Faira inhaled as a skeletal hand sprouted from the floor, then looked to Rosaline as she made the connection between the two. Careful to keep most of her concentration on the shadow that succeeded in its purpose, she gave Rosaline a faint smile as the woman defended her, glad to have Rose on her side.

She turned a dark glare to Marianne, biting back an irate retort. [i]She [u]would[/u] think messing with me is “amusing.”[/i]

She shouted and took a couple frantic steps aside as a dragon barreled past. She gawked a moment at the animal that charged ahead in Alexandria’s place before Marianne threatened Rosaline. Faira held her breath, her glare returning to Marianne as she took a step to stand between the two women, but Marianne broke free of Rosaline’s skeletal hand and disappeared.

Before she could fully register what was going on, ghostly hands pulled the beast down into a portal, the various [i]whirrs[/i] and buzzes of its chosen weapons coming to a sudden halt as the portal disappeared, leaving the room in a short, almost stunned silence in the monster’s wake, only a portion of its shadow still lingering on the floor.

The silence lasted naught but a couple frantic beats of Faira’s heart before Marianne reappeared. She let her hands fall limp, and the shadow twitched then flickered from existence as she released her hold on it. She took a deep, shaky breath, and looked to Marianne’s feet, actively avoiding the woman’s gaze.

“Thanks,” she muttered, then looked to the others. “You guys okay?” She called as loudly as her voice would let her. She stepped to the side and glanced to Rosaline, trying to address everyone at once.