Pool of Reflection

Varos, Maple, and Katholes were surprised to learn that Cailu was part of the Caregivers, who, in turn, were somehow related to the Matriarch herself. It had been a half-formed thought in Katholes' mind for a while by this point, though they had written it off as a manifestation of still dealing with their past. Mistrust and wariness had been their second nature for a while—necessary before—but now that seemed like a distant memory. Still, being surprised like this, even if it didn’t turn out to be to the party’s detriment, wasn’t something Katholes was too keen about.

“I don’t mean to sound mean-spirited, but why only tell us now?” said the dark crimson-colored puller, not expecting an answer as they looked up at Cailu, who was simply smiling down at them. Their intuition was correct, and so Katholes turned to his two friends, Maple and Varos, to see what they thought of the situation, but both seemed to be okay with the revelation, so Katholes decided to drop it for now and simply observe his friends.

“As I was saying—" spoke Cailu, their kind voice, now due to their status and what was on the line, seeming to command more respect, even if nothing in Cailu's tone directly hinted at that. "I’ve been watching your progress for a while now. And you have traveled at my side into the depths of Vitalus, you have met all the different clans and seen our way of life. Now we must be sure that you are the good Reoseans I’ve come to know you as before your final stop on this journey."

Maple raised a quizzical eyebrow but nodded along to show that she was listening. Katholes, noticing Varos' growing uncertainty, nudged him carefully, to which the chaser’s face lit up.

“There is a little ritual we have down here,” said Cailu, continuing, pointing over his shoulder toward a cave mouth. At the end of it, something glimmered. The handmaids, the personal carers of the Matriarch, rimmed the sides of the room, smiling lightly as Cailu informed the trio of friends what awaited them. "What we seek is simple, really: true empathy and self-awareness. For this very reason, we have the Pool of Reflection in the midst of our sacred sanctuary. You will all enter the pool and may obtain an audience with the Matriarch if you show genuine kindness to your reflection and accept your very essence—flaws, strengths, regrets, everything."

A palpable pause followed. Katholes could feel their friends' eyes staring at them, clearly knowing that this task was going to be much harder for them than for the others. Varos' tail swished from side to side, uncertainty coloring his features. It all sounded too easy. They had come all this way just to swim in a pool? No—there had to be a catch somewhere, or some deeper meaning to the Haedian’s words that they weren’t realizing. Varos knew this, and it was putting him on edge.

Maple, however, seemed almost naively and blissfully ignorant of her friends' rising concern. Her thoughts were circling around what this pool would look like and whether Katholes could make peace with themselves. Traveling through Vitalus had certainly helped the puller open up, relax, and find joy again, but she wasn’t sure how much of a mirage this vacation had been for Katholes.

The latter finally spoke after Cailu finished. "I say we should get going. The sooner we get to this pool, the sooner we can see the Matriarch." Cailu smiled at Katholes, nodding before allowing the handmaids to lead the trio deeper into their territory.

Finding themselves in a crystal-laden cavern with the clearest water any of them had ever seen inside it, Maple was starstruck by the way the crystals shimmered like the night sky, recalling their time at the Watchers Clan. "It’s so pretty," remarked the Tyrian, just barely stopping herself from plunging headfirst into the pool.

Varos looked down at the water’s edge curiously before glancing back at Katholes, who, while also looking out at the water, was hesitating. "I think—" started the small chaser, "we should all head in at the same time. Maybe it’s like how it was with the Tranquil Clan, and we just need to meditate?" Varos suggested, trying to get Katholes to relax by cracking a joke, as the small chaser knew how much Katholes loved meditation.

“Ugh,” was the expected response before Katholes stepped into the pool. Varos followed closely behind, while Maple waited for her friends to get comfortable in the pool first before she got in. The water felt fizzy as the Reoseans stepped in, tiny air bubbles travelling up their extremities and their body to reach the waters surface, Varos due to his smaller legs was the first to try and paddle before noticing that there was no need for it.

"It’s very peaceful," noted the Tyrian, who was now wading in the surprisingly comfortably warm pool. Due to its high salt content, all three of them easily floated on the surface of the water without needing to paddle to stay afloat.

The silence felt deafening to Katholes and not a lot of things could have changed that. They rarely liked being left alone with their thoughts, nor having the quiet and time to deal with them. Yet, there was comfort in the fact that Katholes wasn’t alone. If they closed their eyes and focused their mind on it, they could feel their friends moving the water as they repositioned themselves, idly drifting within the cavern’s pool. The gently glimmering crystals that made up the walls of this cavern felt soothing to observe, clearly this pool was doing its best to try and relax the trio, yet Katholes was still too wraped up in past happenings to fully allow the pool to work its magic.

While Katholes was in deep thought, trying their best to sort through their memories and work through emotions as they came up, Varos and Maple found themselves so thoroughly and completely relaxed that they were beginning to drift off to sleep—or were they? They were still very much aware of their surroundings, even if their eyes were closed, yet they couldn’t move a muscle. It felt almost as if they had stepped outside of their bodies and were observing themselves drifting in the pool now, their body was weightless, any aches such a long journey would have brought with it, gone as if they had never even been there. It was an off-putting sensation of pure disconnect from their bodies, as memories were ushered out of them, replaying on the water’s surface—a sensation Katholes wouldn’t have to experience for a while to come still.