No one is certain how far the WidePond spreads. Awakened Humanity is made up of millions of holdings and countless Ponds controlled by Families. And yet this is assumed to only be a fraction of the entirety.

  Some Ponds may simply be areas within the same galaxy, while others are confirmed to be far enough away that they could never be reached in an Awakened's lifetime, no matter their level. Others still must be in other universes or realms, reality itself is different in these Ponds. And that is ignoring how commonly the Pond in question is the third planet in a system of eight, possibly nine depending who you ask.

  ~ * ~

  Anya, she's here.

  Anya jerked upright, the mug in her hands rattling slightly in the process. Seb was heading down the hall to the Portal so she took a moment to give herself one last once over. Her head was still foggy, not a surprise considering she'd managed to spend the night on the Holding floor. Despite their intention to head back up into the house to get dinner they'd fallen asleep minutes after Phelann left. They'd both startled awake a half hour ago and somehow managed to make themselves presentable in time.

  "Coffee?" she offered as the two made their way over to her.

  "Coffee?" Phelann answered in confusion as she took her seat on the other side of the table. Anya saw her glance at their mugs and then reflexively sniff the air. "Oh, Kaf. Yes please."

  She could feel Seb's thoughts focus on Phelann's answer even as she poured a mug and slid it across the table.

  "You seemed surprised that Valene got here before you and that he had said helping us wasn't a punishment. Did you have to travel far to get here? Seer Fay-Lahn, right?"

  Seb! Anya sent with a frown, they'd both heard Valene introduce her as Feh-lan and here he was butchering-

  "How did you-?" Phelann asked in surprise, her mug not even to her lips yet.

  "Kaf, Kaffeh," he answered. "I knew someone who called it that before I Awakened. He lived on the other side of the world but I'm guessing you're from further away."

  "Yes" she answered after finally taking a sip. "Slightly further away than the other side of your world. But I trust your questions are not about my home."

  Seb..? Anya sent again, now even more confused.

  Valene said she could explain about the WidePond and non-Earth Holdings. Her calling it Kaf but not recognizing the word coffee would be weird if she was from Earth.

  But her name?

  Oh, he answered. Farsi or Persian if you prefer. Middle Eastern.

  Anya sighed into her mug. It made sense and she was glad he'd somehow made a connection, but also irritating when she knew that he couldn't have slept better than she did, she'd at least managed to use him as a pillow for part of the night. Turning her attention back to Phelann she waited for her to put the mug down before speaking.

  "No, we were not intending to pry into your life. We wouldn't mind some clarifications about Non-Earth Holdings and what the WidePond is, but that wasn't our priority. But should we call you-"

  "Feh-lan," Phelann interrupted then frowned for the briefest moment. "Sorry. Please just use the same pronunciation as Valene. It will avoid confusion since no one uses the proper pronunciation."

  "You don't correct them?" Seb asked.

  "I did at first, but when everyone consistently got it wrong it was easier."

  Seb nodded in understanding.

  "Makes sense, unfortunately. We have questions but we also hoped to find out what my Awakening Gifts are."

  "OverSeer Valene mentioned that among a few other points I can address after your questions," Phelann answered. "He also suggested I review yours Lady Lysanya, just to ensure the information you have is complete."

  Anya frowned and reached into her pocket, pulling out the list of her gifts that they had been handed as they left Holding Lys.

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  "I have this, but I'm not sure what it all means. 'Perfect Execution', 'Deep Bond' and 'Combat Education'. Not exactly explanations."

  Phelann smiled then gestured to her mug. "Not Kaf, but good enough to do business over. From those descriptions it probably would be worth investigating yours as well. It will ensure you are both have the same grounding to work from. Is there anything you want to ask about first?"

  Anya glanced at Seb at the hint of anxiety she felt coming from him.

  "What exactly does identifying our Gifts involve?" she asked.

  "I'll need to touch you. Unlike your Seneschal I can't do my work without physical contact."

  "Please, call me Seb, the title feels odd." Seb added.

  "Seb then. And Valene made sure to tell me what he thought the solution was. There should be no reason for concern." Phelann acknowledged. "As I was saying though, after making physical contact I simply focus on your energy flow until I get an impression of your gifts. Gifts are unique to the individual, however they also often follow similar patterns. This is not a science, we learn to identify patterns and trends to give our best guesses, but you will still need to discover the full details for yourself."

  Focus on energy, like I can for Husks? Seb sent.

  What-? It took Anya a moment to catch up to his meaning before answering. It sounds similar, which would be interesting in itself.

  "Do Seers have the ability to see the True Self under the Husk?" Seb asked.

  "Some do although it is quite rare for one of us to take that advancement outside of very specific career intentions. Why?"

  "I-" Seb paused with a glance at Anya before looking away sharply to finish. "I can do that if I focus on the Husk Energy patterns just right. Don't ask me to prove it."

  Anya took a moment to focus all her attention on her coffee, the caffeine finally starting to take effect. Thinking back to that moment in the coffee shop made her want to blush but she managed to keep from reacting for once.

  "He can. He was also able to show me how to interrupt a Husk's energy flow and break it."

  "I'm guessing these were some of the things you had questions about?" Phelann asked after a moment.

  "No," Anya admitted. "Or at least I hadn't. I think I'd made an effort to forget about that day."

  "Maybe we should focus on your gifts my Lady since you already have an initial idea, and then we can go on to Seb's."

  Anya nodded, stretching one hand across the table for Phelann to take. She felt a whisper of something once their hands touched. After nearly a minute Phelann pulled back with a nod.

  "Give me a moment," she added before draining her coffee.

  "The terms you were given for your Gifts are accurate enough that I will keep using them. I'll start with the second since I am both most and least certain about it."

  "Pair Bond skills are not unknown although they are quite rare. Yours does not seem to be the type that makes it easier to form multiple such bonds, a true gift when looking to form a large Diving group, instead it seems to be focused entirely on ensuring that you do form a bond and that it will be extremely solid, but also convey additional benefits beyond those that are well-known."

  Later Seb, she sent the moment she felt him start to react, grinning despite herself at his now predictable search for clarification. She did her best not to consider the implication of a solid bond being all but assured for the moment.

  "Perfect Execution and Combat Training are probably something you have experienced without ever realizing it ever since you fully Awakened. The first makes you significantly better at Energy manipulation based on your understanding of the pattern you are trying to create. I suspect it makes you less Energy efficient until you figure out your own Mastery of the technique though."

  "Combat Training on the other hand would apply to everything you do in combat against an opponent. You'll find it easier to learn while doing, to understand what you are being shown and even find ways to exploit flaws in their techniques."

  Anya blinked, considering the three Gifts. It actually explained more than a few things about her time spent training, in particular after she Awoke.

  "So I would have gone from being a fairly competent fighter to suddenly being able to overcome all the guards who were at my level and even the instructors once I got close?" she asked.

  "Assuming they kept themselves to appropriate speed and strength to allow for a fair fight? Yes."

  "And I'd have been able to use the few techniques they taught me almost instantly and with more power than they expected?"

  "Again, yes."

  Anya frowned, she had thought she was special, that her fighting ability and her Energy technique prowess were something about her. "So you mean it was never me, it was my Gifts?"

  She caught Phelann's eye as she asked, the Seer frowning and looking at her curiously. "Your Gifts are you. It is no different from being short, or tall, skinny or bulky. You have your Gifts and others have theirs. Would you feel it was less you if your gift let you know the exact temperature and state of food and it allowed you to be an excellent cook?"

  "No, but-"

  "Anya," Seb interrupted, his words echoing in her thoughts along with his belief in what he was saying. "You are talented, you are gifted. Your Gifts might help, but you still had to put the effort in, you still had to actually practice."

  She smiled even as she shook her head in disagreement, it wasn't the same, she'd always been-

  Anya! Stop.

  She looked over at Seb and glared. You don't get it.

  Maybe not, but I can feel you spiraling back to how you were in Court. They are wrong about you, they don't know you and never wanted to. So stop it or I'll tickle you again.

  You wouldn't dare, she countered even as she felt her mood break.

  Well it wouldn't be a fair spar right now. I guess we'd have to go True Selves.

  "Is something wrong?" Phelann asked and Anya realized they'd gotten caught up and forgotten she was present.

  "I apologize Seer. I was reminding my Seneschal that I am allowed to brood if I choose."

  "And I was reminding my Lady that I will do what is needed to keep her from brooding over the behaviour of others."

  Phelann shook her head at them both and held her hand out to Seb. "On your own time perhaps? Shall we see what your Gifts are Seb?"

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