An Unexpected Meeting [Private/Rihz, Imperia]

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The feeling of the surprisingly warm wind brushing past her brought a wide smile to her face, which broadened further as she anticipated the majesty of the library. Having grown bored of the books in the library closest to her home, she had decided to pay a visit to the library in the Twilight Palace, rumoured to be several storeys high and filled with books containing all types of books. Caramina had successfully emerged unharmed from the Tempest Ring - she did have her wind shields, but still, her heart kind of died each time she entered the Tempest Ring and braved its storms. Putting that behind her, she let anticipation wash over her the way the warm wind was currently doing, and hoped that the library wouldn't disappoint her.

A few minutes later, she was in the palace, feathered wings neatly folded by her side as she walked through brightly lit corridors, whose floors were tiled with simply decorated white marble tiles, gleaming brightly in the sunlight, which poured from the numerous windows dotting the cream-coloured wallpaper. It was obvious that this place was well-maintained, and Caramina's high hopes for the library rose even further. Eventually she came upon the library, her way blocked by a massive wooden door; like the floor, it gleamed, and Caramina was positive she could see a bit of her reflection in it. Shaking her head at the cleanliness of her surroundings, she pushed the door open, which swung away to reveal a massive room.

Caramina was not disappointed as she stared around at the shelves; the sight of row upon row of books of all shapes, sizes and colour, contained in tall, elegantly built shielves, awaited her, and she sucked in a gasp. Eventually her gaze, forcefully torn away from the beautiful sight of books, wandered over to the single occupant in the room - two, she corrected herself, as her gaze passed over to a dark lump in the corner. She'd greet him, or her, later -, sitting on a plush, mauve-coloured cushion, a worn book clutched in her hands. Imperia. Caramina made her way over, bowing her head in greetings. "Hello~" she greeted warmly, unable to resist adding,"This place is wonderful, it's like heaven to me. Do you come here often?"

Caramina laughed, a breathy sound that slipped from between her lips before she could stop it. "Queenness?" she echoed, then the smile melted away from her face, a frown of confusion taking its place. "Us? Slow? How so?" Obeying Imperia's request, she turned to look at Rihzome, a "what-is-going-on" look plastered across her face, but she shrugged and stood, taking his paw, gratitude swimming in her deep green eyes.

When Rihzome began to scrunitise her, she stiffened slightly, her muscles tensing and locking, feeling like there was an x-ray sweeping up and down, seeing right through her. That was always what she'd felt when her brother had looked at her, and she thought that it was quite rare to find another individual with such a piercing gaze. She shrugged again to herself, but when the illusion materialised in front of Rihzome, the familiar shape of her parents...

Father. A thin, reedy male with dark, dark scales; and a book clutched in his paw. Squinty eyes, wings with holes torn into them, from a previous battle.

Mother. A gorgeous female taller than her, with icy blue eyes and an equally icy blue mane, as her personality - that was how dragons of her kind were; the offspring of a parent would have different-coloured manes and eyes.

She nodded, tears flooding in to blur her vision. She did miss them... But she knew they would not accept her back. Her mother would shut the door, turn her away. "Yes," she whispered, her eyes fixed on the illusion. "Yes, they are... And you? Are you my brother, the soldier who was supposedly missing, or killed, in action?"

Imperia wanted to bang their heads together, but she knew a beautiful moment when she saw one and would rather die than let this be interrupted. She even made an air bubble around them to muffle any sounds that might distract them.

She simply watched silently as they started to figure it out, although internally she was quite smugly telling herself that she was a genius for jumping to conclusions.

Rihzome let the illusions fade, leaving just him, tears shining in his eyes. “I think… Yes…” He said softly. “Caramina…” He almost whispered, before surging forwards, wrapping wings, arms and his neck around her, sobbing loudly, holding his younger sister close to him. For so long, he had wondered. Did she even remember him? Had they told her the truth? Was she alright? Every year, on her birthday, he had even baked a special meal… of course; no-one ate it, the food on that day always tasting like ash.

“Caramina…” He said again, repeating it, as if to prove to himself it was her. After all these years.  Lifting his head for a moment, he gave her a kiss on the snout, nuzzling her furiously, as if trying to make up for so many years of lost affection, kindness and love. “I… I never even thought you would become a Stormcaller. I always thought… You were so skilled… A spion as well… and…” He was speaking brokenly, and just stopped after what was supposed to be the first sentence, just abandoning himself to the embrace.

[*tries to imagine Imperia bashing Cara's and Rihz's heads together* no]

"Rihzome." So that was his name, Caramina thought, tears, glimmering and shining, falling from her eyes as Rihzome crashed into her. She wrapped her wings around her brother, murmuring his name over and over again. A jumble of words tumbled forth from her maw, telling him that she'd missed him, that she was sorry that she had not come earlier, that she'd remain at his side now, forever and evermore, and never leave.

Rihzome. She had forgotten all but her brother's initials, owing to the fact that the Xoyan government had tried to wipe her memories of him - but she had filed away bits and pieces of information about her brother into some corner of her brain, somehow managing to escape the probing claws of the Xoyans as they dug into her mind and pulled out what they wanted. But some of it had been pulled out anyway.

"There's plenty of sense in nonsense sometimes if you wish to look for it..."

That clever little bit she'd gotten from one of her favourite series. And she'd always thrown the words at Rihzome; surely he'd remember it? His little sister quoting characters from books? "I still quote books..." she whispered to Rihzome.

Imperia was almost tearful at their reunion, but also unable to stop grinning. She tilted her head curiously at the quote, it didn't rhyme but it was very sweet and she hoped that they would stick to it.

(I don't have much else to say at the moment, aside from that I bet I could smack your heads together if I tried. You underestimate my powers, Obi-wan!)

Hearing her try to speak, Rihzome shushed Caramina softly, pressing his fore-head against hers and breathing heavily, his breaths shuddering in his maw. Falling into the warm embrace, he did the one thing he could feasibly think of in a time like this… He let his mind brush up against hers, the old psychic links, long dormant, made instinctually, and long before he had even known of his powers opened, allowing him surface access. He was inside her mind, and here, he could do something he had promised himself he would always do. He wrapped her mind in love and affection and hope, the wave of emotions wiping away those barriers erected by harsh and unskilled minds, breaking down first one, and then two, and then finally, in a cascade of brilliance, they all shattered, Caramina’s memories restored, and waiting for her… save those he stopped. Being taken, being told he was dead, what they had done to her… he saved those away, and left them locked up.

Opening his eyes, staring into her verdant green ones, he smiled, the feelings he felt still swirling around against her mind, holding her tight, centuries of forbidden and suppressed emotions, all for her.  “Remember, Cara… remember all the times we spent together…?” He asked softly, brushing against her cheek with a paw. “I’m helping, but only you can remember. They can hide them, lock them away, but they can never destroy your memories, without leaving your mind. So please… remember… me…” He seemed to beg her. “Remember when we spent an entire night in the library, reading to each other, and father was worried sick about us? Or when we were very young and we got sick, and father made shadows dance for us until we fell asleep? Or when mother took us to the lake and taught us how to fish with just our paws…”

Still so close to her, he heard and felt the words she spoke, a teary smile springing to his maw, as he pulled her tightly, licking her cheek and nuzzling. “Yes… yes you do…” He chuckled, a small sob breaking it, unable to stop himself from smiling and laughing. After all, this was a joyous moment? Why not add a little laughter…

Caramina could feel Rihzome's mind brush hers, and a smile crept onto her face. His mind felt familiar; she'd be able to recognise it anywhere. She felt his consciousness creep in, and she exhaled, remembering, as he cut down falls and smashed past them, falling into a room where the locked-up memories resided, like a damsel trapped behind dark walls.

She embraced those memories, and a fresh wave of tears sprung up in her eyes as she remembered. Rihzome, playing with her, lightheartedly calling her names. Rihzome, leading her to a pond and diving into it, but not before dragging her in as well. Rihzome, teaching her how to use her powers, and also showing her his. All those had been kept away, hidden; the one that had dug about her mind had left her with the faintest of memories about her brother.

She nodded. "Yes...I still remember. Father, when we returned, hugged us and told us that he was so worried. But mother, she did not care, not so much..." Caramina sighed, but turned it into a laugh, joining in with Rihzome. She looked at Imperia and gestured for her to join them, the smile on her face tearful but happy, joyous.

Imperia cheered in happiness and tackled them into a hug. "I'm so happy you found each other!"
She nuzzled them both, purring in contentment.
"It makes me so happy to see you two like this,
you deserve it even though you seemed so unlikely to figure out the obvious on your own."
She giggled, and soon was laughing as she hugged them tight.