Yggdrasil was met with an icy gaze as soon as the door closed behind him and he sighed, offering an apologetic smile.

"I can't imagine you're very happy with me right now Ammy. Let's walk." He pushed himself from the door, offering his arm to her and setting off when she rested a hand on his forearm. Nyphein had excused herself earlier, going to tend to tasks that Ammy had deemed necessary for a coming meeting of the Council.

"You left suddenly months ago then show up with strangers who attach things to my sister. Explain yourself."

Yggdrasil chuckled softly at he clipped tone. "You make me sound like a villain Ammy. We saved Say's life. Lady Aya is an expert theorist and accomplished scholar. She's studied both Icchorian and Human internal structures and has some interesting theories."

"Theories you've allowed her to test on my sister."

"You know, Say is your family too."

Cold silence met this statement, but Yggdrasil could tell she was uncomfortable by the slight way her hand tightened on his arm.

"They will both be fine. You will be able to see them soon. First we need to get some volunteers for Lay. Lady Aya says she will need to feed when she wakes."

Ammy's eyes narrowed. "When she wakes up?"

"She has to rest. She gave blood to Say."

Ammy stopped, her mouth ajar, hand falling to her side. Yggdrasil came to a slow halt, sensing the change in her aura that wasn't from anger or annoyance, her usual traits. This...was fear.

"Ammy....?"

"In all of your Sight it never showed you the power of my sister's destiny? The power that's in her blood?" These last words were hissed out.

Yggdrasil paused and seemed to search for words for a moment before sighing. "Ammy......what do you know?"

The early shock seemed to wear off, being replaced with a shaking anger. She clenched her fists, nailing biting into her palms. "That you are a fool, and may have just sealed that boy's fate." She bit out, turning on her heel and leaving the Seer behind.

Yggdrasil was still for a long time, lost in the swirling thoughts that now plagued him. It was several long moments before he was able to shake himself from his stupor, turning to resume his walk down the hall. Regardless of the outcome he had made his decision to the best of his abilities. And he would see it through.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Consciousness came slowly, and the first thing Layrion was aware of was the presence at her side. She cracked an eye open, peering at the soft red hairs nestled underneath her chin. It seemed Sayifle had been moved onto the surface near her, and was using her arm as a pillow from the stone. She smiled softly, her other hand coming to brush the hair of her son. It had been several years since he last shared her bed to find rest- younger Sayifle had always wanted to be near his mother. But once he had grown a bit more the boy had insisted he was too grown up for such a thing, much to her silent dismay. Everything was quiet as she played over dim memories, and it was several moments before the events of hours passed came back to her in sudden clarity. She tensed, glancing down and seeing that he was in fact still breathing.

His scent washed over her, calming her nerves. Then something made her pause. Something had changed about his smell...it was different in a way that was still achingly familiar. She pressed her nose into his hair, inhaling deeply as she soaked the new smell in.

A voice cut into her confusion. "You smell your blood in him."

Her gaze turned towards the speaker, seeing Aya perched primly on a chair off to the side. She was once more dressed immaculately, a notebook open on her lap and a quill in her hand. She made a notation before addressing Layrion again.

"Can you tell me exactly what is different about his scent to you?"

Layrion considered the question for a moment. "The...appeal. It's gone."

A thin brow raised in response to that statement. "An interesting way to phrase that particular sentiment. While it is true all Humans hold a certain...appeal as you say, they will lose that appeal once the Human aspect of their blood is removed. Your natural Icchorian instinct to not only sense Human blood, but drink it will no longer apply to Sayifle."

Layrion stared at her blankly. "So you're saying my son is no longer Human?"

Aya tapped a nail to the book's edge. "Precisely. Well to be more accurate… you could say that he is more Icchorian than Human. His Humanity is still there... it will take him some time to adjust to his newer self. To be honest I am not sure what all he will experience, Teru hasn't been able to tell me precisely what he felt. I am really quite interested to see what Sayifle has to say on the subject."

Layrion soaked in this new information, looking down at his still sleeping form. His skin had permanently taken on the pale tone of the Icchorian race, and his eyes seemed to be set deeper. She sighed. Was this really going to be the best for him in the end?

"What do you-" She cut herself off, her head spinning. Weakness suddenly made her feel very tired once more, although she seemed to have slept for some time.

Aya tisked, setting aside her book and waving Terutetsu over. "You're going to need to feed Lady Layrion. It won't do to have you die now for blood loss. Reach out to your bonded and bring out the Thirst, we have some volunteers on standby."

Several tense moments passed as Terutetsu lifted Sayifle gently from her shoulder. Two Humans came to the table's edge, worry etched on their faces.

"We are ready anytime you are Milady."

Layrion at last felt a stirring inside, and the familiar pressure pushed inside her head. She indicated for one to draw close, and took the offered wrist. Pausing before she sank her teeth into the soft flesh she nodded her thanks to them. She drank for sometime, feeling her limbs fill with strength and the Thirst finally slackened until it became quiet once more. The Humans pulled out prepared bandages and wrapped the puncture wounds with ease, each bowing to her before leaving.

The Elder sat back with a sigh, eyeing Aya once more. "So what happens now?"

Aya merely looked at Layrion incredulously. "I am not the Clan leader here. I believe your sister is waiting to talk to you. She's been very persistent to see you for some time now." She stood then, waving Terutetsu to follow her. "I would not keep her waiting anymore."

Layrion almost wanted to groan, but bit it back. She could imagine the things Ammy would lecture her about for all this. She nodded to Aya as the two left, and was not surprised to see Ammy step inside, closing the door with some force behind her.

The two sisters stared at each other in silence, Ammy quietly approaching the dais and stopping a few feet away. Her gaze traveled between Layrion and Sayifle for some time before finally resting once more on Layrion.

"Why does he smell different?"

Layrion explained what Aya had shared, and what she could remember of the procedure. Ammy's expression grew tighter and tighter as she spoke, her clasped hands nearly shaking. This brought Layrion's recap to a halt.

She observed her younger sister for a moment, before sighing. "I know what you are thinking Ammy, but this changes nothing."

Ammy held her gaze, pressing her unasked questions to her elder sister. "How can you promise that?"

"I'm not promising anything. I don't need to. Our plans will still proceed, the only difference will be that Say will see them succeed now." Layrion stilled, comprehension dawning on her. "He isn't going to die Ammy. He may live as long as we do."

Ammy's expression softened. "He has lost the life he was meant to have Lay. He doesn’t belong to the world of Humans anymore. And we can't say he belongs to ours either. We don't know what this will do to him."

Layrion sat up, shaking a few tensed muscles loose. "That is what we will be here for. We will support him."

Ammy allowed herself to relax, seeing her sister stand and that she did not seem to have any lasting side effects reassured her that she was fine.

"I will have to ask Drasil where he found that Lady Aya. Her arrival could not have been better timed."

Ammy narrowed her gaze at this but made no comment, moving to stand near Sayifle instead, looking him over and noting the subtle changes to his appearance.

"What became of that bastard Viktor?"

"Rune pursued him, even though I sent scouts to trail him." Ammy murmured absently as she bent low over Sayifle, noting how he breathed. It too was different than before. Layrion watched her sister, smiling fondly.

"Maybe he might actually get him then. We will see. If anything, it’ll give Rune something to devote his endless energy on."

Sayifle began to stir then, drawing the attention of both sisters. He groaned as he rolled onto his back, one hand lazily coming up to rub at his head. Wincing he dropped it to hover over the still fresh wound on his stomach.

"That hurts."

Layrion snorted, but did not say anything as she watched him move a bit more before pausing. His head turned side to side slowly, his nose giving the odd sniff. Then he cracked one eye open, followed quickly by the other only to be greeted with twin looks of surprise from the sisters.

"Why...are you two looking at me like that?"

"Your eyes..." Was all Layrion managed to say before the door opened. Aya entered briskly, noting how the sisters crowded around the boy.

"Ah he is awake. Move aside please." She shooed the two sisters aside and peered closely at Sayifle. The boy pushed himself back away from her, eyes wide as he tried to protest the lack of personal space this new arrival presented.

Aya pressed a nail just under his left eye, pulling down on the skin as she hemmed at what she saw.

"Just like Teru. A ruby color manifested in the irises, completely overwhelming the original color. Interesting.. "

Sayifle spluttered. "Ruby color?"

Aya straightened. "Yes your eyes are red now. That is what ruby means. Now tell me what else feels different." Sayifle began to describe what felt strange and new, Aya notating as he spoke. She interjected a few times, telling him about how his body had changed. The two were lost in conversation, the two sisters now ignored.

Layrion sighed, taking a seat once more. "Ammy, go and inform the Council that we will be meeting as soon as day breaks. We need to decide on the formal nullification of that treaty with Viktor's clan. We have a long night ahead of us I'm afraid."

Ammy nodded, bowing briefly and leaving the room. As she left, she paused outside the doorway, staring straight ahead and not acknowledging Yggdrasil who was leaning against the wall outside the door.

"They are both fine. I suppose.....Thank you Drasil. For saving him."

Yggdrasil merely smiled, watching her retreating figure down the hall.

"You are welcome, Ammy."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was a tired and exhausted Layrion that made her way to her personal chambers, for once looking forward to the solitude they offered. Despite how Ammy always teased about her sister needing time to 'brood her problems away', Layrion had honestly used her alone time to formulate new plans and strategies. Now though, she was just going to sleep. The treaty had fallen apart neatly, no one really in favor of it in the first place. Yet they still had to discuss on new measures to accommodate the work that Aya had planned. Layrion intended to give her the full support of their clan. The Elder really thought there was something to be found in the research. Layrion knew that Rune would do anything necessary to bring Viktor to the swift and painful end he deserved, so she could turn her attention elsewhere. Such as the matter with the rapidly decreasing number of Elder’s and their home Clans. And with still no word or support from their once caretaker Akil, Layrion decided that she would be free to do as she saw fit about these things. If he'd decided to abandon her and her Clan to fate, she would just use her power to force fate into her chosen vision of the future.

Sleep found her quickly, and it wasn't long before her unconscious mind found itself in a dreamlike state. She had had this dream before, several times and more frequently in the last few years. It was like the dream was a manifestation of her soul.

The soul felt as if it was being pulled into different directions, torn from its core out. Each time she would try to focus on one piece, but was always drawn back to a particular one. This was hers, she could feel that it was. The other pieces though, they should not be a part of her soul. Different lives that were just beyond her reach but ever taunting her with their hidden knowledge.

These dreams left her confused, and any research she did on them yielded nothing. Not even Yggdrasil seemed to have an answer for her, besides trying once to mention the prophecy. Layrion had scowled, dismissing such nonsense and giving up trying to understand them at all. This dream was a bit different however.

She could feel one portion of the soul shaking violently, lurching from side to side with a force that made her tremble. It was as if it was in great pain. Something inside her ached, and she desperately reached out to offer whoever it was comfort, but knew it was to no avail. There was no choice now but to sense it's pain and wish it to be over. Even though she did not know the other parts, she still felt some kindred relation to them, and hoped that wherever they were they could live in peace. But now, this one seemed to just continue to suffer, no matter how long the night stretched.

This dream was the longest yet.