(Fair enough! I'd been trying to think of a name and finally came up with one.)
Shade looks equally confused. "I-"
She pauses. "I don't know, Saul. I really, truly don't."
I've got this. I think. she says to Farah.
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Farah didn't move, eyeing Saul carefully. Are you sure?
Yeah. I'm sure. Shade says.
"Saul, I literally don't even know you," she murmurs. "Or your brother. But there's knowledge-" she taps her head "-in here that I'm not sure why I have. It is most likely related to the mystery of whatever the hell I am."
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As Shade spoke, Farah took a small step out of the way, making sure to keep the light magic strong.
Saul took a deep breath. "I just want to find my brother. Can you tell if something is wrong with him? His… aura?"
Shade sighs and nods. "Yes, I can. I could before, in the forest. I doubt doubt doubt anything much has changed. The mass of energy was obviously old, so…"
She takes a deep breath, and lets it out. As she does so, the world is turned into incohate smoke as she witnesses what would be the most destructive event the planet has ever seen. She's tossed backwards like a doll, and the walls dissolve before she even hits them. Oh, shit… is all she thinks to Farah before she passes out.
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Farah lunged and managed to catch Shade before she made violent contact with the cave's stony floor. "Shade!" She cradled the girl in her lap and shook her gently. "Shade?!"
A second after Farah lunges after Shade, everything literally explodes. The walls, the floor, the roof. Shade wakes with a cry.
"WE NEED TO GO. NOW." she says forcefully, leaping to her feet and lifting Farah and Saul as easy as she would lift a kitten. She starts sprinting, and as she does do, she slips between worlds. She doesn't falter, going to nother world where they'd all be safe.
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Farah gasped as they changed to another world. "What the hell was that, Shade?" she demanded.
Tears streak Shade's face as she lets go of the faerie and the human. She shakes her head, incapable of speech.
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Farah gently grabbed Shade's shoulders. "Shade?" she asked in a much gentler tone.
I- I can't. Not now. I lost my forest. My life. I nearly lost you. Saul lost Theo. And I'm some sort of interdimensional being. No, I'm not fine. But I still have to be, if only for you. Shade says. She goes to a tree and scales it in the blink of an eye, wanting to be left alone for now.
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My darling, Farah replied while keeping her physical body on the ground. You don't have to pretend to be fine on my account. I promise you won't ever loose me, and no matter what kind of being you are… I'll still love you, Shade.
I- Shade starts, and then she breaks down entirely, sobbing silently.
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Farah gently rested her hand on the bark of the tree. It took Brucie only a few seconds to appear and materialize.
"What's going on?" the spirit whispered.
"I'm not quite sure. It's a mix of things. Could you talk to her for me?"
Brucie nodded. "Of course." She transformed into her aura and glided up to where Shade was before transforming again. "Hey, pumpkin," she greeted softly, holding out her arms for a hug.
Shade falls into Brucie's arms, her breaths coming in heaving gasps as she crys. She hlds onto Brucie as though she were her lifeline. Eventually, Shade manages to calm down, then falls asleep against Brucie.
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"Shh," Brucie whispered gently. "You're alright. I got you. I got you, pumpkin." She gently rubbed Shade's back to ease her into a calmer feeling.
Eventually, Shade wakes up with a slight headache, and realizes she'd fallen asleep… against Brucie. She quickly shifts.
"Hey, Brucie." she says, only a slight catch in her voice.
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"Hey pumpkin," Brucie said softly. "What's wrong? You can talk to me, you know." She smiled, creating dimples on her freckled cheeks.
Shade sighs, then pauses a moment to collect her thoughts, then blinks Farah up the tree.
"A lot is wrong, now. For one, the old world we knew is gone, and I can't bring it back." she says.
"Secondly, I- no, we lost the forest. Thirdly-" and now she pauses. "-thirdly, I nearly lost you, Farah. I got the chance to meet you, fall in love, and nearly lost you."
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"Shit!" Farah exclaimed when Shade summoned her. "I told you not to do that anymore…" She and Brucie listened intently, and it was Brucie who spoke first after Shade finished.
"Do you have any idea what happened to the old world? And how did you find this one?" she asked, tilting her head curiously.
Farah reached out and slipped her hand into Shade's.
It's quicker than climbing. And besides, we just passed through into another dimesnion, and you're worried about that? Shade snorts.
She sighs. "Saul's brother, Theo, went into auraic overload. I don't know why. I don't know how. As to how I found this one… I went through the Veil of Worlds. Except, I didn't, not really. More like I created my own door."
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Would you rather me throw up how many feet in the air? Don't answer that.
Brucie tilted her head even further, then straightened it and shook her head somewhat violently. "No, how could you have made your own door? And what was he doing in auraic overload… did someone…?" She trailed off her sentence, pursing her lips in thought.
Shade laughs slightly. What if I want to, though?
"I'm telling you the truth. Tell me, have you ever known me to speak normally, or lie about something like this?" she asks.
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Farah cracked a small smirk. Don't.
Brucie shook her head. "You're right. But something about this doesn't make sense, pumpkin… something had to have caused it. Auraic overloads don't just happen."
Shade smiles innocently.
"I know! That's what I'm trying to figure out. Whether someone is trying to kill the world, or… me." she snaps.
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Brucie snapped her fingers between Farah and Shade. "Focus, you two! I can hear everything you're saying." She arched her eyebrows. "Anyway, as you were saying, Shade, who would be trying to kill you?"
Shade laughs and shrugs. "Hell if I know. Maybe someone that has bad memories of whatever race I am?"
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"And what race are you?" Brucie murmured. "That's what we have to figure out."
"Again, hell if I know." Shade shrugs. A thought strikes her and she chuckles.
"There'll be hell anyways, actually." she murmurs.
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Farah blinked in confusion. "What do you mean, darling?" she asked.
