...One moment, I was running my thumb along that scar on my index finger, and the next I woke to find it suddenly gone. 

I blinked bleary eyes several times as my mind reeled, tiredly searching through my memory in an attempt to work out which version of me was currently real, as well how exactly I'd gotten here... wherever and whenever here was.

I turned my head to examine my surroundings... and immediately discovered that I wasn't alone. A woman with short, graying hair sat in a simple armchair on the other side of the small, modestly-furnished bedroom, preoccupied with something in her hands that my unfocused eyes couldn't quite make out yet. At my movement, she glanced up and watched my face for a moment, smiling kindly.

"Ah, well you certainly seem a lot more lucid this time," she observed warmly. Setting whatever she was holding down on a low table next to her, she stiffly pushed herself to her feet and looked towards the door. "Mirea, dear," she called out, "the pretty boy is awake."

There was a muffled cough of surprise from what was probably the next room over. "His name is Silt!" came the exasperated reply, though I heard movement all the same. "...But yes, alright, I'll go grab Lirelle. One sec."

As Mirea's exit was announced by the sound of a door swinging closed, the woman chuckled to herself, then turned to address me again. "...I suppose you must be rather thirsty. I'll go fetch you some water; see if you can sit up in the meantime."

She stepped out, leaving me alone in the room, head spinning and half-asleep. I still wasn't entirely certain what was going on, and I had even less idea as to how the current situation had come about, but I at least understood what she'd said—with effort, I managed to fight off a wave of drowsiness and push myself upright, trying not to focus on the dull pounding that made itself known in my head as I did so. Squinting my eyes against the light, I moved a little farther down the bed to the spot right next to the window and leaned heavily against the sill to gaze outside. 

...Peaceful, sunny Silent Falls. The window, I discovered, faced directly alongside the brook that ran through town, and one of the bridges that crossed over it was just barely visible in the periphery. The brook was fairly wide, but almost always calm, and the water glittering lazily in the warm sunlight made it obvious at a glance that today was no exception. People were out and about as normal on the streets, and a little ways away, I could catch a glimpse of the busy market through a gap between buildings.

Ah, this... is Lirelle's family's house, I think.

Despite the fact that this was the only hometown I'd ever known, I wasn't very familiar with its layout... and not purely because my memories of the place were so distant. Kerr never liked me spending much time in Silent Falls proper—particularly if he wasn't with me—and I was indebted to him, so I followed his wishes and stuck mostly to the area around the cabin and the outskirts. More than likely, even the clear view out this window wouldn't have been enough for me to get any sense of where I was if it hadn't been for that eyesore of a "central" hall in the distance, towering above the other buildings and serving as a rather unappealing landmark.

...The central hall. My stomach dropped. 

As soon as I focused on the 'giant wooden shack', as Lirelle had described the new government building, my recollection of the previous night began to rapidly piece itself back together—meeting Mirea, the confrontation with Lirelle, heading to the central hall to help her find the letters she was looking for, feeling sick, and...

...A horrible dread crept over me, clutching at my heart with talons of ice. 

That... was it. That was all I remembered. 

Had I passed out? Even though I still hadn't told her which office she needed to search, yet? Last time Kerr had gone along with her to help, and still they'd failed to find them in time—Kerr wasn't here now, but I'd been certain that having advance knowledge of where to look would more than make up for his absence... if only I'd actually managed to deliver that all-important information.

The spinning in my head gradually gained force, seemingly trying to tear away at the entirety of my exhausted mind and all the thoughts therein. I felt nauseous.

...I should have just told her. What the hell was I trying to accomplish by being all mysterious, anyway? 

Was I remembering things wrong? Or... perhaps it simply hadn't occurred to me that the differences in my actions and mental state could result in me falling ill, even if I'd been perfectly healthy at this time during the previous iteration.

...Idiot.

Gentle footsteps approached behind me. "Here you are, then," the woman said, "some water, and something of yours too."

Clenching my fists to give my strained emotions an outlet, I turned my head to look. She had just stepped through the doorway, her hand holding a wooden cup and Kerr's cloak draped over her arm.

I shuddered in revulsion as I saw the latter, though I couldn't say exactly why. 

She paused, concern showing on her face. Now that I'd been awake for a minute or two, my vision was clearer, and I was surprised to find that the woman looked strikingly like a much older version of Lirelle. 

...Her mother? I didn't remember ever meeting or hearing much about either of her parents, but it would be difficult to explain the uncanny resemblance if this woman was anything else. "...Silt? Are you alright?"

I averted my gaze slightly and exhaled slowly. "I... I'm okay," I answered, my voice scratchy and hoarse. "Sorry, but can you just... leave the cloak in another room... for now?"

She glanced down at it, uncomprehending, but gave a small shrug and offered me a smile. "Well, that's simple enough." Setting the cup down on a shelf for a moment, she stepped away, and when she returned shortly after, it was without the disconcerting black fabric anywhere in sight, which let me breathe a little easier.

"I'm Nassia," the woman introduced herself as I gratefully took the cup from her and took a long drink to sate my painfully dry throat. "Your master has mentioned you a few times. It's a pleasure to finally meet you."

...It took a few confused heartbeats before I remembered that Kerr and Lirelle were distantly related. It made sense, then, that Nassia had had interactions with him, though I was fairly certain she wouldn't have been privy to the secret of his true occupation. As far as I was aware, the local populace—everyone in Silent Falls apart from Lirelle, Mirea, and myself—was under the impression that he was a woodsman of sorts, patrolling the more densely forested areas nearby and keeping watch for any wild beasts that might cause trouble.

I gulped down the last of the water and took a second to breathe. "...Likewise," I replied, then hesitated. "Um, is Lirelle your...?"

"Not my daughter, no," Nassia answered before I could even finish asking the question, an amused look on her face suggesting that this was a line of questioning she was well accustomed to. "...She's my niece. Her late mother and I were twins." She took back the empty wooden cup and briefly peered into it. "Would you like some more?"

I opened my mouth to respond, but I was interrupted by the sound of the house's front door opening.

"Silt!" Lirelle's voice called out immediately, holding an unmistakable note of irritation.

My heart sank, the dread I'd temporarily forgotten rushing back in. What... would happen now? I'd done all that to pique her curiosity, hoping my strange attitude and seemingly-impossible knowledge from the future would result in her trying—and failing—to come up with an explanation on her own; hoping that it would make it easier for her to accept the actual story once I'd helped her.

...And then I'd stupidly passed out without delivering on any of my promises, thereby missing the one and only opportunity to get a look at those letters.

I knew Lirelle, but she didn't yet know me—not directly, anyway. She already had reason to be distrustful... and now there was this. A sudden fear gripped me. What if my stupidity had ruined any chance of the same friendship I remembered so fondly developing again? What if... she didn't even want to listen to me?

Before I could even remotely prepare myself, Lirelle had already taken a step into the room. "Hello, Aunt," she said in greeting, though her eyes stayed on me as she spoke. It... looked like she hadn't slept at all. "Sorry to do this right away, but would you mind leaving the two of us alone for a while?" She fished a small bundle of papers out of a pocket and tossed them onto the bed next to me as the older woman nodded, gave me a friendly little wave, and disappeared into the hallway. 

"Congratulations, kid," Lirelle continued, closing the door and promptly taking a seat in the armchair, "your information was accurate. Those are copies of the letters I was looking for."

I looked down at them, not understanding. 

...What?

"So," she crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow curiously. "We have a lot to talk about."