Neicha did not remember walking back to her room. She was not certain if anyone spoke to her during those moments. She could recall the warmth of the midday sun on her skin, the soft breeze in her short hair, yet not if there had been any sound of birds. her hearing was muted, just the sound of her own heartbeat and a shrill distant whine that seemed to come from nowhere. 

She remembered shutting her door softly, with both hands, carefully as if the door was fragile. Then she had turned, placed her back to the solid surface and sank to the floor, pulling her knees up under her chin, looping her arms around her legs and latching her fingers together to keep from slipping further to the floor. 

The light in her room shifted, dimming. A knock at the door made her flinch but she did not move to answer it, did not respond to the calls. When someone tried to push the door open her weight kept it shut. She did not want to see anyone, did not want to explain. She did not want anything at all anymore. 

The knocking finally stopped, footsteps trailing away. This was better, to be alone with her absence of thoughts. She tried to remember what the Dekot had said as he read her tea leaves but the memory was too painful, like a shallow cut filled with salt. 

A click and thump followed by a sharp curse finally had her glance up from her scrutiny of the floor near her hooves. Hilaynia had pried her window open and was halfway through it, her legs kicking ungainly as she squirmed through a gap hardly large enough for her. She tumbled to the floor with a grunt of pain before dragging herself upright with a hand on the windowsill to brace herself. Her braids were in a tangle, a few flipped over her face, her dress had a tear along one side from hem to hip. 

"You could have just opened the door," Hilaynia told her with a huff. Neicha did not respond, only observed her. 

Hilaynia sighed, pushing her braids back behind her horns she stepped closer before sinking to a cross-legged seat next to her on the floor, leaving only a small gap of empty space between them. 

"The Dekot announced your name, you weren’t there so I came to get you," Hilaynia explained. Neicha felt herself wince and buried her face against her knees, that pain lancing through her chest again. She did not want to think, did not want to feel... she didn't want anything anymore. 

"Neicha," Hilaynia's tone was so soft but the word was like ice in Neicha's veins. It would be her name forever, her true name too awful to speak aloud, she would always be known as a child. 

"Little sister," Hilaynia tried again, "there is nothing to be ashamed of. It doesn’t matter what people call you."

Neicha shook her head against her knees, unwilling to meet her sister's eyes. 

"You’re going to be a healer, the Dekot made it sound like you might be on track to be the next Dekot, you'll get to study everything if you want. We both know that even a healer's education will leave you with plenty of time to do your own studying and helping Coremdel will be even easier now. Good things happened today."

Neicha shook her head again. 

"Don't give me that," Hilaynia chastised, "so your name didn't change, it doesn't matter. A name is not as important as a title, you’re the one who always told me that, remember?"

That was true, she had said that... perhaps she she had been wrong. 

"Little sister you cannot let this thing eat at you, you are amazing and smart and you will be the greatest healer of our age. Plus," Hilaynia said and Neicha could hear the smile in her tone now, "with how awful your bedside manner is it might help to have such an adorable name to keep people from taking offense."

Neicha peaked one eye over her knee to glare at Hilaynia. 

"There she is, my grumpy little genius. You know I’m right. how upset can the grandmas be when they get to call you Neicha? They'll be forced to smile while you reprimand them for their poor exercise habits. Children will giggle when you tell them they must eat less sweats," Hilaynia teased, tapping a finger against Neicha's shin. 

"Ugh," Neicha groaned with a roll of her eyes. 

"I asked the Dekot if he's ever heard of a time like this before. A person not getting an adult name," Hilaynia told her in a more conversational tone. "He said it's not unheard of but he hadn't experienced it in his lifetime, at least not with any of the nearby tribes. But I’m sure it’s not that strange."

"I have an adult name," Neicha finally said, her voice coming out horse. 

"Really? Then why..." Hilaynia tilted her head to the side, considering her with a thoughtful expression, "are you not allowed to use it?" she finally asked. 

"No," Neicha confirmed. 

"Neicha," Hilaynia said slowly, her full lips turning down at the corners, "did you have a vision?"

"Yes."

"Can you tell me about it?" she asked, trying and failing to hide her excitement. 

"...not all of it," Neicha mumbled, closing her eyes against her sister's sudden smile. 

"No, of course not. Not the name. But the rest? Or what you can? Please?" Hilaynia begged as she scooted a bit closer, her knee brushing against Neicha's shins. 

"...Okay.... okay," Neicha tried to gather the words to describe what she had experienced, tried find the nerve to speak it aloud. 

"You don't have to..." Hilaynia said after the silence between them went on long enough to become awkward. 

"I will... I just..." Neicha paused, a sudden constriction in her throat making it hard to speak. 

"Oh, little sister," Hilaynia breathed the words in a whisper as she leaned forward to wrap her arms around Neicha's stiff body. "Was it so terrible?"

"No," Neicha mumbled, voice further muffled by her knees and Hilaynia's shoulder. 

"Come now, let’s get you somewhere more comfortable, you can tell me in a bit," was all the warning Neicha got before Hilaynia was grabbing her arms and hauling her upright. Hilaynia was taller and overall larger than Neicha making fighting her seem pointless so Neicha let her guide her to the bed. 

"Just a moment," Hilaynia said, using one hand to steady Neicha as she grabbed the blanket with her other, pulling it from the bed before she pushed Niecha to sit down. She draped the blanket over her like a cape, pulling it up until it caught on her horns. 

"Stay put, I’ll be back in a few minutes. No laying down."

Neicha nodded but Hilaynia was already turning away, using the door to exit, she did not shut it behind her. Neicha let her mind go blank once more, forcing all thoughts away. In her meditative state she did not notice Hilaynia had returned until she grasped her hands, placing a warm mug between them. 

"This tastes much better than that syrup you had to drink this morning," Hilaynia told her. She grabbed the chair at the desk and dragged it over, Neicha assumed to sit in it but instead Hilaynia moved back to the desk, retrieving a plate piled high with pastries and a second mug, she set them on the chair then sank onto the bed next to her. 

"The other cup has wine, in case you want something stronger," Hilaynia told her, retrieving a cookie from the pile and biting it in half. 

"You'll get crumbs in my bed," Neicha observed. 

"So will you, eat something. I'll clean it up later," Hilaynia told her, jabbing a finger at the plate. 

Neicha did as instructed, selecting a small cake and nibbling at the edge. 

"Now tell me all about it. I even promise not to repeat a word of what you say, it will stay between us. But you cannot keep it to yourself, it will do no good locked up in that brain of yours."

Neicha did not argue that point, Hilaynia was likely correct in her assessment. Neicha had been known to obsess over things until she was able to share her thoughts... and often afterward as well. Yet it was only when she kept things to herself that her obsessions became dark and twisting things that made her want to hide in her bed for the rest of her days. 

"Okay," Neicha said one more time, she drank a sip of tea, it was sweet and heavily spiced. "Don't... just let me say it all before..." she glanced at Hilaynia who mimed sealing her lips. Neicha set the cake back on the plate gathering her sister's hand in her own and began to explain as best she could. 

Neicha realized her mug was long empty and set it next to the plate whose little cakes were beginning to look more appetizing. "You can talk now," she told her sister. 

Hilaynia squeezed her hand tight, as she had done throughout Neicha's story. "You were blessed, I’m sorry it came at a price. But that always seems to be the way of the Gods. A vision at the cost of keeping your name secret. Even if the name is as terrible as you say I don't for a second believe it speaks ill of you as a person. Sometimes a name is a warning for the bearer, not the world, since only you know it that’s probably why she told you to keep it to yourself. It is no one else’s business."

"That is a very optimistic interpretation of the events," Neicha said with smile. 

"Sure, but also it makes sense so don't pretend I’m wrong. You are a good person; a name does nothing to change that."

"I hope you are right."

"I am," Hilaynia said with complete confidence, "what do you make of the vision though? Its strikes me as strange and disjointed, I can't make much sense of its one way or another. Was anything significant to you?"

Neicha leaned to rest her head on Hilaynia's shoulder and sighed. "Not at all. I have no idea what any of it meant. Though it does make me want to study the lure blossom more."

"Yeah, I could see that," Hilaynia agrees, she leaned forward to grab the mug of wine and took a sip before offering it to Neicha who shook her head. "Suite yourself. oh," she gasped, gosling Neicha once more with the outburst, "did I tell you what I found at the festival today?"

"No..."

"You know how sometimes the Addachians trade with the closer tribes? They had a display of goods that were traded last year," Hilaynia awas explaining and Neicha started, glancing at the window. The moon was high and she realized it must be early morning, the new year had begun without her noticing. 

"Well," Hilaynia went on, "we went to take a look, me and Sadey and Coremdel; Ira was too busy pouting. And look what I found," Hilaynia dug in her pocket, the one that had not been ripped by her tumble through the window, and retrieved a small spool. 

"Thread?" Neicha asked, raising her hand to take the spool for examination, Hilaynia pulled it back, out of reach. 

"Yes, but also no. It is not for sewing, it is an Addatchian feed thread, it’s how they share their performances, their entertainment. I guess they use some machine to play it, the end of the thread gets pulled through the machine and it projects images and sounds as it runs the thread through."

"Did you get a machine too?" Neicha asked, doubtful. Machines were not exactly banned but they were not welcome, she found it hard to believe that Hilaynia would be able to obtain one. 

"No, but Coremdel had an idea, what if we made something that could play it. And by we, I mean you?"

Neicha felt herself laugh, the sound unexpected, "how? I have no idea how it works."

"You'll figure it out,” Hilaynia said with a shrug, her confidence in Neicha’s capabilities a given, “but it's fragile and if it is damaged it won't play right so be careful," Hilaynia warned before relinquishing the spool into Neicha's still proffered palm. "There, now you have a project to keep you busy until we get our mentors assigned. No more time for moping,"

"Hmm," Neicha ignored her in favor of studying the spool with its bright white thread, more a ribbon really, half a centimeter wide and flat, wound tightly around a wooden bobbin. 

"Did you get any more details about the machine they use?" she asked, pulling at the end of the thread to unravel it just enough to study it more closely. Hilaynia began a long-winded explanation that was entirely lacking any useful information but the sound of her voice was soothing so Neicha did not interrupt her. 

While Hilaynia spoke, Neicha stood to retrieve a notebook and quill, she settled back on the bed next to Hilaynia and began to outline her thoughts on the thread. Once she was sure she would not touching the foreign object again she let her free hand stray to the plate, nibbling at the cake she had abandoned. Her notes spiraled out, sketches filling the gaps on the page. She absently brushed a crumb from the page before reaching for another cake.