Canlanma Tales, Part 4 [Repost]
4:Discussion
Gen tosses the marble up into the air and watches it land in Karan’s hand. She gives him an annoyed glare and snatches the marble out of his hand. “You still have me curious about how this little world feels familiar to you.”
“And you have yet to tell me how you got that out of Ani’s possession.” Karan mutters as he fiddles with a strange piece of equipment with many mechanical legs and an oblong body. “I don’t even know where she went.”
“Today is the Day of Reconciliation. She is probably in Peponi.” Gen rolls her eyes at the thought of Animus as she would wander around one of her favorite cities.
“Oh, right. I should probably take care of that at some point myself.” Karan keeps his head toward his work. “You are still dodging my inquiry.”
Gen glances down at Karan’s mess of a creation. “What is that thing supposed to do?”
“Gen.”
“Fine. I got the marble when Ani finished her conversation with Hani. It fell out of her little bag she wears around her shoulder. I picked it up so I could study it.” Gen holds the marble up to his laboratory light to study it. There is so much water on this planet. How could people on this planet cope with so much water on it? She turns it gently in her fingers to study the little pieces of land and ice. Ice on the top and bottom, just like our world. And these pieces of land… they look familiar. Gen looks at a few of them. They almost remind me of the shape of our waters. “This planet really does look familiar.”
“Doesn’t it?” Karan smirks. “It really does look like… hold on.” Karan shoves his gadget aside and runs to his bookshelf. He scatters a few books onto the floor before finding a smaller book. He pulls it away from the back of the shelf and runs to the table. He flips it open to reveal a map.
“Ah, the lovely Canlanma.” Gen comments. She rests in an aura of peace and happiness at the map of her domain. All the cities labelled neatly on the parchment: Ludum, Caelum, Peponi, and Neraka. A few other places dot the map with scribblings of names: Acropolis and Starborn Isles. The map shows scattered circles as well in different colors. “I’m guessing you use this map often?”
Karan ignores the question and holds out his hand. Gen sighs and places the marble in his palm. Karan turns the marble over as he shifts his eyes between it and the map. “It is similar. Too similar.” Karan returns the marble to Gen. “If I was a commoner with no observation, I would say identical.”
Gen chuckles at the comment. “I wonder if this is a coincidence. I will have to bring it up to Ani at some point.” Gen pockets her newest curio. “Is the planet familiar to you because of its geography?”
Karan shakes his head. “No, no, it’s something else.” He puts away the map book and rearranges the books on their shelf. “I just have this strange sensation that I have been there before. Like, actually lived on that planet.”
“I see.” Gen drawls, unsure of how to respond to that. “Maybe you can ask Amethyst when she gets here. She could probably look at your history and tell you.”
Karran shutters at the mentioning of Amethyst. Gen notices it but doesn’t respond. She remembers past exchanges between Amethyst and Karan: short, emotionless, and scarring for at least one of them. She lets her mind wander over memories of the few exchanges she witnessed, and recalls gossip she overheard about them from the Royals in the Capital. Karan hears her giggle mindlessly and cannot help but growl at her. Gen snaps to the sound of the growl and frowns. “I know you do not like her. At some point, however, you need to learn to tolerate her like the rest of us do.”
Karan sighs in frustration. “Yeah, I know. I just…” He rubs his head and sits at a chair. “I just don’t understand her.”
“Does anyone but Ani understand her?” Gen retorts with a bit of a laugh. “It will take some time, but eventually you will come to tolerate and understand her like everyone else does.”
“Easy for you to say, Gen.” Karan mumbles. “You’re the Queen. You can get along with everyone.”
“Not everyone.” Gen’s mind conjures an image of a mafia in her mind before it evaporates into obscurity again. “Just enough people to get work done.”
“She’s supposed to meet us here, isn’t she?”
“At some point. Who knows where she finally went.”
“Well, I should prepare for the worst and hope for the best then.” Karan stands up and begins to clean up his lab.
Gen helps him where she can, then leaves him a small dinner and returns to her castle. He is a good friend. I would hate to see him so miserable about being around Amethyst. She returns to her paperwork and her meetings until sundown. As she begins her nightly routine to settle into some sort of sleep, the image of the mafia reappears in her head. Sirona, what are you showing me? The images fades a little slower this time and sends her into a ripple of shivers. Goddess Sirona, you are one of mysteries. Maybe in my sleep you will show me what you mean.