siphon

She wasn't sure what the catalyst really was, but this meal seemed much more relaxed than she'd been told to expect. Well, a relaxed atmosphere. She was dying to change, having been unable to sit comfortably and breathe properly the entire time. Jamil was a surprisingly good 'host' and engaged her and the others around her in small talk the entire time, introducing a variety of dishes to her that she quite enjoyed. The only one that she had refused to touch was when they served up what was essentially a turkey sized spider.

"Lady Jade, is something wrong?" Jamil had asked politely as the dish was presented quite beautifully in front of him for approval before it would be carved up.

Blanching slightly, Jade shook her head at first, then nodded. "It uhm...reminds me of something that I hated in my old world. I'll pass on trying this one." One of his counselors looked like he was about to speak up, but Jamil cut him off with a sharp glare before he gestured for his servant to remove the dish. Jade immediately protested, "Oh, you don't have to put it away on my account. You can still eat it."

Shaking his head with a small smile, he spoke, "If it makes you uncomfortable, there's no need to have it here. It's not like we lack things to eat." His words were a subtle reminder for his counselors to behave. If she had to guess, she'd say that the accommodating behavior was a result of her tantrum at tea. She'd already proved she had no problem causing a mess if someone offended her. This wasn't actually the intended effect, but it seemed to have worked quite nicely in her favor nonetheless. His next words were unexpected, however. "Can you tell us a bit about your old world? Was it very different from here?"

Silence had fallen around them, everyone looking at her expectantly. It was obvious everyone was curious, and why wouldn't they be? How often did you get a chance to learn about another world? Almost never, really. There was something in Jamil's eyes that she instinctively understood that he was trying to get a read on her through how she described the world. Nodding, she spoke calmly, "Of course, but it's perhaps easier if I use visuals to show you. Do you mind?"

"Not at all!" He responded quickly, and as she stood and turned around so that she could use the open space behind them, everyone turned their chairs to get a better look at whatever she was about to do. Taking a breath, she decided to use this as an opportunity to educate, as there was not only the Resaigh delegation present, but the royal family and many important nobles from Caoi.

Calling upon her illusion magic, she created a black space before she created a model of the solar system, the planets rotating around the sun and began to explain. "This is what we call our Solar System. My world was one without any of the magic that you know here, but what we had instead was thousands of years in which we advanced our science. We learned that our planet was one of nine rotating around our sun, and the many stars in the sky were other suns in their own systems which could potentially hold millions of other planets in their orbit. We learned this because of many powerful telescopes and explorations into space, though we never left our own solar system, and to send anything into space was still very hard."

Pointing at the rotation of the planets, she explained, "The planets rotate around the sun, creating day and night, as well as seasons. These planets are too close to the sun, and thus are too hot to support life. These are too cold. My planet, the third from the sun, was called Earth." Here she zoomed in, dismissing the rest of the solar system in favor of a large, rotating globe of Earth. She even made shifting clouds because she was having fun. Absently, she noticed that most of the hall besides her table had gotten up from their seats and walked closer in order to get a better look and to hear what she said.

"As you can see, about two thirds of our planet was covered in water, leaving seven continents, of which humans mainly lived on six. The seventh, this down here, is a land of ice and snow." Next to the planet, she basically put up a 'screen' of moving pictures that was footage she remembered of Antarctica, showing penguins and seals and brilliant white vistas. She was suddenly glad she'd been so obsessed with studying the places she wanted to travel someday.

Taking a steadying breath, she went on, lighting up each continent as a different color rather than the aerial view she'd been showing before. "This is Africa, Europe, Asia, Australia, and then North and South America. Where I lived was North America." She paused, then as she zoomed in and showed an outline of the United States as she spoke further, "This was my country. As I mentioned, we had no magic, only science. There are also no monsters in my world. There are animals, but we had subdued them all. The only true enemy of humans were…other humans." Yeah, no need to go into that too deeply.

Dismissing the globe, she showed a picture of downtown New York City streets, the skyscrapers all around and people rushing all around. "As the top of the food chain, the world was developed into giant interconnected cities. People got around by using cars, these large metal carriages that were run by electricity, trains, or airplanes." She showed each vehicle as she spoke, then moved on.

"While we didn't have message mirrors, what we had were cell phones and computers. These were all connected to one giant network called the internet. Thousands of years of information was made available at the touch of a finger, and you could contact people on the other side of the world without much effort. Most everything was mass produced by machines we'd built, leaving most people to instead work at creating new and innovating things, or even choosing professions similar to storytellers. Entertainment and the arts, science and improving our technology were the main areas of focus in the world."

Okay, she may have been generalizing a LOT there, but it was kinda true. She wasn't even going to touch politics or crime. Sure, it may leave them with an idealized version of her world, but with such a basic overview, she didn't think it really mattered that much. After all, the focus of the world really was like she said. Entertainment included everything: authors, artists, athletes, actors, musicians, etc. Dang, she really wanted to make that an A too. Oh well.

Plus, while there was still manual labor, obviously, it had been greatly reduced to overseers of machines, and the focus was on technology to do those things. Or just...technology in general. That was really the crux of the matter. Basic necessity had been met, and the only thing left was to keep it running and try to make it better. To her, that encompassed just about everything else.

"What did you do on that world, and how did you come here?" Jamil interrupted her musings with a question that hit close to home. He obviously wanted to know why she had been chosen, and everyone was curious as to how one crossed worlds, especially when she had made Earth sound so appealing without explaining any of the negative things that existed. They heard of a marvelous world with infinite information and no monsters. No wonder they would want to go there.

Smiling a little helplessly, she changed the picture in front of her to one she'd practically perfected at this point: her hospital room. "I didn't do much on my world, honestly. I was very sick. As I mentioned, we had no healing magic, and we never figured out what was wrong with me. I spent almost my entire life in this little room, reading and learning about the outside world that I would never see. As for how I came to this world… I'm not really sure. I think I died and the gods of your world brought me here, but that's just my best guess."

Silence greeted her words, their dreams of moving worlds shattered by the simple expedient of her telling them she'd likely done it by dying, and that while she painted a beautiful picture of her world, she herself hadn't even really gotten to experience it. It left them with the understanding that not everything was quite as bright as she had said.

"And this...this was you?" Jamil walked forward, looking at the sickly girl on the table who bore only the tiniest resemblance to the vivacious young woman in front of him. She had so many tubes coming out of her, and his voice was full of disbelief.

Nodding sadly, she looked at her past self and then twitched the illusion, making a small spider appear on the white sheets. She gestured to it, explaining, "Yes, that was me, trapped forever in one place while longing to go out. The creature you presented earlier is similar to the spiders of my world. Tiny insects, but I was helpless against them. The few times they got into my room, I could do nothing but wait for someone else to come in and take care of it." She didn't mention that she'd once decided to try and befriend a spider just for the sake of having another living creature to talk at. Nope, that wasn't important at all.

"What were your stats, to be in such a state?" He asked curiously, and she laughed, shaking her head.

"I didn't have any. In that world, stat sheets were a thing of imagination. We had no way of knowing what they might be, other than comparison. However, when I arrived in this world, though weak, I was healed of my sickness. Despite that, my strength, constitution, and dexterity were all around an eight. So if I had to guess, I'd say those would have been at around maybe five or six in that world."

He looked confused, and one of the young men from his country asked quietly, "But didn't you only arrive in this world a few weeks ago?"

Turning to smile at him, she confirmed. "Yes, that's true."

One of the counselors spluttered as he asked, "So you're saying you went from an eight to…whatever you are now...in a matter of weeks?"

She shrugged as much as her dress would allow, which admittedly, was almost nothing. "Yes, that's what I'm telling you. The special ability I was given when I was brought to this world is accelerated growth. It's been quite helpful in my adaptation."

There were a few sidelong glances, and she realized she may just have been a little too open with that information, even if it wasn't actually completely true. What it did do was explain her growth without giving them information on the side effects such as her helplessness when she siphoned too much or the boost it gave to others. It would make those who meant her ill either hesitate or determined to act against her sooner than later. After all, with her speed of growth, she'd be a monster in no time. That was logical. What they might not know was that she was basically already a monster, which is why she didn't care all that much.

It seemed Jamil had caught onto something she'd mentioned however, as he motioned for everyone to return to their seats. As she sat down again, he spoke softly, "It seems the gods have blessed you for the suffering you faced there. As you were unable to leave there, I'm sure that's something you've enjoyed doing here. I would be honored if you'd come visit Resaigh. It would be a shame if you could not see the world now that you have the chance."

There were many sublayers of context in that statement. She had heard how the wives of the Resaigh were treated, how they were essentially trapped. From the thoughtful look on his face, it was something he was thinking of too. Perhaps Jamil was a progressive? Either way, from what he said, it seemed he'd given up on the idea of taking her as a wife, and was instead trying to solidify his position as a potential ally.

She really liked smart people. They were so much easier to deal with. Nodding as they continued to eat, she answered, "I think I'd like that. Thank you for the invitation." Hesitating a little, she lowered her voice further and asked, "Can I ask a personal question?" At his nod, she questioned, "I am quite curious as to how you got your poison resistance to advanced."

He froze up completely, causing a few others at the table to cast them glances, wondering what it was she'd said as he finally blinked and turned to her, asking softly, "How do you know I have that?"

Her lips twitched up in what she thought would be a mysterious smile as she spoke in that same almost whisper, "I have my ways. I admit, seeing someone as young as you with two advanced skills is quite impressive, but I can understand how you got archery to advanced with enough use. Poison, however, is a different matter. Either it was on purpose or someone has tried to kill you...a lot. I want to know which it was."

The quiet assurance with which she pointed out his two highest skills made his eye twitch, but also affirmed that she really did know what she was talking about. Especially because she stated that he only the two. After all, skill levels were something which most people kept quiet about. Especially as royalty. It was generally considered a good idea to keep people unaware of your skills so you could use them as trump cards when necessary.

Letting out a small sigh, he kept his voice to barely nothing as he replied, "Both. After a few incidents when I was younger, my father gifted me with Shazim. Between the natural resistance I got from the bond and training after, I have raised it to a level where I feel safer." He shook his head, then asked in a more normal voice, "Does that answer your question?"

"Yes, I very much appreciate your honesty." She smiled warmly at him, and the rest of the dinner passed in more normal conversation with the others at the table. At the same time, she was thinking of what he had inadvertently revealed to her. The bond didn't just raise the intelligence of the bonded, nor just allow you to mentally communicate or use their senses. It implied there was a deeper transference of key characteristics.

If that was the case, what had she gotten from her fellacai? And what had they gotten from her? There were three things she'd taken from them: flight, magical resistance, and different magics. Because of her siphoning, it would be hard to pinpoint what actually came from them naturally versus what she took via her special ability. Had her gains in those three areas risen more naturally and easily because of her connection? She had so many questions, but she put them off until she could have a good conversation with her babies.

As the dinner came to an end, Jamil stood up, addressing the group at large. "I'd like to thank all of you for coming tonight. We look forward to many such future activities and the continued alliance between our two nations. Lastly, I'd like to thank Lady Jade for teaching us of her world and expanding our horizons. May all of us leave now with the blessings of the gods."

He put his hand on his heart before extending it outwards, and most of the congregation got to their feet, imitating the same gesture while including a bow, and the words, "May the blessings of the gods be upon you!" were repeated from almost every mouth. Obviously it was a traditional farewell, as the people stood and began to mingle or leave after the gesture. Jade had been surprised by the whole thing, not expecting the unity of their actions.

Jamil held his hand out to her, and thinking absently that he wanted to shake it, she placed her fingers in his. Lifting it to his mouth, he gave the back of her hand a light kiss as he grinned and spoke to her, "I look forward to getting to know you better, Lady Jade. Have a wonderful night."

"Thank you, A'Udar Faris. It was a lovely meal." She nodded to him as he let her go, turning to bid farewell to the rest of the family while Victor grinned at her, holding out an arm. After making sure her babies were properly placed, she once again took it, holding her skirts out of the way as much as she could.

He led her outside after bidding his own farewell to Jamil, and the rest of his family followed soon after. When they got into the hall and she let out a sigh of relief that things had gone so well, Victor grinned and nudged her slightly. "You did it. We made it through dinner without any problems."

"Or proposals!" Camille interjected happily, obviously giddy that she hadn't had to reject the future ruler of Resaigh.

Jade nodded thoughtfully. "Indeed. A'Udar Faris is actually much more reasonable than I was led to believe." She raised her brows slightly, and Victor coughed and looked away.

Will piped up from beside her, "This is honestly the most reasonable we've ever seen him. The last few times he visited he was much more…" Will paused, searching for the right word, then seemed to give up and said bluntly, "arrogant. He was arrogant, haughty, and in general treated everyone as beneath him. I don't know what changed."

"Jade." Hunter said only her name, and when everyone looked at him in confusion, he clarified. "Jade is the difference. Last time he was here, there was no traveler. Jade already showed an aversion to him at the gate, and he undoubtedly heard about what happened at the tea party. Being in the city, his people have obviously been gathering information and heard about how powerful she is. He made the smart choice to make her an ally, and not an enemy, and thus changed his behavior accordingly."

Silence met Hunter's conjecture, until Victor finally spoke up again, "That's probably a big part of it, you're right. But it's also been almost ten years since we last saw him. People do change."

Hunter shrugged. "Yeah, it's probably both of those things."

Thoughtfully, Jade asked, "Was he bonded to Shazim the last time he was here?" They looked at her curiously, obviously trying to remember.

Ashanna was the one who spoke up, obviously remembering better than her children. "No, he was riding a normal ancalom the last time he arrived."

Jade paused at the unfamiliar word, then realized she was referring to the creature the rest of his delegation had arrived on, something like a mix between a camel and an antelope as far as she could tell. In the end, she shrugged, "Well, that probably influenced him as well. He's had several attempts on his life after that and gone through a lot of harsh training." Curious eyes looked at her, obviously wondering how she'd gotten that information. She shrugged minutely again. "He told me a little after I asked how he got advanced poison resistance." It was something she figured they should probably know about, anyway, even though they all looked shocked at that information.

"Advanced poison resistance? That's madness." Tisha shook her head dazedly, obviously voicing out the opinion of most of the royal family. Even Jade agreed.

"Wait, how did you even know he had advanced poison resistance?" Hunter asked quietly, and she grinned at him. Just like Jamil had probably changed after the attempts on his life, she'd noted that Hunter had become much more alert and thoughtful after his kidnapping. Or maybe it was just that she had been spending more time with him and felt more comfortable with him. She wasn't sure.

Looking at the guards around them, she smiled mysteriously and shook her head. "I have my ways." She might've just outed herself slightly to them, but they obviously saw her glance and decided not to pursue it...for now.

They'd reached the royal wing, and one by one, they bid goodnight as they stepped into their rooms. Victor dropped her off with Camille, whose room she'd be sharing for the night. Camille's maid helped them out of the fancy dresses they'd been wearing, and Jade took a few deep breaths, enjoying the feeling of being able to breathe freely once more.

"Ugh, I'm so glad we don't have to wear those very often." Camille voiced out her thoughts as Jade explored her suite of rooms.

"Agreed." She responded absently, her attention caught by the doors that led to what was obviously a balcony. Camilly grinned, beckoning for her to go ahead when she saw Jade's distraction. She quickly opened the doors, walking out into the chill night air. Despite the fact that she felt exceedingly full from trying all the delicious foods, it was still only a little after nine. Sure, she could go to sleep now and try to be fully rested for tomorrow. That was probably the smart thing to do.

However, she felt restless, looking out over the city from four floors up. It wasn't raining currently, but the dark clouds hadn't gone away. With a sigh, she pulled out one of her glass balls that was filled with blue light before creating a metal band for it on the balcony and attaching it. It wasn't super bright, but it would serve her purpose of acting as a beacon.

"Jade, what are you doing?" Camille's voice was slightly suspicious as she watched Jade's actions.

Looking back at the older girl, she smiled a little guiltily as she responded, "I know I'm not going to be able to sleep, so I'm going to go out for a bit. Don't worry, I won't stay out too long."

"Can I come?" Jade hadn't been expecting the question, but she immediately shook her head.

"Sorry, I'd just like a little alone time. Next time?"

Camille sighed. "I'm going to hold you to that, you know. Be careful, and come back quickly."

"I will." Jade smiled, then pointed at the glass. "Just don't lock me out, and leave that there so I can find the right window when I get back." Camille nodded, and before she could raise any more objections, Jade ran forward, vaulting off the railing to sail through the air, lowering her gravity and forming her bubble around her as she quickly rose instead of plummeting.

She just needed some fresh air. She'd be back soon...ish.