Dancing was ... fun? This was clearly different from the sort of gyrating one expected from a modern high school dance. It was more of an unvarnished reverly. At first, Pallas had resisted being brought into the circle. Her memories of Halloween notwithstanding, she'd never really been much of a dancer. But after much goading and chiding from Amelinne and Laraline, Pallas found herself being dragged by each hand into a hopping dance that marked the beat pounded out by the drummer. The flute player picked up the melody then as the lute supported and soon the girls were laughing and skipping along to the tune.

Amelinne broke away from her sister and her 'sister' and proceeded to spin and jump, letting the music carry her feet. There was no formal steps to her dance, she simply allowed herself to be swallowed by the jaunty sound. It was a fair way into morning by this point and the golden morning sun illuminated the taller girl's hair in flame-colored hues. Pallas watched, awestruck, as her friend leapt into the air, landed on one foot, and threw her body into a spin the moment the second foot touched down, her skirt flaring about her knees and showing a flash of her ankles beneath.

Laraline, not wishing to be outdone, followed her sister's lead. The younger blonde coquettishly pranced to her sister's side before matching the older girl's movements. Together, they danced joyously, their feet moving briskly to the cheery rhythm. Their arms moved out to their sides for balance but began weaving in the air with their steps, creating more visual interest with the sinuous movements.

After a couple minutes of jovial, energetic dancing, the musicians switched to a slower tune, allowing the two girls to move away from the center of the ring, a faint sheen of sweat visible on their brows, lending a vibrant glow to their faces in the morning sun. The Tirtha sisters laughed with each other as they returned to where Pallas stood in mute wonder.

"Where did you learn to dance like that?" she asked as they approached.

Amelinne beamed at Pallas and said, "I mean, there's no formal learning! You just listen to the music and do what feels right!"

"But, you two were dancing in sync, the same steps and everything!" Pallas exclaimed. "It was like you had choreographed it in advance!"

Laraline placed one hand on her hip and gave a smirk. "A lot of songs have the same general beat. Once you recognize that, it's pretty easy to match your movements. Plus we can use the same steps from dances we've done for other songs. Just building on what you already know."

"Huh. I'll have to remember that," Pallas said quietly with a nod.

Amelinne reached out and ruffled Pallas's hair a bit. "Look at you, being so serious! Dancing is just fun! As long as you don't fall down, you're fine!"

Pallas scrunched up her face. Times like this, it was a rather harsh reminder that inside of this little girl's body was the mind of a sixteen-year-old. It's not like Amelinne was being condescending, but being treated like a little sister when they were the same psychological age was more than a bit frustrating.

Why was that? As Pallas followed Amelinne and Laraline out of the dancing circle toward the rest of the Tirtha family, she pondered it. She watched Amelinne's hair flowing in the wind, the natural sway of her walk, and the energy she exuded as she laughed. Then it hit her.

*I wish I was like her,* Pallas thought to herself. *Amelinne is like everything I wish I was...*

She began to trail further and further behind as everyone walked ahead of her when she felt a tap on her shoulder. "Excuse me, Pallas? Do you have a moment?"

Pallas turned around to face the familiar voice. Mallory was there with a large smile on her face. "Oh, hello!" Pallas replied in surprise. "What can I do for you?"

"Remember that task I suggested you might help with?" Mallory asked hesitantly.

"Oh! Yes! I thought it might be a bit farther in the future, but I'm glad to help. What do you need?" Pallas responded.

"I've made a new outfit. I thought it would take much longer to prepare, but it turned out that you've inspired me somewhat and I finished it more quickly than I expected. I'd love if you could model it for me, today?" Mallory had a hopeful expression on her face that Pallas found endearing.

Pallas smiled. "Sure, I'd love to help. Give me a moment to let the Tirtha family know where I'll be since they're sort of my 'guardians' for the day." She excused herself and ran ahead to inform Jerald and Vienne that Mallory requested her assistance. They responded with a nod and a grin and waved Pallas off to her errand. Amelinne spared a curious glance in her direction, but said nothing.

---

Shortly thereafter, Pallas found herself back in Mallory's shop, wearing a most curious outfit. It began with a pair of dark grey leggings beneath a knee-length white pleated skirt. The top consisted of a fitted white short-sleeve button-down blouse over a tank-top like shirt. There were pale green accents on both the blouse and the skirt and on the white ankle-high boots she also wore. Her scarf prize had been wrapped around the top of her head and tied in a neat bow at the back of her neck around the braided bun. At her hip sat a white leather belt with a large hip pouch sealed with a silver clasp. Interestingly, there appeared to be a leather frog of some sort on the belt as well, likely for carrying a weapon. Around her neck she wore a pale green leather choker adorned with a silver pendant shaped like a large leaf. On each of her wrists she bore a simple white leather bracer with pale green trim. The bracers has been reinforced inside with metal plates, hidden from view by the stitched leather.

She stared at herself in the mirror. *I look like an anime character,* she thought. She gave an anxious look to Mallory. "Where... exactly did you draw the inspiration for this outfit?"

Mallory waved her hand dismissively as she appraised her handiwork. "I meditated on it the night you left my shop and began sketching ideas first thing the day after. This is what I came up with! It's cute, but also functional! You have great freedom of movement but you keep all your girlish charm!" Her excitement was written plainly on her face with her broad smile. "It suits you perfectly, you know?"

"I'm going to stick out like a sore thumb, though! Everyone's going to look at me!"

"Well, that's what I'm hoping for, love!" Mallory replied almost instantly. "The fact of the matter is that my sales have been dropping lately because everyone has been copying my designs and making their own clothes at home! But this... THIS! Nobody is doing this!" Mallory waved her hands at the outfit Pallas wore. "Your adventurous outfit with breeches put my mind on this path! This is the perfect advertisement of my work! And I have you to thank for it!" she said as she gestured grandly.

Pallas blushed, desperately wishing to cover her face. "Okay, okay. I get it. Please, scale it back! I'm so embarrassed already!"

"Why are you embarrassed? You look radiant! Like a hero in training!"

"So, you want me to just like... walk around wearing this outfit and tell people that you made it, right?" Pallas wasn't entirely sure she liked the idea of being a mobile billboard.

"Well, yes, but I think if you actively engaged with the events and danced some more, it might attract more attention," Mallory replied meaningfully.

Pallas let out a burdened sigh. "I *do* owe you for the clothes you've given me, already. I suppose I can... participate." In truth, she really was grateful and wanted to be able to pay the tailor back in some way. Just... not like this.

Mallory clapped her hands gleefully. "Oh, thank you so much, Pallas! It means the world to me!"

---

Outside, in the late morning sunlight, Pallas immediately drew the attention of the villagers nearby. Her outfit bore little resemblance to the long dresses and skirts worn by most of the women and the bright whites shone brightly against the more muted colors on everyone else. Her cheeks flushed bright red as she forced herself to nod and smile to passers-by. A couple younger ladies did inquire about the outfit, to which Pallas responded, "It was custom made for me by Mallory the tailor!" The conversations were thankfully short, as many were already familiar with her from her work at the inn.

Speaking of which, Eber had greeted her with a warm smile as she passed the front of the building. "'Ey, lass! Come, 'elp yerself to some skewers and cakes!" he said, gesturing to the tables at either side of the inn's entrance. To the left, one of the cooks was happily handing out thin wooden skewers pierced through chunks of seasoned grilled meat and vegetables. To the right, another cook was distributing small baked rolls adorned with a glaze of frosting.

Pallas happily accepted one of each before asking Eber, "Have you seen the Tirtha family? I was with Amelinne, today, but Mallory called me aside."

Eber nodded. "Explains the new get-up," he said sagely. "Jerald and Vienne passed by 'ere just a short while ago, towards the church. 'Ead that way if ye want to catch up!"

"What's going on at the church?" Pallas inquired.

"Part of the festival. All the ladyfolk receive a blessing of Listern from Berna as they offer prayers."

Pallas must have made a sour face because Eber laughed. "Can't say as I'd make that face in front of the Second Priestess, but I daresay ye're a bit braver than I."

With an internal cringe, Pallas relaxed her expression. "Thank you for letting me know. I'll head that way, now." With that, she waved the hand holding the sweet cake and began walking toward the church.

The skewer was delicious. The meat had been seasoned with salt, butter, pepper, and an herb similar to basil and cooked to juicy tenderness. Meanwhile, the vegetables had been allowed to grill without seasoning, offering an acidic balance to the flavor profile.

The cake, on the other hand, was a little bit bland. Sweeteners were probably in short supply. Pallas hadn't seen anything like sugar cane or beekeeper's hives. Still, compared to the majority of the food she had eaten, it was a refreshing treat. The mild sweetness reminded her of a plain doughnut which was a little nostalgic, given her weeks in this new world.

How long had it actually been? It was the end of October when Naythen had died, and yet it was late spring, early summer when Pallas was 'born.' Had it been six months? More than a year? Did time correlate at all between this world and Earth? In the back of her mind, Pallas couldn't help but feel a longing to be back with her mother and Natalie, the two people she trusted most. But was that possible? Could she ever see them again?

While traveling this line of thought, Pallas arrived at the front of the church. There were around thirty girls and women kneeling in prayer in front of the stoic building as Berna presided. Among those kneeled were Vienne, Laraline, and Amelinne, heads bowed in earnest prayers. Pallas approached cautiously, worried that she was interrupting. Berna, however, caught sight of her immediately and beckoned her to come closer.

"Pallas! Come, come! Join the rest! We're just getting started," Berna called out. A few heads turned curiously to face her before returning to their prayers. Pallas did as she was told and walked among the other women and girls toward Berna, who reached out and placed a hand upon Pallas's head and smiled warmly.

Pallas looked around in wide-eyed anxiety. "I don't know what to do!" she whispered as quietly as she could.

"Close your eyes and clear your thoughts," Berna replied firmly. "Let the light flow into you."

Following the older woman's instructions, Pallas took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and slowly exhaled, emptying her mind of any visions or thoughts. She felt a push on the top of her head and knelt down where she stood. At that moment, a vision of Athena appeared in her head - Athena as an older version of herself.

"Hello, my daughter," Athena said stoicly. "I had to intervene, so I apologize for any after-effects this may have."

Pallas tilted her head curiously. "Intervene? What for?"

"At this moment, that priestess is injecting a magical matrix into your head. It's a complex web designed to alter your thoughts and perceptions." She took a deep breath, rising to her full height. "I'm going to reject it, but it's going to use a lot of your latent magical ability. Παιδί μου, this may be the last time we see each other for a while." A genuinely sorrowful expression formed on the goddess's face. "I'm so sorry. You're going to be alone for a while."

"What do you mean, alone? Are you-"

A piercing, electric, explosive pain suddenly filled Pallas's head. Her perception of time and place was gone completely, replaced by what felt like an eternity of agony. Pallas tried in vain to breathe and calm herself. The pain was more than she could bear and although she wanted nothing more than to collapse and retreat from the torturous suffering, but her body could not shut down. The sound of a high-pitched scream echoed faintly in her ears until she realized the reason that she strained for air was because that screaming was coming from herself.

Finally, there was darkness.

---

Natalie lay in her weathered twin-sized bed, tossing a plushie of a fat owl into the air so that she could catch it and toss it again. Nayt had given her the plushie a couple years ago for her birthday and it was one of many such gifts that adorned her room. Honestly, everything in this room reminded her of him. Pictures they had taken together, posters from concerts they had attended, clothes that he had picked out for her. Nayt had a knack for that, honestly.

After catching the owl for what felt like the thousandth time, she sat up in her bed and looked out the window. Winter had taken over Forest Springs for the second time since Nayt's passing. They woud both be enjoying their final year of high school... getting ready for the winter formal dance... Would Nayt have worn a dress? The view of snow on farm fields and leafless trees began to waver and blur as tears welled up in her eyes.

In anger, she slammed her fist down on her bed. "It's not fair!" she screamed, startling even herself with the sudden outburst.

Sure, that putrid fuckwad Logan was sitting in jail, one year served on a ten-year involuntary manslaughter charge. It should have been murder. It should have been life. One life for another.

Her gaze drifted to the mirror attached to the vanity desk across from the bed. She could barely recognize her reflection. Natalie's eyes had lost their shine and dark circles shadowed beneath them. She did her best to take care of herself, but nightmares had robbed her of sleep since that Halloween night.

A hesitant knock at her door was followed by a muffled voice. "Sweetie? Are you okay?" It was her mother.

"Yeah... sorry, Mom. I just... read something online that made me mad," Natalie lied.

"Dinner is ready if you're hungry, Nat," her mother replied. Natalie listened for the sound of receding footsteps but didn't reply. She rarely did.

Instead, she crossed the room to her vanity and placed the owl plushie in the open spot it had inhabited since the funeral. Alongside it on the desk were several other things that Nayt's mom had given her, things from his room. Some makeup. Some toys. Some items from Naythen's altar.

She placed her hands on either side of the desk and stared forward into the mirror. The tears streaking unbidden from her eyes only seemed to piss her off. They just reminded her of how she had stood there, helpless, as those assholes beat Naythen senseless. She hated feeling so tiny, so weak, so useless. She remembered the look of defiance on Naythen's battered face, the grim smile as he had invoked his goddess's name.

Natalie's blue eyes glistened in the wan light of early evening, already quite dark because of the winter season. "Athena," she growled at the mirror. "If you truly existed; if you truly cared at all about how much Nayt believed in you; you'd never have let him die like that. You would have intervened. You would have saved him." Her voice cracked as she spoke, her fury the only thing holding back her sobs.

She turned away from the mirror and leaned backwards agains the desk, letting the despair overtake her, finally giving voice to the bubbling sorrow in her heart. After several long minutes, she choked out a few words. "I just want him back!"

The bitter wind howled outside as the sun slipped below the horizon, basking the sky in crimson and violet hues. Shadows filled Natalie's room, crawling from every corner and object. It felt as if she were about to be swallowed up.

An exhausted voice responded from the mirror behind Natalie, "Naythen has a different name, now. And if you're serious about your feelings, she could really use your help."