"...passed down like Folk Songs, the Love lasts so... Long..."
There are ghosts in the Temple of Silence.
There are ghosts in the Temple of Silence, and you know this, because you've seen them, ever since you can remember.
You also know that no one else can see them; you know this, because you used to mention them to your elders, only to be scolded for lying and telling tales.
You stopped mentioning them pretty quickly, after that.
But that doesn't mean they aren't real.
They're real, because you can hear little feet running through the Temple halls, echoing off the stone walls, even though you're one of the youngest people still around.
They're real, because you can hear peals of laughter, bright and cheerful, even though no one really laughs here, not anymore.
They're real, because you catch glimpses of them out of the corner of your eye, a child with braids chasing another with snow-white hair.
And you know they're ghosts, because you've never seen a child with all white hair before.
"Sethos? Are you listening to me?"
You startle, quickly turning back to Bamoun from where you were staring off down the hall, the ghosts already long gone. "Huh? Oh, sorry, Grandfather; just... Thought I saw something, is all. I'm listening now, you were talking about remodeling the room of Gurabad texts, right?"
Bamoun nods in acceptance, already turning to continue your walk through the halls, but as you fall into step beside him, you can't help but think--
That, for a split second, you saw grief in his eyes.
And you wonder if, maybe, he can see the ghosts too.
"Master Cyno, can you braid my hair?"
You stare, perplexed; you've watched over Collei as a favor to Tighnari a handful of times now, but this is the first time she's ever requested anything of you.
But, she's looking up at you with big, hopeful eyes (that Tighnari will swear up and down she definitely didn't learn from him), and you can't bring yourself to deny such an earnest request.
"I've never braided hair before, but I suppose I could try."
And soon enough you find yourself, hairbrush and ties in hand, staring down at a bob of short green hair, somewhat at a loss on where to start.
So you start brushing, the one task you know well. And as one hand brushes, the other comes up to card through the forest colored strands, absentmindedly separating some out, just behind her left temple.
Soon you're separating and weaving, a small braid slowly coming to life without even realizing it. It's a little uneven, the sections not quite divided right, but it's far better than most first attempts.
And when you're most of the way through with that one, your other hand starts pulling together a matching braid on the right, until, eventually, you're staring down at two braids, wrapping across the crown of Collei's head, criss-crossing in the center, and continuing just a little further down on either side until they're tied off. They bounce as Collei moves.
Silently, you hand her a mirror. "Wow, Master Cyno! You're a natural! I'm gonna go show 'Nari!"
You watch her run towards the door, a blur of green, her violet eyes flashing as she turns back to wave at you--
--and yet, for a split second, you see someone else in her place, brown curls dipped in white bouncing, a pair of green, green eyes shining with mirth--
--but then, the moment ends, and all you see is Collei, bounding out the door.
And you're left staring down at your hands, and yet, not really seeing them at all.
She said you were a "natural", and you-- you desperately want to believe that.
Somewhere, in the back of your mind, somewhere within the emptiness that exists where you know, with absolute certainty, that your memories from before you were seven* years old should be...
...a cold feeling of knowing starts to grow.
Talent had nothing to do with it--your hands have braided hair before. Many times, in fact; enough to make it muscle memory, almost as easy as breathing--
--and you have no idea how you know that.
(And your hair's always been white... Hasn't it?)
*we don't have any canon ages for how old Sethos and Cyno are now, nor what age they were when the Ba Fragments were implanted and Cyrus left with Cyno, other than the photos of young Cyno from Cyrus, where he could be any age between 5-10ish. The number 7 was chosen for thematic parallels with the song
