The dark sea

[Thalia]

It took her a moment to spy him at the base of the arch, and her face lit up a bright smile when she did. It had worked! "Jon!"
There was something triumphant in the way she chorused his name. The echo bounced around again, and she liked the way the sound carved up the silence. Something about the enormous arch made her, not afraid exactly, but wary. Like watching eyes crawled all over her skin. It made her feel as though she ought to be on her best behaviour.

She didn't answer at first about the "other her," mostly because there was nothing to tell - and certainly nothing good. Now was the first time in weeks her Other had slept properly enough for Nimeda to slip into the dreamworld, and the sleep was deep; she could barely feel the tugs of her physical body. Jon had been her first thought for help with that problem, but it was to Calvin she had given her plea. Because Jon thought her Other had been afraid of him.

She tilted her head, considering. "Did you see her again? Is that why she's sleeping badly?"
There was no accusation in her tone, just curiosity, and she was soon distracted by his appraisal of Mara. Nimeda's smile warmed, brimmed full with satisfaction at having two of her favourite people together. Predictably, she answered in a round about way - or perhaps just gave the introduction most important to her. Names were such ephemeral things, after all. "This! This is an old friend."