Sam & Nailah's - Gonna Write Myself A New Start

[Miranda Weaver]

As one of the few psi-shielding locations on campus that wasn't off limits or routinely in use for things by people who weren't family, Miranda had chosen the apartment for this exercise. She had even pushed some of the living room furniture back to take the center of the floor. Some incense with a fairly light scent was burning slowly in front of her. She was sitting cross-legged behind it with her palms resting on her knees. The Seer, the Archivist, and the Huntress were sitting in a ring in the Astral with their hands folded in front of them. In the middle of them, there was what seemed to be an amorphous block of 'Miranda', its form and shape shifting rapidly as the three contemplated it.

[Samantha McManus]

The flock enter the shielded area as Samantha returns to the flat. She regards the scene with curiosity.

"Bit of an ongoing project?"

[Miranda Weaver]

"Needed repairs," the Archivist responded. As Sam got closer, she could tell that in spite of the concert work, the Huntress and the Archivist were actively counter-balancing the Seer. "We would appreciate any advice you could offer. The last time we made changes, it did not end well." A brief image of the wingless sword-wielding avatar that Miranda had been using.

[Samantha McManus]

"I'm not certain how well this is going to work with the two of you holding the third at swordpoint."

[Miranda Weaver]

"Then what do we do with her? We're vulnerable in flux like this, but she's already violated our trust in a not insignificant way." The Archivist seemed to be playing spokesconstruct.

[Samantha McManus]

"You're going to need to find equilibrium that doesn't require constant struggle on your parts. She had her reasons, and she felt you wouldn't understand."

"You still don't, so any avatar you form is going to have a significant weakness."

[Miranda Weaver]

"How do we do that? Such equilibrium seems so easily disturbed." It was the Huntress speaking this time. The Seer was keeping her head bowed.

[Samantha McManus]

"Describe the roles the three of you played in the conflict."

[Miranda Weaver]

The Archivist spoke first, "I argued with the Seer. She said she'd seen something that necessitated drastic action. As she'd chosen not to let me record what she'd seen, I couldn't agree with her. When she acted on her own, I sought out the Champion of the Morrigan and convinced him to help deal with the Seer."

The Huntress spoke next, "I chose no sides in the conflict. I knew the Seer's course of action would draw out more dangerous threats that I had to be aware of. Unfortunately, I was unable to counter those threats as I'd wished."

Finally, after a long silence, the Seer spoke, not even bothering to raise her head, "I saw what I believed was the future, a future so terrible that I could not let it come to pass. As I believed it was set as long as the Child of the Morrigan remained functional, I opted to leave and bury the vision in the Astral and guard it personally. There I hoped to accomplish two things, to keep the future a secret and to prevent it from coming to pass by negating the Daughter of the Morrigan. Had the Champion not distracted me and Bodb Derg not destroyed the vault locking away the vision, I might have succeeded."

Each narrative was accompanied by a series of mental images, replaying the story from that aspect's point of view.

[Samantha McManus]

"None of you is truly functional without the others."

"You," she says, turning to the Seer, "lack context without the Archivist. You lack precision without the Huntress. Without them, everything is a crisis, and everything is either burned or walled off."

"You," she says as she looks to the Huntress, "lack direction without the Seer. You lack the proper tactics without what the Archivist provides. Without them, you don't know where the threat is coming from, and you can't formulate how best to deal with it."

"You," she says in turn to the Archivist, "lack purpose without the Seer. You lack sanctity without the Huntress. Without them, archiving for its own sake is empty, and anyone may put your archives to the flame."

"You need each other. I saw the state you were in when the Archivist was stolen from you. When the Huntress was blind to the swarms, when the Seer tried to patch up the cracks by herself."

"You didn't succeed then," she says to the Seer. "Why were you so ready to throw her away again?"

[Miranda Weaver]

The Seer was silent for a long time. Finally, she spoke and her voice was quiet. "Because I believed that what I had seen could mean your death and the death of many others that we care about and I could not allow that to happen."

[Samantha McManus]

"You're not used to working with them. You lacked the Archivist, and the Huntress failed you."

"You still think you need to go it alone, don't you?"

[Miranda Weaver]

"I trust my own judgment. For good or ill. This time it was for ill. I acknowledge that."

[Samantha McManus]

"It will happen again if you don't trust them and let them help you."

"Just because you have operated alone doesn't mean you should."

[Miranda Weaver]

The Seer looked up enough to regard her counterparts. Slowly she unfolded her hands and reached out for the other two. The other two looked at the offered hands and then at each other.

[Samantha McManus]

"You have to understand, what was done to you is not something anyone could reasonably be expected to defend against. It took you apart, played against your weaknesses before you even knew you had them. They knew to unbalance you."

"Nobody blames you for that, but to have that done to you is one thing. To do it to yourself is another."

[Miranda Weaver]

"Then what should I do?" Her hands were still offered, but the Huntress and the Archivist were making no move to take them.

[Samantha McManus]

Samantha looks to the other two.

"Are you starting to understand why she feels this way? It doesn't excuse it, but you need to see why she felt she needed to do this."

[Miranda Weaver]

"Understanding is not forgiveness," the Archivist said. The Huntress nodded as the Archivist continued, "She is invested with the most will. I think we are both concerned what will happen should she go astray again. Since we are not her though, we lack the foresight to determine whether she will or not."

[Samantha McManus]

"Then what I'm hearing here is that you need to be willing to give ground," she says to the Seer.

[Miranda Weaver]

"Give ground how?" The Seer didn't seem unwilling, just apprehensive.

[Samantha McManus]

"It's hard for them to trust you if they feel they're at your mercy. Look at them, it's taking both of them to hold you in-check."

[Miranda Weaver]

"And I'm not even doing anything," the Seer said softly, the light of realization seeming to dawn slowly.

[Samantha McManus]

"So any agreement is contingent upon you keeping it. Your whim. You've shown that you can bowl either one of them over if you decide to."

"You're still holding on to the lion's share of power in this triumvirate."

[Miranda Weaver]

The Seer lifted her head enough to regard Sam. The desire to be whole warred quite plainly with her self-appointed mission of 'necessity'. The echo of being whole bounced through the other two causing them to regard the Seer curiously.

[Samantha McManus]

"Denying them the power to execute their duties because they failed you is a self-fulfilling prophecy."

[Miranda Weaver]

The Seer nodded as if she understood finally. She extended her hands again, actually leaning forward. "Sisters."

The others looked at the Seer, scrutinizing her. Then, without apparent reservation, they joined hands and reached for the Seer's. As their hands touched, the flow of power actually glowed as it bounced around between them, trying to find the proper places to settle.

[Samantha McManus]

"Just feel it out. You all know your duties and what's needed for them."

[Miranda Weaver]

As the power started to settle, pooling in each of the constructs in a more even fashion, the avatar block actually began to take shape, wings beginning to appear on its back, a long robe building from the ground. The power never actually stopped moving, though it did slow. Some of it seemed to be sliding back and forth between the three, never giving one too much, but bolstering each slightly almost 'as needed'. "Now the process can continue," all three said in unison.

[Samantha McManus]

"I'm glad. Being in conflict with yourself is something I know all too well."

[Miranda Weaver]

"Advice? You are far more experienced in this than we are."

[Samantha McManus]

"The best way to get better at this is to make sure you're always delegating. You're each better than the others at certain tasks, and if any one of you hits a wall, always turn to the others."

[Miranda Weaver]

"How do you handle folding three constructs into a single avatar?"

[Samantha McManus]

"Badb is taking, Nemain is giving, and Macha is knowing the difference."

"I make a circuit through all three anytime I interact with someone. I have my needs and wants, but so do those around me, and if I can't discern between those, then things get messy. In truth, my avatar can shift into any of them if needs dictate. I'm a very changeable person, and not just in a physical sense."

"I present a cohesive avatar, a single face to others because it's less confusing and gives less of an opening."

Her avatar seems to grow, and her head appears out of focus for a moment. A double, no triple-image that eventually resolves into three heads, one with sharp features and wild red hair, one closely resembling Sam but with black hair, and one with softer features and snowy white hair.

"But that's a construct in and of itself," they all say in unison. "That's not how I really am. It's just another sort of armor."

[Miranda Weaver]

"We could make some commentary on the prevalence of triune goddesses, but now doesn't seem to be the time," the Archivist commented. The avatar began to adjust, the wings becoming more defined with rippling colors. The robe flickered from black to white and back again, but it didn't feel like there was a disagreement, just feeling things out. "Perception, Evaluation, and Correlation," the Seer commented, "It isn't quite the same, but the point of the circuit is well made."

[Samantha McManus]

"You're my daughter. You come from me, but you don't have to be me."

[Miranda Weaver]

"Oh, we weren't considering going with three heads," the Seer said. "That would likely cause adverse reactions from some of the others," the Archivist added. The Huntress followed, "But your point about the circuit speaks towards finding balance. It may not function the same way, but it is instructive." A staff appeared in the avatar's hand, a small torch-like piece burning on top of it.

[Samantha McManus]

"Seems your plan is taking shape then, aye?"

[Miranda Weaver]

"Some specifics elude us," they said in unison, all frowning at the avatar.

[Samantha McManus]

"What's sticking, then?"