#brightwindsbarony

"AND I left my apprentice un protected" Troll ire

"OUR Apprentice" Otha says "And I am no happier than you about it. But we can go seek Nessa out if you want to talk to her."

Nessa, if sought, is inside, pacing the length of one of the hallways.

"Nessa?" Bix comes in, "I'm so sorry. I heard what happened. I .. I had heard Cenntaurs were being hunted like less than an hour before I heard about you. I raced right back and I'm so sorry"

She gives Bix a small smile. "It's not your fault. Sparrow is going to take care of things."

"See?" Otha says to Bix, then looks at Nessa "Trolls as bad as we sidhe sometimes when it comes to being tyrannts. We're just more honest about it while they call it protecting. Still, are you well?"

She nods, then hesitates, then shakes her head. "Not really. I feel all anxious, and worried, and I just want to run away from the feeling, but it's not safe out there. And if it isn't safe out in the open where I feel free, I don't know what is..." A sigh. "And I worry about other centaurs out there. If they are still in danger, or heaven forbid, already caught..."

Bix frowns "Well, my family, they are pretty large. They are already on the look out."

"Even the DeBukes cannot be every where. And if we don't know they were there, we'd never know if they got caught." She finds herself pacing again. "I'm sorry. My brain just keeps going in the same circles."

Otha nods "And this helps you how? You see it as a problem already. You are miserable, and making yourself more so. "

Bix says "Really empathic there, Otha. Stop feeling bad is not a command that works"

She looks thoughtful. "Doesn't it? If she ordered it as a sidhe, would that actually work?"

"Most likely not" Otha admits "You would obey, but I doubt it would truly help you feel better. Now, Winter could dull your passions. Like Spring awakening, Winterm magics can make things slumber"

"Though even if it did work, I bet I'd feel just as bad, or worse, once it wore off. Same as trying to drink away a problem." She makes a face. "Not that I'm going to drink ANYTHING any time soon."

"You ARE safe here, and not in a prison like way. We'll go with you anywhere you want to go" he says

"As usual, he speaks out of turn, but.. yes, we'll be happy to escort you if you want company but want to go out and a bout" Otha says

"I just... I don't know. I want to go out, but I'm all jittery. I might just need to let it pass. Once Sparrow has... that lady... taken care of, I think I'll feel a bit better." She admits.

"Well, she's already in a cel lshe's not escaping" Otha points out

"I know. I guess it's not logical."

"You feel how you feel" Bix says sympathetically "Everyone has their own way of coping"

"True.. your mother is acting as bait" A nod from Otha

"She's WHAT?"

Bix shoots Otha a LOOK

Otha sighs "Your mother, much like you, was upset. Furious in fact. So she insisted on workin with the twins to act as bait for any more attempts on Centaurs"

"But what if she gets HURT? Where is she?"

Already fumbling for her phone to try to make a call.

"She's out and about, she's got two fine warriors with her. She'll be fine" Otha says "Oh dear. You're not feeling better"

"Well now I'm not fussing about myself, I'm fussing about my mom... can't your magicians just..." She waves a have expressively, "Find the guy behind this?"

"We can't just .." She waves her hand "Not JUST that"

"What's the point of being magical beings with magical powers if we can't use them to stop monsters like whoever is behind this?"

Clearly frustrated, and not at her two mentors, but they are here in front of her.

"We are using them, but the monsters have magical powers too" Bix says

A stamp of a hoof in frustration. "I need something to do. Tell me there is something I can do to help, at least?"

"The Dreaming and Da'an often want a good story, and stories require challenges. Internal, external, or both - our magic works on a deggree of drama, comedy, or tragedy"

That from Otha

Bix ponders "Actually,, there is... you worry about folks getting hurt yes?"

She nods. "Of course I do..."

"Then time to put your healin skills tto work, and I mean, we prepare some bandages and kits. "

"I don't think I have healing skills, though. I managed to make a seed sprout... once... that's a pretty far cry from being like you. I can help, though... roll gauze or assemble... just give me something to put my hands to."

"And we'll teach you. Come on." He motions

"First aid is a useful skill." She agrees. "Rolling gauze now migght help someone in the future"

She sighs, and nods, abandoning her useless pacing to follow. "Thank you, Lady, Mister Bix. I don't mean to be... fussy."

"Of course not, if you meannt to be we'd have lectured you " Otha says matter of factly

She can't help a laugh.

"She's not wrong" Bix admits and shows her, with help, how to roll gauze, pack a first aid kit, and more

Otha says "This is also a time to talk about what you hope to be, to do. What dreams call to you"

A blink, and she pauses, halfway through a roll of gauze. She winds it around one of her hands thoughtfully, winding then unwinding as though the cloth was her ideas she is trying to wrangle. "I'm not sure. Before, when I was just... simple, mortal Vanessa Phillips? I thought maybe I could get a job.. help support the family, and maybe go to nursing school someday, if I found a scholarship. Now that I'm Nessa the Centaur? So many more doors have opened up, and some have closed. I can't imagine working in a hospital any more... they can be places of hope, but also of dread and fear... and more so, I'd worry about knocking things over in a place meant for precision - like a bull in a china shop. I'd like to do something to help out here, then, if I can. I know it's part of your... our code, to take care of and teach Fledges? But I still feel like I owe you all a great debt and I want to give back."

"You may find it cliche, but your roles are open to choose if you have the knack and drive" Otha says "You have that advantage as a commoner"

"I thought as a noble, you would have all the options. Can't you do whatever you wish? I mean, you're titled, no one will tell you what to do..."

"Obligations of House and title. YOu think the Baroness cann do anything she wants? She's on a pedestal but it's also trial, on stage and trial alike. She cannot show her rage or tears or petty thoughts often, and she must control them"