Joy. Not even that resurfaced or anything really, all she felt was nothing.

“This is, well, strange.” she wasn't sure how to really describe it.”I guess better?” the raven cawed and clicked his beak through her hair before floofing out his feathers and settled on her shoulders not to bothered what was going on. She stared down at Marshal’s hand as he squeezed her's and blinked.

“I want to be stronger,” she frowned slightly and looked straight at Marshal’s eyes. “What should I do? No matter how strong I am, that won't really won't help the Quincy. If I back away nothing will change. So, am I really meant to lead even if it was my dream? Seems more like a nightmare.” she was unsure if she could even lead and knew deep down that getting over her children wouldn’t be easy even with her many friends help.

"You should lead by example. Proclaim your loss to your people, be strong in the face of fear. Be and do what I could not." he shrugged one shoulder. The weight felt good to get off his chest even if his power mitigated the significance of it in the moment. "More than that,"

His words faultered briefly as he let his soul leech into the world around them, overtaking the young queen's. The thick fogginess of his soul bore down on the ocean that was hers, seeming to make it weigh ten times more than what it really did. In that moment of seemingly compounded gravity, he knew he seemed so much stronger than he was. Just as quickly as it appeared, his soul vanished back into the hidey-hole he kept it stored in. "I think you need to learn control."

"My own comes from necessity. I had to learn to hide myself from those that would hunt me until I could fend for myself. You're in no such danger. I noticed the last time we met how... easily I could read you. Almost as though you were broadcasting yourself. It's better now, in case you were wondering, but you're still very clearly untrained." the beginnings of a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. He wasn't bagging on his friend, on the contrary. Marshal knew all too well how it felt to be unaware of how to present oneself. "Your people, I'm sure, would see you as more refined if you knew how to control how you presented yourself spiritually."

"That said, I'm obviously willing to help. I didn't have anyone to teach me this but I'm more than capable of teaching you." he gave a sort of mock bow, not having lost the spark of amusement. Upon raising he caught her eye and offered her a playful wink. "Your majesty."

"In any case, the nightmare ends here and now. After today you'll be free to live the dream you so valiantly chased for so long. I won't let you leave until that's the case."

[WC: 347][TWC: 4,168]