The same isn't true about the wind.

[mage_see_mage_do]

Witches aren't troubled by the cold, but the same isn't true about the wind.
Temperance wasn't afraid of falling from her brand new cloudpine branch, but she might drop her books and that was nearly as bad. She decided to land until the weather quieted down.
Instead of quieting it down, the weather got worse, snow started falling and it was hard to navigate even with Faramund covering her with his wings.
Temperance didn't hear anything, just saw a glimpse of the thing, just enough for her brain to register the combination of snake and mirror and...
...then she found herself under warm sunlight, feeling a gentle breeze over her skin. Blinking away the sudden light and the melting snow in her eyes, she found herself surrounded by a green woodland that was too warm to be anywhere near she remembered being.
In short, Temperance and her daemon were very confused.

Comments

[whatamithinking]

After a few minutes, if Temperance is paying any attention to her surroundings, she may hear a pair of footsteps coming through the forest. They're not particularly boisterous, but neither are they taking any pains to hide their approach.

[mage_see_mage_do]

Temperance is paying attention her surroundings, noticing someone approach helps her regain some mental composure.

"Hello?" She asks turning to the direction the sound is coming "I am a bit... lost, could you help me?"

Absently, Temperance sits on her cloudpine, she lifts and hovers in the air a few feet above the ground a swan daemon on her shoulder.

[iamnotpolaris]

A pair of girls comes into view.

[whatamithinking]

"I don't know," one of them says thoughtfully. "You must be pretty lost. I don't think I've ever seen anyone like you before. You...singular? Plural? I can't tell if you're two people or one."

[mage_see_mage_do]

Temperance stares for a long moment, mouth agape, her daemon manages a very similar expression despite the swan beak.

once again she recollects herself.

"We are the same person," She says deciding not to add "off course" or "zombies!", this is a weird day.

Faramund whispers in her ear.

"Where are your daemons?" Temperance says repeating the question.

[iamnotpolaris]

"What's a daemon?"

[mage_see_mage_do]

Temperance is shocked again, but her first thought is "I never explained daemons before" which actually helps. It is almost exciting.

"Daemons is a soul," Temperance says "every person has one... except armoured bears. Yours are hidden?"

Tentatively she comes closer, floating in the air sitting in her cloudpine branch.

[whatamithinking]

"I...suppose you could say that. I'm not sure what you mean by everyone, though--I've never met someone with a split mind like yours before." She tilts her head for a moment. "Papa hasn't either. And we'd know, even if their other half," she gestures to the swan, "weren't present."

[iamnotpolaris]

"Also, what's with your clothes?"

[mage_see_mage_do]

Temperance did no expect being asked about clothes by a zombie, she is just a few feet away from the girls now, still hoovering in the air.

"Those are typical witch's clothes," Temperance says not even bothering looking down to her silks.

"What do you mean?" Temperance says to the other one "how do you know all this stuff?"

[whatamithinking]

"I'm a mutant telepath," she says. "Papa is too. I do try not to actually read peoples' minds without permission or a good reason, but I can hardly help noticing that the two of you are running different...threads? iterations? instances? of the same mind. Is witch the word for someone who's divided like you?"

[iamnotpolaris]

The other sister hops into the air, mimicking Temperance's position without actually having cloudpine under her. "So what can you do, besides flying?" she asks curiously. "If Edie wasn't so sure you weren't a mutant, I'd have guessed some kind of plant-based power, based on the tree branch."

[mage_see_mage_do]

"I am not sure what a mutant is..." Temperance says to the telepath "Witch is a species... look like female humans but can do magic, use cloudpine to fly," she gestures to her branch with her head "don't age and flying birds for daemons. Humans and Witches have daemons, every person has one. They are our souls."

She looks at the non-telepathic flying mutant "How are you doing that?"

[iamnotpolaris]

She rolls up one of her sleeves, showing bands of metal along her arm. "Magnetism. I haven't mastered floating without these, yet, but moving metal is the most trivial application there is." pause. "...I'm Emily, by the way, what's your name?"

[whatamithinking]

"A separate species, are you sure? There are some people who are saying that mutants are a separate species from humanity, but the genetic evidence doesn't really support that. Mutants have been public knowledge for almost two decades now, you must be from very far away indeed not to have heard of us. Especially since as I said neither Papa nor I has ever encountered someone with a mind like yours, and he's reasonably well traveled. Actually--do you mind if I use my telepathy, that would make this much simpler."

[mage_see_mage_do]

"I starting to think this is another planet," Temperance says "I am from Earth. Everyone knows about witches, they have been around since forever, and everyone knows about daemons on account of having them since birth. And my name is Temperance Lytess, but just Temperance will do."

[iamnotpolaris]

"This...is also Earth. Although if you really are from another planet it could just be that we both chose to name our planets after dirt."

[whatamithinking]

"I don't think so. If she's from another planet, why is her...daemon...a species native to our planet? The fact that she looks like a human I suppose I could accept as convergent evolution but two species that look just like species from our planet is a little hard to swallow."
"My name is Edie Xavier. I think Emily already mentioned my first name, but not our surname."

[mage_see_mage_do]

Temperance doesn't have anything against good manners, but she won't say a "pleased to meet you" when the situation is this weird.

"And you are speaking English," Temperance points out "unless you can translate stuff somehow, it wouldn't be the weirdest thing I have seen today. Your clothes look fairly normal for north america, this is the United States or Canada?"

She absently pets Faramund, who has been quiet this entire time.

[whatamithinking]

"I can, in fact translate stuff," Edie admits. "I can telepathically glean the meaning of something from someone's mind, even if I don't myself know the language. But I have to do that deliberately; it's not automatic, and I'm not doing it now. Besides which the sheer similarity of everything we've referenced which isn't glaringly bizarre is simply too overwhelming to be simply interplanetery convergent cultures. It's the United states. Westchester, New York, to be exact."

[mage_see_mage_do]

"I was in Canada, somewhere on the lower end of the Nunavut province," Temperance says "I was walking because the wind was too strong, then some weird creature jumped towards me and I was here," she pauses "this is even weird when I try to explain it. You mentioned something about telepathy?"

[whatamithinking]

"Yeah. If you let me, I can sort of...read your context? That's not a good phrase. Okay, here--
Temperance suddenly knows exactly what Edie means. She can work around Temperance's personal information to get a good understanding of the world Temperance is from. Things she wouldn't actively be thinking about, because it's too normal--the year, background context about daemons, any kind of cultural knowledge Temperance has. She can also, separately, acquire the circumstances for how exactly Temperance came to be here. The latter is even easier--she does something like it with her twin all the time. She won't do either without Temperance agreeing to it.
With the information comes the unfamiliar sensation of another mind touching her own, along with a fleeting impression that this is how Edie feels every time she's close enough to another person to observe their existence.

[mage_see_mage_do]

"Okay, just keep my mind in one piece" Temperance says "I use it everyday you know"

If Edie scans Temperance's mind she will see...

...A world very recognizable as Earth, but with clear differences. Three different intelligent species, humans, witches and the Panserbjørne, the former two are born with daemons - external souls that accompany them through their entire lives, settling around puberty into a form that represents themselves and shouldn't be touched - the three species haven't always lived in harmony, but they manage to co-exist today. History is remarkably similar with many names the same and the roles different. One remarkable difference is that Temperance is from the year 2015.

Edie can also see what Temperance knows about how she came to be here, but it isn't much.

[whatamithinking]

"...You're from thirty-five years in the future!"

[iamnotpolaris]

"Whoa, seriously?" There's a pause as Emily assimilates what of the infodump her sister chose to share with her. "Wow. ...You have gay marriage. Two men or two women can get married?"