Mortal
| Mortal | |
|---|---|
| Date of Cutscene: | 21 June 2013 |
| Location: | Atlantis |
| Synopsis: | Following the revelations of The Sorrow of Lost and Found, a distraught Avira receives a visitor and a request. |
| Cast of Characters: | Avira |
Gentle coolness against Avira's forehead roused her without warning from a sleep she never remembered falling into. A faint noise like a groan escaped her as she lifted a hand to touch the wet cloth placed upon her. A second later she saw the familiar white-haired hovering over her and for a few seconds, Avira believed she was still dreaming. "Mom..?" she murmured hoarsely, immediately noticing how dry her throat was. "...is that really..?"
"Yes." she said quietly, moving the damp cloth back onto her forehead. A bowl of water was offered.
Gradually, Avira managed to sit until she was upright enough to accept the bowl. As the cool water rushed down her throat, memories of hours ago come rushing back to her. Her mother was still alive. Her mother was an Atlantean. Her mother was thousands of years old and would live for thousands more. The bowl tumbled out of Avira's hands, her eyes immediately becoming damp. "I'm...you're..."
"I'm sorry." Ardivashi sighed. "I should have approached that subject more carefully. I assumed that with your gargoyle friend Zia and your werewolf friend Skoll that you would have-"
"-been okay with having such a short life compared to all of you?" Avira said with a sudden bitterness that makes her mother draw back in shock. Her look of anger fades, replaced with guilt. "I feel like I got cheated."
Wordlessly, the older woman slips down onto the mat that had been serving as Avira's bed the past day or so, pulling her daughter into her arms to hug tightly. "Avira, you have to understand, life gives you gifts. Including lifespans that feel tragically short. Living among the surface has humbled me in ways you'll never realize."
"This isn't-"
"Just listen." she interrupted sternly, that edge in her voice all too recognizable to the Rosalie Levine of the past. "You have urgency. And because of that, based on what you and your friends have told me tonight, you have accomplished in the span of months more than I've seen done in the millennia-long lives in most of the people here. Take pride in your life, Avira! Your fire burns quickly but it also burns bright."
Silence followed for a long time before Avira let out a long sigh. "That is true. I...I need to make do with what I got. Even if it is unfair. At least Mercade..." she trailed off, the gears turning in her head before she pulls back to stare at her mom. "Dad. He's going to..."
"...be just fine. When we are reunited, I have a plan to address our differences." The sternness had left Ardivashi's voice, replaced with a familiar mischievousness. "But he must be found first. Would you-"
"Yes. Of course I would. If you're alive..."Avira looked her mother in the eyes, a resolute gaze upon her face. "He might be alive too."
