'Danger?'
Eder furrowed his brows and asked his youngest daughter again.
"What do you mean? Did you not see her go to the restroom?"
"Yeah," Sasha answered in her small voice then continued. "But I saw a big animal inside."
"What is it?"
"It's. It's big. It has fur. It's got big paws. It's a big animal. Baba, will they eat Nana?" She started to tremble as she asked. However before Eder could answer to calm her down, the door of the restroom clicked open and Latini got out.
"What's going on?" She asked as she stepped out of the bathroom, her face still wet from washing. Eder looked behind her and shouted.
"Stop!"
But Sasha saw it all and shrieked in fear. In the restroom, on the whole body mirror, a large beast with black and red fur is following her mother. Sasha started to breath rapidly and stretched her little arms towards her Nana but she passed out from too much anxiety.
The three people who are awake exchanged a look with each other and they could read worry on each others eyes.
"Vishanii." Tala muttered but Latini spoked up.
"Do you think we have a vishanii in the family?." She asked and caressed Sasha's struggling face. Oh, dear child!
"It's true! She's a vishanii!" Tala exclaimed, the look she gave Sasha was now of fear and she looked back at her father. "Baba, what should we do?"
Eder bit his lips as any lie he would say would be refuted by his mind-reading wife so he just sighed and carried Sasha who passed out on her chair to her room. While her brows furrowed earlier in fear, she now relaxed in her father's embrace and slept.
"We're supposed to talk about this when the full moon is over but it looks like we'll discuss it with you first and have another talk with your siblings the other time." Eder spoke.
They gathered in the living room and Latini opened the TV screen to show Sasha sleeping in her bed before she found herself a seat beside her husband. Tala drank some water as she felt her throat dry up. Eder waited until Tala was able to calmly sit down before he began.
"In Toradashi, once a torai begins to understand right and wrong, they undergo changes in their bodies that enable them to acquire or awaken a set of skill that will soon be their profession when they grow." He started and from the look Tala is giving him, she obviously knows this detail already so he continued.
"Depending on the set of skill that a torai can awaken or acquire, it will take long periods of training and experience to master it so moving on to another skill is not recommended but not impossible as well."
"A vishan or vishanii does not have any skill that they can use to defend themselves but they have one unique trait that makes them formidable, they see the beyond. Vishan and vishaniis are the masters of time. Some can see your past or even your future. Those that can see your true self are also called sons or daughters of the moon because they see all hidden things when the moon is out."
"Vishan and vishaniis are not born from any clan or tribe. They are their own tribe and clan. Once their eyes are awakened, they are taken in by the high priestess Jiini to nurture their talents and also to protect them since they have no other skills. That's why nobody knows where Time City is until this day. However, they make surprise visits on any place at their own appointed time when they need to convey a message. Majority of the clans and tribes in Toradashi place great respect to the viewers of time."
Tala grew even more curious at this point and she looked at her mother who remained silent on her seat.
"Then Sasha?"
"She's not a vishanii. We belong from the water clan and water can reflect things, including the truth. That's why when she looks at something that can reflect, that is a mirror, she's able to see our souls." Tala shook her head, unable to accept this simple explanation from her father.
"Baba, we are all from the water clan. None of us has that ability." She argued.
"Why? Have you seen her transform?" He asked sternly and Tala was startled.
"No. But," she wanted to dig further into the truth. She felt it, her father is not telling her the truth. However she felt her mother grip her hand.
"Tala, look at me." She said in a faint voice but it carried tremendous pressure on Tala that even when she struggled to look away, she's still forced to stare at her mother's now red eyes. Sensing what's about to happen, she gritted her teeth.
"Nana, no! Don't do this!"
"Tala..." Latini's voice trailed off and after a few minutes, Tala fell on her shoulders and they both collapsed.
"Mal! Tala!" Eder exclaimed and caught the two ladies before they dropped on the floor.
Tala is sweating profusely but she looks well while Latini had all her hair turn white and her skin so pale she looks almost translucent. She breathed faintly and opened her red eyes. With reason flying out of him quickly, Eder arched his palms and condensed a small light that started to flicker steadily. When Latini saw him making the light bigger and she grabbed his hands.
"Stop! I'm fine. Take her to her room. You need to conserve your energy." She managed to stop him before she lost consciousness.
Eder clenched his fists and after taking a few deep breaths, he tucked Tala in her room and brought his wife towards the wooden wall. He threw a fierce glare on the wall and it crumbled on its own. He ran inside with his wife in his arms.
The room is empty at the moment so he jumped towards the ceiling and pressed some buttons on it with familiarity. After he did so, a bed floated in the air and landed softly on the floor. He laid Latini down on the bed and pulled a drawer out. There are glass containers on this drawer as well but the number is smaller than the other drawer and it varies in colors. He picked up a container with a red colored hue on it and set it on top of the bed where Latini lay. Wisps of light entered her body and when her face regained its color, he finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Latini opened her eyes to see his worried face and she smiled weakly. She raised her hand to wipe the sweat that trickled down his face. Eder grabbed the hand holding his face and he gently squeezed it.
"Pick up the boys. I'll be fine here." She urged and after making sure she really is fine, he finally relented.
He came back with two frozen capsules and set them in the room. The capsules expanded and showed the cage where a wolf and a hawk were separately confined. Both animals were frozen like a statue in their cages but the faint light coming from each statue shows that they are still alive. After checking the condition of his wife and two sons, Eder sat crossed leg on one corner, regulated his breathing and closed his eyes.