The Great Druid Hunt (Jaela)

[Corwin]

"I've often wanted a twin!"

[Anastasia]

"Really?" Mirima remarks, "I hear it's not everything you'd imagine it would be."

[Corwin]

"I grew up around a bunch of other kids, so what's one more?" Jaela muses, shrugging. "Hey, twin me, what do you think? Would've been pretty fun growing up together?"

[Anastasia]

"Yeah," Jaela says, a sad smile. "What could have been with a different leaf of the tree. Maybe Mom would've stuck around then." She scowls, "But probably not. Maybe she would've taken us with her. Hey though, we'd have gotten in even more trouble with a partner."

[Corwin]

"Yeah she'd totally ditch us," Jaela readily agrees. "She's a great person but isn't much of a parent. Some people are just like that. I think we're better because of Mirajane, though, so at least it's not something that's passed in the family." Peering at the reflections, she asks, "Think you can come over to this side? My room's got plenty of space back in Aurora."

[Anastasia]

"If only I were real," The other Jaela says, "Just a reflection of what could be. There are times I don't really like ourselves. Many times. Couldn't ignore it after 21, though we never did anyway."

[Corwin]

"So you're Depressed Me?" Jaela tilts her head, eyeing Mirima's reflection speculatively, "How about you?"

[Anastasia]

Mirima stepped back, her reflection gone. "No, honest," Jalea replies.

[Corwin]

"Are you sure? Because I could easily say we haven't liked ourselves since Lifasa," Jaela points out. "We just ignore that most times and focus on things and people we like or the Crusade."

She taps her chin thoughtfully. "Maybe even that is wrong. I mean, sure, we sometimes feel sorry for ourselves, no one's perfect. But we really couldn't still be alive and badass and with a pretty girlfriend to boot if we didn't like ourselves more than the other way around."

[Anastasia]

Your clone smiles - this time it isn't sad at all. "Guess you really can't lie to yourself."

[Corwin]

Jaela snorts. "Lying's too troublesome to keep track of, not to mention pointless. Got any words of wisdom for me, Other Me? Something from a different viewpoint or perspective I haven't figured out consciously just yet?"

[Anastasia]

"What is a soul but everything you are?" She says, and with an impudent grin, "We have that sort of talk. Your soul is YOU. The soul is the seat of all your power. If you seek power, why aren't you looking there?"

[Corwin]

"At a guess, because I was born and raised a mortal," Jaela posits. "It must be a conceptual barrier of some kind. I just can't properly reconcile what I intellectually know and what I actually feel about souls." She shrugs, spreading her arms in a gesture of helplessness. "You know that I've gotten too good at emulating the celestial powers instead of gaining them innately. The tricks with projecting and manipulating light are only the latest magic I mastered. I'm not really sure how to interact with the soul directly, instead of through the medium of magic."

[Anastasia]

"Then," The image begins to fade, "Know yourself and know your soul. Talk and discover your answer."

[Corwin]

"Come on, a hint? A tiny hint?"