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[hr][hr][center][color=a2d9ce]𝕊𝕖𝕡𝕥. 𝟛, 𝟚𝟘𝟚𝟘   / /   ℂ𝕣𝕚𝕞𝕖𝕟 ℂ𝕦𝕝𝕡𝕒𝕖 𝟙   / /   ℕ𝕠𝕣𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕟 𝕆𝕦𝕥𝕤𝕜𝕚𝕣𝕥𝕤   / /  𝟚𝟙𝟚𝟟[/color][/center][hr][hr]

As the sword came to a halting stop against the leg, Cal unfortunately did not. With a light [i]snap![/i] the flimsy sword broke in two, leaving her with a small stump of a blade. She shuffled back with the bird's movements as it frantically tried to find her, hissing with a curse behind her teeth. The blood on her side and face was still burning. Well, that was just [i]great[/i]. What now?

As if on cue, the quadruped lifted the leg she'd just attempted to sever, locking eyes with her after deducing how the blade ended up there. She grinned sheepishly, dropping her hand that still held the hilt and turning just enough so it couldn't see. She couldn't say why that seemed like the appropriate response, but it at least didn't impair her ability to jump out of the way when the beak came shooting towards her again. What was she supposed to take it down with now? If she tried punching it in the gut, she might punch straight through the hide. The trunk-like legs didn't seem to bleed, but that didn't mean the stomach wouldn't. What was she supposed to do to those legs without anything to cut with anyway? 

[i][color=a2d9ce]Think... think... there must be something else I can do. It's not invincible. I can kill it. I just have to--[/color][/i]

As she bent her legs to step out from under another pecking attack, her vision blurred into darkness for a moment. As it refocused, a high pitched ringing filled her ears. For a moment she wondered where she was. It seemed like she hadn't moved, and yet something felt off. Everything was frozen in time and, much like her dream, everything beyond a few feet of herself and the quadruped was shrouded in darkness. She straightened herself, disturbed by the distinct lack of alarm her movements carried as she calmly turned around to face her shadow. Besides herself, it was the only other thing that moved. It rippled violently on the ground like a puddle in an earthquake, but although her mind screamed in protest, she stepped forward, closed her eyes, and fell through. 

As she submerged, she emerged. She could feel her hair and clothing fall back into place just before she fell forward, catching herself on her hands and knees. What she felt beneath her skin was cool and wet like water-- the stillness of it only briefly interrupted by her trespassing. As she got back to her feet, she observed her new surroundings, but felt strangely at home. She belonged to this place. She had not belonged here before, but she did now.

Still, glassy water stretched out in all directions-- as far as the eye could see. Although she stood upon it, she knew this much to be true. It was an ocean. Writhing nebulae and twinkling stars in the dark sky above were captured perfectly within its vast, placid surface. A few feet in front of her, a disturbance in the water caught her eye. Ripples shrank inwards before rising-- a splash in reverse as a marble sized droplet rose out of the water. 

Hers.[i] 

[color=a2d9ce][i]Mine.[/i] 

That droplet belonged to [i]me.[/i] 

Distilled for [i]me.[/i] 

I stepped forward and extended my hand, stretching my bones until the tip of my index finger made contact. A white, tar-like substance raced across my skin with an unnatural warmth. I recoiled-- for the first time since I emerged from my shadow I felt an unsettling fear. The white enveloping my hand broke apart and floated upwards until I could no longer see it. I almost tried to turn back-- unwilling to accept this gift, though I knew that wasn't an option. I had to accept it. 

It was mine.[/color][/i] 

It was [i]hers.[/i]

Callan hesitated for a moment before, all at once, her arm shot out and grasped the droplet tightly in her palm. Across her knuckles, a chill passed as a black, tar-like substance began to form a mirroring fist and part of an arm. Though she found it terrifying, she kept her grip. Her amethyst eyes looked beyond the shadowy imitation arm-- reflecting a visual orchestra of writhing nebulae and twinkling stars.

Reality returned with a splash of red and an explosion of pain as the flesh of her outer thigh tore nearly to the bone. Her body jolted backwards before the descending beak could do anymore damage as it embedded itself into the ground before her. She cried out in pain, not sure whether to react to her leg or the growing agony in her side and face as the caustic blood suddenly seemed to be eating away at her more quickly. Her ears were still ringing and her vision was out of focus. She landed on her back, frantically trying to crawl backwards with only one question on her mind. She felt so weak.... [i]How?[/i]

Through flooded eyes, she saw something pass her as she fell. It was thin and black-- a shadow. [i]Her[/i] shadow. An [i]arm[/i] of her shadow, to be more exact. The arm dragged the shadow along the ground and it stretched as she backed away-- like a cape caught on a nail. It's razor sharp claws embedded themselves into the exposed throat of the bird head before it could pull it's beak from the earth for another peck. Blood, and a great deal of it, burst from the wound. It sizzled as it landed just inches in front of her feet.

The shadowy arm withdrew then. It slid back into her shadow, which snapped back into place. She felt her strength return instantly, though the wound in her leg remain. Unfortunately rapid regeneration wasn't a part of her repertoire.