ShadowSong [Book 3]

Chapter 6 - The Problem

Banshee and Cryo took the journey back to the Starlight Hall slowly, taking the opportunity to help Pegasus and Nereid work on their abilities.

While Cryo took to the skies with Pegasus, Banshee remained on the rooftops with Nereid. She pointed out the various features of the buildings that would either help, hinder, or make it downright dangerous for the new Luminary in various weather settings. When there was a clear path across the rooftops, they sprinted. Nereid was quick and agile, keeping up with a non-shadow shifted Banshee without too much trouble.

"See these little alcove-y things?" said Banshee, pointing to a particular type of decoration. Nereid nodded. "Usually where you find one of these, there'll be one of these below." Banshee leaned over the edge of the roof and pointed to another designed carved into the starstone. "They're super easy to climb, even without a shadow shift."

They reached the final stretch of buildings in central Aeledrae before the temple grounds.

Banshee pointed towards the golden starstone, currently separated from them by a gap created by the canal below that ringed the temple grounds. "We're gonna jump that. I can make it without my shadow shift if I go for it, plus, there's water below if you don't quite make it."

"And if I smash into the side of the building instead?" asked Nereid, the fins on the sides of her head and forearms relaxed.

"It's gonna hurt a whole lot," said Banshee. "But it won't kill you. Besides, when you're not thinking about it and you just react, your water works fine. Nothing like a bit of careening freefall to let the subconscious take control, eh?"

Nereid shook her head and looked away, but her fins remained relaxed as she stepped backwards to give herself a run-up.

Banshee went first, her shadow following on the ground behind her as she trusted her regular old Luminary strength and speed to make the leap and land on the temple's outer ring of buildings. She made it without a problem, landing with a thud before she turned to watch Nereid.

Nereid's run was nearly perfect. She'd taken all of Banshee's rooftop-running tips and applied them amazingly well. She hit the edge without hesitation and pushed herself up into the air. Her arc was a little shorter than Banshee's had been, but whatever subconscious part of Banshee's head did all her running and jumping calculations knew that Nereid wouldn't find out if her water would respond in freefall today.

Nereid landed with a slightly heavier thud beside Banshee, who nodded.

"Being able to get around the City fast is super important," said Banshee. She looked down over the edge of the roof to where the canal circling the temple lay below. "You'd probably move fastest in the canals, but they might not always be an option, which is when rooftops are useful."

"Banshee," said Nereid, ending the word with a quiet intake of breath. "Why do you think I'm having so much trouble with my water?"

Banshee looked at her, chewing on her lip. "Honestly, I'm not sure. Cryo seems to think it's some kinda mental block, but unless you've got a morbid fear of water you're not telling us about, I don't think that's right." She gestured back at the gap behind them. "Even I was a little skeptical the first time I made that jump, and you did it without hesitation."

"I love the water," said Nereid with a shrug. "I used to pretend to be Mer when I was little, you know, like how kids play the Luminary game, running around pretending to save Manifested and stuff during playtime?" She stretched her fingers out, attempting to pull the water at her feet into a globule. She barely succeeded in making a fist-sized ball before it began to slip from her grasp. She gave up and let it go. "And now by some miracle I get this chance, and I can't even begin to make it work."