losthunter | The Doors of our Heart

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The Doors of our Heart

Many thoughts about his latent magic had given Hunter a lot to think about in the past few days. He really wanted to find someone to help him learn more about his abilities. And maybe, help him to become stronger.

Kendra was gone, but that didn't mean there weren't ways to find her. Or at least find the people that were connected to her.

Hunter had spent a few days looking for the right door in the Nexus that would bring him the answers that he sought. And finally, he felt that he had found what he had been looking for.

But before entering into an unknown place, Hunter knew that he should have a couple of people come with him. He PINpointed a message to Jim first, since it was an adventure that he thought the restless captain would enjoy. Then he PINpointed a message to Faris, who had become his story-keeper in a fashion.

All that left was to wait for his guests, before the adventure could begin.

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In addition to having a feminine form, there is a knot close to the top of the trunk, before the braches all spread out, that looks like a face. And when Jim peers closer, that face tilts slightly, as if looking back at him.

"One of your friends asked us to come. They call her Kassandra in the village."

Hunter takes a breath. "I know her as Kendra."

The young girls come out of hiding, and after a moment of whispering together, one of them pouts slightly. "She hasn't arrived yet."

Well, that's... definitely weird. But Starfleet meets strange new lifeforms all the time, so Jim tilts his head slightly in a nod of greeting. You can't go wrong with that, he figures, and he doesn't really want to offend any of the locals if they don't need to. Even if it is a tree woman, or something.

"Could something have happened to her?" Jim asks with a frown.

"Maybe someone in the village..." One of the girls whispers.

"No. She is too smart to allow that to happen." Another girl answers.

"And we would feel it..." A third chimes in.

"Faris, any chance you could track her?" Jim asks quietly.

"Hmm, perhaps," the K'da answers, though he sounds uncertain.

"Wait... if you can feel her... why can't you sense where she is?" Hunter asks the girls. They exchange a look. An almost guilty look.

Hunter can feel like he is on the tip of discovering something. The pieces are there, he just needs to connect them.

It's a good question, and the girls' reactions don't make much sense to Jim. He casts an ever-so-slightly suspicious look at the tree. Maybe... or maybe not.

"When is the last time you saw her?" he asks instead.

"The midnight before this one." One of the girls answers.

"We always gather at midnight. The seven of us." Another answers.

The tree rustles her branches, as if offended by that slightly suspicious look.

Okay, fine, not the tree. He throws her an apologetic look. Hey, he can be diplomatic sometimes. "Always? No one has ever missed meeting before?"

The tree seems to accept the apologetic look.

"Always..." One of the girls is about to speak further, when another one cuts her off. "At least, as long as we can remember."

Hunter looks at the girls, once more time. They have a familiar look, in such that they could be sisters. Or...

"Pieces of a whole. You are all part of Kendra!"

The girls look away, as if their secret was revealed.

Jim frowns a little. "Like she was split into multiple people?"

"I am not sure. But perhaps she was made into multiple children, to protect herself. Like the tree..." The tree sort of turns to face them, as much as a tree can turn without uprooting itself. "She is being protected."

"Yet part of her is missing," Faris points out, still keeping his voice quiet out of concern that the girls might become frightened again if they knew he was there.

"I think, we have to figure out which parts of her are here... and which one is missing." Hunter tilts his head.

"In my studies of Greek mythology, there was a story of the Pleiades, the seven daughters of Atlas and Pleione. The daughters were nymphs who trained under Artemis, the Goddess of the Hunt. And She Who Rides the Moon."

Jim knows of the Pleiades stars, but he knows a lot less about the mythological figures. "Well, we've certainly got the moon part."

Glancing up at the tree, Hunter decides to be respectful not to mention the name of the musician. "And we were told how the moon had protected another woman by transforming her into a tree."

"Maia was the oldest. She was the nurturer. And often called She of the Lovely Black Eyes."

"Electra was known as the lost Pleiad... and could be the piece we are missing tonight. She symbolized the grief of the sisters."

"Taygete was the Mistress of Animals. During the day, she was transformed into a golden doe, so she could escape the attention of Zeus."

"Alcyone was the seducer of Poseidon. And was known to be connected to the sea."

"Caleno was known as the Dark One. An Amazon warrior."

"Sterope was She of the Stars."

"And Merope, the youngest, was known to hide her face in shame."

"So many," Faris muses quietly. "What grief did Electra mourn for them?" Perhaps it is a clue as to where she is, if she is indeed the sister who is missing.

"She grieved for the City of Troy, after it was destroyed."

Hunter tilts his shoulders. "I am not sure if that has happened yet."

Jim looks over the girls, trying to tell if Electra is indeed the one that's missing. It's hard to tell, of course. "You don't have any clues to where she is?" he asks them. After all, if they are connected, you'd think they could feel something useful to finding the missing piece.

The girls all glance at Hunter for a moment. Then they shrug their shoulders. Hunter frowns. "I get the feeling that they can't tell me directly. That I have to figure this out on my own."

Jim's frown deepens. "That's going to be tough, without a starting point."

"Perhaps," Faris adds, his voice drifting out from somewhere near Jim's collarbones. "It is possible that useful information has already come to us."

Hunter is quiet for a long moment. It was always the 'useful information' hidden in the riddles that had always confused him. And he feels a little frustrated.

"What do I have to do, to get all seven of you girls here at the same time?"

"We have a trial." One girl answers. "For heroes." Another adds.

Jim's not a big fan of trials in general, but if it's what they have to do, then he's behind Hunter all the way. "Then I guess we'd better get started."

"There is a treasure, that awaits a brave soul, hidden in the cattails of the river. They claim that it only shines in starlight, and can only be found when you are lost. You bring it back to us, and we will aid you." One of the girls tells them.

Hunter shakes his head. "Great. A riddle and a quest."

Faris considers the riddle carefully. "A puzzle indeed. A treasure, found only by the lost, revealed by stars."

Jim arches an eyebrow, and goes to cross his arms over his chest before he reconsiders, in case it comes across like he's trying to stifle his passenger. "Sounds like step one is getting lost, somehow."

"That should be easy enough to do. I already feel lost." Hunter chuckles slightly. He heads towards the river, the girls going back to playing with the tree as he moves away.

"Hidden in the cattails..." He looks at the bank after bank of cattails.

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