T. A. Star
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49 - United in Purpose
🕑 Added 2024-07-26 00:00:06 +0000 UTC
Saiya was nervous as Uriel led her through the temple of the Mender back to the room filled with a plethora of pillows that Priest Jacob called a meeting room. She wasn’t positive about what the cinderen was planning, but he was remaining calm at least.
Much of his anger had left after their talk, and quite a bit of the fear had evaporated as well –which was excellent– but she could still sense the worry and guilt he harbored. She assumed this was because he still saw himself as a threat to all of them, an indirect one at least. There wasn’t anything she could say, though, that wouldn’t be a lie because he was right. Uriel being a Chosen of the Destroyer was dangerous.
“Hello, Uriel. I see you’ve brought Saiya today,” Priest Jacob greeted as he opened the door. Then added with a smile, “I admit I was surprised you wanted an impromptu meeting but I thought it would be a certain redhead that would be with you instead.”
Uriel chuckled, “A lot happened, which I’ll explain, but I know Phoenix already comes to see you. I thought Saiya could use some reassurance more.”
“Well, come in,” the mind mender said with a gesture into the room, “Feel free to sit anywhere –”
“Floor included, or stand if you’d prefer,” Uriel finished with a smirk at her.
Saiya laughed and then asked the mender suddenly, “Wait, is that a test?”
Jacob chuckled, “I wouldn’t call it one since it’s not something one can fail at. It simply lets me observe a little of someone’s mental state without them needing to say anything.”
“How does that work?” she asked curiously, taking in the room again. There was a long sofa that all three of them could probably fit in along one wall. Across from it were two armchairs that held a small end table with drawers between them.
The open floor space between the seats –along with the seats themselves– was covered in pillows of every shape, size, texture, and color. There was even a massive one that was more like an extra seat propped against the wall under the large green-tinted window opposite them.
“Well, why don’t you sit, and I can give you a little insight?” the priest prompted. She analyzed the space further, and Jacob chuckled, adding, “It’s a bit different when I know that you’re wary now and also because you have a companion to consider.”
“You have a power to read emotions, too?” Saiya asked, eyes widening as she refocused on analyzing the older man now.
He laughed again, “No, I can read your face.”
She frowned but made her way to the sofa, Uriel following after her. She sat on the far end near the window, arranging her tails around her, and watched as the Mage sat on the opposite end while Priest Jacob took a seat in the chair across from her.
“So what did you learn?” she asked curiously.
“That you were considerate of your companion by choosing a spot he could share with you,” the mind mender began, “And that you think well enough of yourself to sit in the light of the window –rather than away from it or on the floor– and comfortable enough with the situation to settle in for a long chat.”
She looked at him in surprise as she glanced at the floor, then the window, then back to Jacob as he continued speaking, “But it told me even more about how Uriel views you.”
“What do you mean? He just sat down after me,” she said, glancing toward her current companion, who was already watching her.
“Exactly. After you,” Jacob pointed out, “He sees you as someone to follow but also more of a peer than a superior considering he sat on the sofa as well.”
“Daze actually got mad at me for sitting on the floor when he took the seat you’re in,” Uriel said to her with a small smirk.
The priest smiled, “I guess I should amend that he also might have feared you would do the same, so perhaps superior is still on the table.”
“I’m not superior to Uriel,” she began to protest, “We are both an important part of our party and care about our friends.”
“You’re the Healer, Saiya,” the Mage interjected, “Your role is a bit more vital than mine, plus you don’t threaten everyone’s lives and reputation simply by being near them.”
“Superior it is then,” Jacob said with a grin, and they both rolled their eyes.
“That’s not true, though,” she pointed out.
“It’s not about some kind of universal truth, Saiya,” the priest explained, “It’s about what a person believes. How they see the world and people around them. More importantly, it’s about how they see themselves within it.”
“So, what does your seat say about yourself?” she asked curiously.
The mind mender grinned at her, “That I’m going to work with people where they are instead of where I might want them to be.”
She fell silent at that, contemplating the perspective, and wondering if perhaps that’s what she had failed to consider in her more recent attempts at guidance.
Instead of explaining more about the seating arrangements, Jacob prompted, “So, Uriel, what did you want to talk about today?”
“Two things, actually,” Uriel said, “The first was to let you know that Phoenix helped me open up about my secrets to my party.”
“She caught you running away,” Saiya interjected with a small huff, “I thought you told him the truth all the time.”
Jacob smiled again as he said gently, “I don’t require truth from people, Saiya. Sometimes it’s for their own protection to lie, so it’s not necessarily something worth prohibiting or shaming. People will share their truth when they’re ready and trusting enough. That’s why I recommended patience on your part.”
She flushed in embarrassment, ears drooping as she glanced toward Uriel. The cinderen smirked in return and said, “Yeah, she didn’t listen. That’s the second thing I wanted to talk about today.”
“I apologized for my mistake,” she said softly.
“It’s not that,” Uriel corrected, then gestured towards Jacob, “I just wanted him to tell you about his butterflies.”
“Butterflies?” the Healer asked with a raised brow, her head tilting as one ear perked up curiously.
“Ah. Yeah, I could do that,” the mind mender said. Then the man held out a hand with his palm up, and a shimmer of sparkling light seemed to coalesce into the shape of a small butterfly with soft white wings trimmed in gold.
It was a beautiful creature and the priest introduced to her, “This is Kismet, my Familiar.”
“Hello,” she greeted as the little butterfly flew over to land on her lap, letting her get a closer look. She glanced up at Jacob and asked, “I’m guessing Kismet is a swarm Familiar with how small they are?”
“That’s correct but not where we’re going to start,” he replied, “Just to confirm a few things first, you’re planning to become a mind mender like myself, correct? You implied it when we first met.”
“That’s correct.”
“And you joined the Traveler’s clergy in pursuit of that?”
“Yes. I know many healers join the Mender’s clergy instead, but I also know that some wounds take more time to heal, and there’s no magic that can instantly mend it. It’s a journey of recovery.”
“Very true,” the priest agreed with a nod, “Why did you decide that path was for you, though?”
“Because I want to help others on their journey to mending those deeper wounds. I’ve known this for a while but wasn’t sure the best way to go about it. I… I didn’t like the Mender clergy’s attitude of healing and sending people on their way or turning people away if there wasn’t anything to heal.”
Jacob nodded in understanding, leaning back in his chair, “Being a mind mender isn’t necessarily a new concept, but not many people choose to become one, and not all excel at it. It can make things worse if the other menders try to heal a mind the way they heal a cut, so there’s not much they can do but send those people on their way or try to refer them to someone like myself.”
“Why did you choose the Mender?” she asked curiously.
“I chose both,” he answered, “I’m actually dedicated to the Mender, Traveler, and Cultivator. I just happen to work here because it’s closer to where people who need me come first.”
“After I was rescued, this was the first place the Adventurers brought me and everyone else,” Uriel interjected, “A lot of the others were injured and malnourished. They needed mending and longer-term care.”
“Many who suffer trauma often stem from a violent situation. Healing the body, as you pointed out, is quick, and the other menders can usually tell at that time if they need to visit a specialist afterward.”
Saiya stroked a finger along the soft butterfly’s body before asking, “What does this have to do with Kismet?”
Jacob smiled, “Well, I like to compare them to the people who come to visit me. Everybody is born as a little caterpillar. Crawling around trying to survive, maybe meeting some other caterpillars, but mostly just eating and growing.”
“People do other things,” she pointed out.
He laughed, “Think metaphorically with me. They are consuming information, the world around them, learning, growing, and figuring out how things work.”
“They don’t stay a caterpillar, though.”
“No, just as people don’t stay babies or toddlers or children,” the priest continued, “But I’m not talking about all people for this comparison. I’m talking about the people who become trapped in their chrysalis.”
“That’s the little shell thing that caterpillars go into before becoming butterflies?” the voxen asked, trying to recall the little she knew about the insect.
“That’s right,” he confirmed, “For most of the people who end up visiting me, something happens to force them to create this shell around them. It could be anything. An abusive parent, a manipulative lover, a sudden loss of a loved one, months of torture at the hands of cultists, a monster almost killing them–”
“A monster actually killing them. Repeatedly,” Uriel added with a knowing look towards her, and she immediately got the hint about their shared Wayfarer friend.
Jacob chuckled, “I’ll admit that was also a new one for me,” then he added in an aside to her, “It’s like the gods keep sending me the extra special cases.”
Saiya gave a soft laugh, “Not many get to assist one of the Chosen, let alone two of them.” Then she glanced back to the butterfly in her lap that seemed to almost be preening with the way it slowly flapped its pretty wings, “So the cocoon is their trauma?”
“No, the cocoon is the walls they created because of trauma,” Jacob explained, sending another of the glittering butterflies to join the first. This second one caused her to start in surprise as it barreled into the first one as if attacking it. Then the first wrapped its wings around itself, oddly curling into a ball that was shielding its body from the second’s attacks.
She relaxed, realizing the Familiar was acting things out for her to go along with the priest’s explanation, “Depending on how severe the trauma is or how long it might have lasted, those walls become stronger, harder to penetrate, the person inside constantly fearing their end should their walls crumble so they keep making more. Layers upon layers of defenses to safeguard their lives.”
“You mentioned the people you help are trapped inside them?”
“Yes. Some people might learn to break free on their own. You seem rather well adjusted, considering you mentioned having dealt with trauma on your own.”
“It wasn’t quick,” she admitted.
“It usually isn’t, but it’s different for everyone. A lot of times, it depends on their environment and the people that are there to support them. I’m one of the latter. People who come to see me, specifically, are usually the ones who have undergone an extremely traumatic situation and need extra support to free themselves from that cocoon.”
“So you help break those walls they built up?”
“If someone breaks a chrysalis by force –before it is ready– the creature inside will most likely die,” he stated, more firmly than he had spoken yet, “That’s why patience is a requirement. It’s not my job or goal to break the cocoon for them.”
“But I thought that’s the entire goal here?”
“Usually, but my goal is to help them discover what they want, why they want it, and how they might work towards obtaining that,” he gave a pointed look towards Uriel but smiled as he said, “Usually, when people discover what they truly want, they realize that the cocoon itself is holding them back from obtaining it. They want to become butterflies.”
He turned back towards Saiya, “The safest way to break a chrysalis is from within.”
More butterflies suddenly flew out from the priest’s hand to swirl around the room, filling it with light and both Saiya and Uriel found themselves laughing at the tickling sensation of soft wings fluttering against them before landing everywhere. The first butterfly that was curled into a ball then began to glow in her lap, catching her attention as it began growing in size and unfurled its wings that were now shimmering with a pearlescent sheen as it lazily flapped them in the air in front of her.
“Nobody but the person can decide if they want to fly.”
Saiya looked from the beautiful Familiar to the priest who had just pointed out the piece she had been missing but seemed obvious in hindsight, “So we help support them by having them answer their own questions?”
Jacob chuckled, “A little. To use a more Traveler-oriented analogy, if they’re lost at an intersection, we just help figure out where they want to go, which road gets them there, and then walk down it alongside them. We shouldn’t force them to decide any of that and we can’t walk it for them.
“However, we can show them that we are united in purpose. If they are here in this room, it shows me they want to get better –to work towards improvement– and change in some way, even if they aren’t sure what that change might be.”
He smiled again at her as he pointed out, “That’s why you joined the clergy of the Traveler isn’t it? Why you want to help others mend their minds? It was a change you chose to work towards your goal of who you want to be.”
She nodded slowly, lifting her own palms out for the Familiar to land upon and preen again, showing off the much larger shimmery wings.
Uriel surprised her by saying, “I think you’re a very lovely butterfly, Saiya.”
The young acolyte blinked in surprise at him, sensing an odd mixture of happiness and sadness within him as he added, “I’m just not there yet. I’m still trying to break through my chrysalis.”
She moved across the sofa, displacing tiny, colorful butterflies as she wrapped her companion in a hug, “I want to help you be a lovely butterfly, too.”
“You are. All of you are,” Uriel reassured, “I brought you here for my benefit, honestly. He’s better at explaining things than me and I didn’t want you thinking it’s your fault that I’m not feeling the way you believe I should.”
Saiya glanced up at him, then over towards Jacob, who simply observed them quietly. Then she asked hesitantly, “Could… if it’s not too much trouble, could you teach me more about how you do what you do? I don’t think the books alone are helping me as much as I hoped.”
Jacob glanced between her and Uriel before saying with a smile, “I’m sure we can work something out so that I have time. Maybe have you assist me with some patients who agree to it if that sounds like something you’d enjoy.”
She nodded happily, “I’d love to help.”
The priest grinned in amusement, “I’ve noticed.”
