They were delusional, utterly misguided, and so full of ego that they didn't even recognize it. She wondered how it was possible that they didn't feel it when Neviah felt it in the very bones of the universe and bleeding galaxies that coursed through her veins. Everything they thought they knew was wrong. A rich indigo gaze slanted upwards, watching as the clouds blotted out the sun, casting a moment of shade over a hot summer day, and the painfully deflated sigh that pushed from Neviah's lungs followed. They still weren't listening. The centuries separating them made her a sentient, idealistic, and nieve, so they claimed. Unchained to tradition, in Neviah's eyes, they were the ones blinded by ways so old, they had long since solidified leaving little room for change.<br/><br/>They were fools.<br/><br/>"We have lived for so very long, my dear sisters, weaving the threads of Fate for man and god alike. The old gods are dead, and we have watched their threads run bare be it under the guise of one name or another. Man calls us what they will, but we are nothing more than forces of nature...weaving our way throughout time immemorial," Grizelle was speaking, her voice heavy with wisdom and intelligence earned from being the eldest weaver.<br/><br/>"Without our hands, the threads of life would not only cease to be woven, Neviah, they would cease to exist. Humanity needs us if it is to flourish," Jimena continued. "Neither man nor god has ever known what is good for them. It is best if the tapestry is left to us. I'm sorry, sister, but he is no god, he has been destined to die."<br/><br/>Neviah's infinite stare fell then as the sun kissed her face, forcing her eyes to redirect where she drifted her focus between her sisters as her fingers combed the dark chestnut locks of her hair away from her face. Settling her sights on Jimena, her brows furrowed. "And why is that? Because you say so? Because we say so?" She questioned boldly. "You tell me our choices are for their own good, but forgive me, if I do not see things as you do. Go ahead and try, Jimena, we both know you will fail as you have every time before. I have not changed my mind. I will not let him die."<br/><br/>Jimena's eyes narrowed this time, a retort burning her tongue as her expression contorted into something that was dangerously close to a sneer. Neviah was right, the man would live as long as the youngest Fate willed it and the truth grinder at her nerves. Far more the decider than either Grizelle or Jimena, Neviah was the one who tied the knots of every feat, every milestone one ever hoped to achieve. It was through her tentative hands that they were delivered to glory or ruin, life or death. But for all her power, and all the millennia that separated them, it was only the last few decades that had truly forced a wedge between Neviah and her sisters.<br/><br/>The boy shouldn't have lived past seven, and had he perished as the Fates had designed,Jimena was sure they wouldn't be where they were now. Neviah had known reason once, she may have put up a fight from time to time to change the course of fate, but she had more often than not followed the guidance of her sisters. That had all changed with him however, and Jimena was resentful, but with Grizelle nearby, the middle sister kept her opinions to herself, save for the disgruntled growl that purred in her throat.<br/><br/>Neviah, paying no mind to her sister's noise of agitation, shook her head and sighed again, her gaze falling further to the earth at her feet as a worrisome frown shaped her lips. "Aren't you tired, sisters?" She murmured. "Is it so beyond belief that perhaps we have done more harm than good by using the world as our poppet? Look what we have to show for it." The palms of her hands lifted, presenting the world around them from their momentarily occupied corner of it, and when her royal blue eyes lifted too, the roll in them was rueful.<br/><br/>"This place is not a place of peace. It is not safe. It is not unified. And face it, chaos and hate are parasites we have never been able to exterminate no matter what history has taught us. Maybe it is time to realize that it is not for us to decide anymore. Maybe it's not even for gods to decide. Maybe the destiny of man is best left in the hands of man himself." Her long slender arms fell back to her sides, and she aligned her sights with Grizelle and Jimena once more. "Aren't you tired, sisters, of playing this game of chess amongst yourselves with their lives?"<br/><br/>***<br/><br/>It wasn't usual for her to get this close, but from where she sat, Neviah could smell the cool, fresh scent of his cologne as it was caught by the breeze and ushered towards her senses. It was a nice day for a lunch outside. The city humming with intentions as it carried on about its business around the quaint corner cafe. Jimena wasn't going to try and seize any moments, not today, not so soon after their confrontation, but Neviah had wondered here nevertheless to observe as she often did. Only this time, she didn't do so from afar.<br/><br/>His back was to her, but three tables from where she sat. If he sneezed, she'd feel the rippling butterfly effect of its force, just as she felt the draw towards him with every breath that inflated his lungs. Her sisters worried about their hands losing grip on the threads of life when what they should have been worried about was the end of life altogether. Without gods and men, the Fates were nothing. Stardust. Dark matter. There was reason Neviah had been insistent that he live. She had seen what happens if he didn't. He was humanity's only chance and perhaps Fate's as well. All that was left was for him to realize it.