She couldn't help but feel he was mostly trying to convince himself rather than reassure her. That was fine; he needed her support, whether he wanted to admit it or not. There was no hiding her relief, however, when he insisted that he was himself. Yes, he had changed, but he was still Wesley. Still Wesley. "[color=coral]Of course you are,[/color]" She agreed with him immediately, smiling at him. "[color=coral]It was a bit of a shock, but...you're still you, even if under a different name. I just...I don't ever want you to think you can't come to me for anything. Admittedly, it hurt to think you couldn't trust me, even if it was, as you say, to avoid hurting me. We're a team, taking on our challenges together is what we should do. I don't look like it, but I can help you in any way I can. So don't ever think you have to take on anything yourself. Your burdens are my burdens. I know this because I know you wouldn't hesitate to help me if our roles were reversed.[/color]"

[hr]

[i][color=pink]Where am I?[/color]

She was certain this was a dream, but everything around her seemed...familiar. The pathway through the mines were thick with Mist, so much so that there were monsters around nearly every corner. They ignored her for the most part, outside of an occasional glance, she was certain that it was willing on their part. It was strange; sure there were more passive ones, but on the whole the many ghosts and undead types loved to fiend on humes. For the moment, she put that to the side as she walked, often stopping to examine what was left of the mines. It was dug out until a certain point where it seemed all digging had stopped rather abruptly, and the farther she wandered, the less hume presence there was.

She half expected to reach a dead end, but at the very least a natural pathway would continue. For a moment, she hesitated, taking note of the haphazard form of digging that had occurred, and the end of the path in sight. Despite there being nothing to the naked eye, she could feel the mist on her very skin. Something quite powerful was here. Whatever bindings had kept it there were long, long gone. And yet, despite all these warnings, she chose to continue.

[color=pink]This is...the Henne Mines?[/color] How did she know this place? She knew of it, but had never set foot in there. But she was certain of her location, certain that if she kept going she would find...what? What was it that she was looking for? Why did she find this so familiar? Was that possible? [color=pink]It is, and here should be...[/color]

Something was waiting deep within, at the very center of the room. She narrowed her eyes, though she was surprised to find what looked like a statue. As she neared, she realized it wasn't a statue, but instead a petrified monster. It was frozen in place, stone replacing flesh. It looked very much like a newborn serpent. She knew what this looked like, but how? This wasn't its true body here, it was as if it was a placeholder, something to trick the bindings into believing its location was where it remained.

This was a premature Zodiark, the true Esper.[/i]

Emiri awoke with a jolt, opening her eyes. No longer was she in the mines, though the unfamiliar bedroom certainly threw her for a loop. She let out a small sigh, her hand on her forehead, though she quickly realized her fever was gone. Finally! She let out a quiet cheer, stretching her arms above her head as she yawned. Boy, she really needed that nap! Not much time had passed, of this she was certain, though as she felt her ponytail come loose, she decided she should freshen up before doing anything else.

Yawning, she pulled on her clover hair tie, though something was off. It took a lot longer than it should have to get it to the end of her hair; her hand was practically at her waist. [color=pink][i]Huh?[/i][/color] She pulled her hair in front of her, noticing immediately its length. Normally, her hair hung at just below her shoulders, but now it easily swept her waist. [i][color=pink]What the--when did this happen!?[/color][/i] She panicked slightly, rushing to the bathroom. As she caught a glance in the mirror, she let out a cry of surprise. Her hair grew out! How? When? Is it possible she went into a coma? Was it like Wesley? Wait, no, what was wrong with her eyes? They were usually a darker shade of violet, but now they were super bright, clear, and definitely a more noticable color. 

She let out a wail, scrambling to get the mess of hair she had into a ponytail. How the hell did Nadeline manage so much hair?! What was going on? She fumbled with her hair tie, trying to get her hair better organized, though she hadn't seen the rug and slipped. She let out a cry as she fell, and braced herself for the fall. But it never came, and it took her a moment to realize she was frozen in suspension. What?! How?! Did she stop time? No, this was different, she stopped herself! How?! As the thought crossed her mind, she released herself and fell down. [color=pink][i]What is going on?![/i][/color] If she wasn't panicking before, she certainly was now.

[color=pink][i]Okay, breathe, breathe, this is probably normal...okay, no, this is not normal, but you have to get your head together![/i][/color] She tried to calm herself down, realizing she was a mess. [color=pink][i]Okay, do I go to Jaakuna? Wesley? Nadeline? Anyone? Oh, maybe Shion?[/i][/color] Who exactly could she go to that would know what was happening? She ran a hand through her extremely long hair, letting out a groan. [i][color=pink]First, get this mess into a proper ponytail, because I'm going to go crazy with this much swinging around,[/color][/i] She decided on admittedly the more trivial issue, opening a drawer and finding a hairbrush. 

[hr]

[i][color=darkorchid]If I knew what was wrong with me, do you really think I'd resort to charades or having Keiran speak for me?[/color][/i] Grant couldn't help but give Savayna an annoyed look. Nothing Nadeline had forced him to drink had succeeded, though he nearly did throw it all back up as he recalled the awful tastes they had. He was equally frustrated as he was at a loss for an explanation. Not to mention Savayna had a...difficult time trying to understand what he wanted to say. How ironic, considering that he was usually just plain moody and she was usually able to pick up on that much rather quickly. But now? Who knows.

[i][color=darkorchid]If I save up my mist from time to time, I'm pretty sure I can use Zeromus' voice, at least once in a while,[/color][/i] He considered the option, though if things persisted as such, it wasn't an option if a battle were to arise. What was once tedious was now turning plain cumbersome. He wished he could let out a scream, but nothing. He sighed, defeated. [i][color=darkorchid]This is torture.[/color][/i]

[i][color=purple]As long as you can endure, I'm sure it'll be temporary,[/color][/i] Zeromus would assure him.

Temporary could mean anything from hours to days to months to years. Grant hung his head, hopeless.