"We were complete badasses," Chloe agrees.

Jackie giggles. "Not that we really remember it all that well. Nice to meet you again, Honey."

"Yes, well, my life has been all sorts of complicated. I know what it's like to have a weird magic twin." She smiles at Valerie. "I'll get your orders and be right out."

While she heads off, the sisters collect at their little table. Jackie adjusts her hat - Val's sunny mood has translated into sunny skies. "So what sort of things do you do with magic?"

"We've barely had time," Arielle says. "I'm head and shoulders above most newbies. When I do with with my order, though, it's to fight evil."

"So cool," Chloe grins.

"We should talk about that, I guess. We have a responsibility to the others like us," Jacqueline says, sipping at her drink. "Are we going to have them all end up like us? Splitting in half and being incarnated as children?"

"It's a slow process, but it seems to work," Arielle murmurs. "Despite flaws. I struggled - still struggle - sometimes with being separate."

"Yeah, speaking of, what's the status on that?" Arielle asks.

"That's good - at least she's not a Banisher."

That, of course, sparks another topic, but as the day goes on Valerie finds it's become increasingly natural for her, as if these two had slotted into a place where they'd always been - which, of course, they had. They were kin even before their mother gave birth to them.

Just a few weeks ago, her family was Arielle and her dad, the latter dying of the same "illness" that was killing her. Now her mother is back - with all of the attendant complications - and two sisters. She used to feel lonely, but now she has all the company she needs.

(Complete Aspiration for it, may select new one.)

---------------------

Eventually, the girls go home and it's just her and Arielle sitting in her sister's car. The supportive spells have faded and she feels weak again, even if she's shown considerable regrowth so far. The sky rumbles in the distance, promising rain, and a few drops touch the roof of the van. Her mood is good, but she's felt funny lately. She's still angry after the experience at the verge, and her imprisonment on this world grates at her more than usual. She has to wonder if this isn't how Arielle feels all the time - the world feels so stultifying and stiff. Her will is the key to unlocking it, but every time she does it invites the darkness in.

It makes her want to lash out.

"We've gotta go see Lilith next," Arielle says, rapping her fingers against the dash. "Wonder if we can't just ask Mom to make an astral portal for us. Eh - that probably violates her whatever pact where she agrees to minimal interference. Still, we are kind of due for another lesson."

Normally Valerie is more conscientious, but she's struggled to give a damned what other people think lately where it intersects with her needs. Her patience has worn thin. Arielle doesn't need to be asked; she gets her phone out and dials.

"Hey Mom," she says, with a catch in her voice still. "I was wondering if it would be all right if we hitched a ride to Lilith's palace. And, uh - we never really got a chance to debrief after our fight with you, if you have time, and if it's okay? Okay. I'll see you soon. Love you, too."

-----------

Her mother's inner soul. It's hard to imagine exactly what that means, though as her knowledge of Prime increases it's become a bit less obscure. A simple Knowing spell reveals the truth of it, and gives her some perspective, even if it's still somewhat beyond her comprehension. The woman herself stands with the wind tugging at her as Valerie crutches her way in through the iris, with Arielle on her tail. The vast and beautiful ocean stretches away, and she knows if she scooped up some of that water and took it back, it would be just as real as anything.

"Good afternoon, girls. How was your day with Chloe and Jacqueline? I'll be seeing them soon, and - " She always has a little hitch at her husband's name. Her distance from him, how Lakshmi's moved into her place..." - and your father."

"It's going to be a while yet before everything is intact again, but I feel like I've made real progress, and I appreciate the two of you being open-minded about it for their sake." She gives Valerie's gait a sorrowful look, but she smooths her features and comes to embrace Arielle when she comes in for the hug. "You two were pretty great back at the verge. You're naturals at magic and at facing down the monsters who are trying to ruin it."

"You two are astoundingly aggressive in learning them - not that I should expect anything less from my girls. You've barely been Awakened and you're already racing for the edge of what's possible for mortals."

"Are you going to get in trouble for helping us?"

She smiles and waggles her hand. "A little, but I will consider it worth the price. I know how much you both long to see your real home again. Perhaps more importantly, I've managed to keep things pretty underwraps so far - though I have to warn you, you two have attracted attention from the Tetrarchs, those among us who serve the Exarchs and rule over the Seers in defiance of the Pax, and that's never good attention to have. So far, they mostly just think you're my pawns, but they'll start to put together just how unusually proficient the two of you are. If they realize you're Watchers... well, I'll be working very hard to dissuade them of that idea."

"Tragically, yes. Now, then, let's see - show me what you've learned since our last meeting."

Of note is Valerie's incomplete understanding of Space. This, thankfully, is one of the things her mother knows quite well, and she's able to round out the other practices for her. As usual, Valerie finds herself able to pick up the patterns of thought associated with them easily, until she has a good understanding of how to Compel and Know Space, certifying her as an Apprentice.

Once it's done, she meditates from her place and a symbol burns into the air, a tree ripe with fruit.

"While I could send you bodily into the Astral, I don't think that's a good idea for either of you at the moment. If you meditate on this sign, however, it will take your minds straight to the Palace of Prime and Forces."

"Because it isn't always safe even so, and if you get killed there before I can respond I can't help you, where as death this way just means I have to do a little extra work to bring you back. Interesting experience regardless - but why complicate things? It also makes it harder to get back."

Arielle sits cross-legged, brushing her very long hair back from her face, and settles her hands on her knees. It doesn't take a long time - seconds, really - to release themselves through the seal.

The shock of finding themselves on the shore of the astral open - within the archway of the Palace - is a little jarring. This eerie, empty place, the closest they've been to home since their Awakening. They can see the Abyss right before their eyes, lapping at reality.

Just like before, it's the Santa Cruz beach, an eerie echo of their time there.

The palace is as overwhelming as it was the first time - well, maybe marginally less so. After all, they've improved their grasp of the arcana since then, but even then it's still an edifice of symbols so pure they could almost be supernal.

The throne room is bigger, and Lilith is, if anything, even more painfully beautiful than the last time. Azrael watches from his own throne, a thunderhead of a man whose skin seems to almost split with latent force. Lilith shines with divine light, and she smiles knowingly as they approach. She can tell without having to be told that Valerie's had some "experiences" since their last visit, and the raw attraction is no longer all that surprising, but no less powerful.

"Ladies. So good to see you back - I see you've learned the truth of your mother."

Lilith of the flaming red hair, shimmering like fire as it dances across her tanned shoulders, a crown of thorns graced with subtle light resting upon her brow. She slides those perfect legs across the cracked marble of her throne and rises to her feet for the first time, stepping down off it and taking each of their hands in her perfect own. Her gift still burns within each of them - they haven't seen reason to use it yet - and so it is not quite so intense as before, but there's still an unquenchable flame in her grasp that makes Valerie shiver and lick her lips involuntarily as it sears through her body.

The gorgeous goddess, smirking with full knowledge of the power she wields, takes them with her like two lost children, through the maze of divine architecture and up, until they come to a place where a bed has manifested within the confines of the crumbling architecture, the rays of golden sunlight piercing bits of masonry and windows displaying nothing of the world outside, lost in solar rays. The bed is large, with four posts, black curtains, and dark sheets.

"Once it was that Araqiel and I would twist beneath these sheets, exchanging knowledge and pleasure alike, speaking with a language beyond the mere grunting of utterances. I have promised to tell you all that I know, and this is the best medium I have to exchange it in." She brushes Arielle's cheek with her hand and her lips with her own. "My serpent of life, your heart has grown stronger since last we spoke. You ache still, but you've learned resilience."

Arielle moans softly, almost falling forward, her hair swaying as she shakes her head.

Then Lilith is touching her and white fire scrambles Valerie's brain. "Serpent of matter, you have grown stronger of body, an outward sign of your inner self. You have always been the scaffold to your sister's might - now you have learned to develop your own strength of will as she learns to support herself."

She steps back, sliding her hands free, leaving them to choose as she sits on the edge of the bed, legs crossed just enough to hide the mysteries beneath her skirts, her shoulders rolled back to put her prodigious breasts on display in the confines of her top, and she smiles wickedly. "Will you come and claim your knowledge from me, Araqiel?"