Anni stumbled wearily along the path.  Night had swallowed them all--one for longer than the remaining.  She tried to shake the thought from her head; she had resolved to be strong about this.  She had to be.  Looking at the others, they were strong.  The dark soldier.  Mr. Bert carrying Stormy.  Ascot at the front.  Tabi in the back.  In the middle, Saffron and Kate--

Anni’s eyes caught those of the waitress.  The small girl’s emotions threatened to spill out once more.
[hr]
[i]Earlier...[/i]

At the warm touch of a hand on her shoulder, Anni’s breath caught in her throat.  She couldn’t raise her head to see who it was, but she welcomed the contact; as small as it was, it reminded her she wasn’t alone.

[color=fdc68a]"Let it all out, kid."[/color] Michael told her. [color=fdc68a]"Just know that we're here for you. It'll be alright."[/color]

So it was Mike.  Anni’s sobs began anew, this time unrestrained by attempts to push words to her lips.  In her head her pleading didn’t stop, but no longer was she able to frame it into coherent words or complete thoughts.  It was a jumble of emotion and imagery, but that was all she could offer anymore--and He knew what it all meant.

[color=DC143C]“ I always wondered why man cried for nothingness? Would they certainly think their tears would make the dead to re-live? Or would they hope the dead will know that they are crying for him? I really don't know the reason why.”[/color]

Another voice.  The scary person’s voice.  The ‘be wild’ voice.

[color=DC143C]“Then tell me, why do you cry? And what is this boredom and uncomfortable feelings called?”[/color]

Anni hadn’t words, nor the ability to express them.  Eyes still closed, Anni shook her bowed head side to side.

Another person came, crouching at her side and draping an arm across her shoulder.  Kate’s voice began to speak.  It, too, was shaky, but it attempted to be soothing.  [color=81fff0]”Anni, it’s okay.  You’re okay.  We’ll tell the Magician we can’t do this and have him send us back.”[/color]

An alarm blared in Anni’s head.  A horrible cold blossomed in her bosom, sending small shivers out along her body.  Her supplication stopped; but for the first time since arriving in Irriss, Anni understood her answer.

[color=81fff0]”Look, just take this cursed thing and throw it-”[/color] Kate continued, her hand reaching to the Semblance at Anni’s side.

Fire raced through every fiber of Anni’s being.  [color=ff4500]”NO!!!”[/color] she practically screamed, jumping away from the older girl.

Kate stared, dumbfounded.  Anni was surprised, too, but she lifted herself to stand tall.  Tear stains covered her entire face, and her eyes were still red and swollen; nevertheless, she stood with the majesty of a queen.  [color=ff4500]”No,”[/color] Anni repeated, her voice calmer but firm.  [color=ff4500]”It’s mine.  The mask is mine.  The choice is mine.  I understand it now.  All this time,”[/color]  Anni’s voice cracked and a strange smile turned up her lips.  [color=ff4500]”All this time, I’ve been asking.  Praying.  Trying to know what I was supposed to do.  From the moment Koda put his on.  And God never said yes.  And He never said no, not in all that time.  And I understand it now.  The choice is mine.  The mask is [i]mine[/i].  It’s mine.”[/color]

The young girl tugged her sleeve over her palm and began to wipe the tear stains from her cheeks.  [color=ff4500]”Koda is fine now.  It’s better he pass on than stay as that... that.  We’ll move on, too.  The Magician can send you back, but I’m staying.  I’m helping.”[/color]
[hr]
Kate turned away, looking first into the darkness, then at Saffron--anywhere but at Anni.  Anni turned away too.  It hurt, seeing her friend avoid her.  As she couldn’t look around, Anni focused her gaze downward.  She would just watch the path.  Check for potholes, or coins someone dropped, or interesting patches of grass.

“Hey, Anni!” Ascot called out, flying over to the girl. He glanced back at Ellard, then again to Anni--hesitating. “Anni,” he hovered beside her. The glow from his wings illuminated her face; she looked shaken, small… But determined. “You agree with me, then? About the masks?” Ascot blurted out, beaming down at her. He was glad to finally have someone with a similar thought. They needed these masks, they were [i]essential[/i]. 

His smile faltered. ‘[i]Have I ever really looked at her before?[/i]’ Ascot’s mind raced back to the time he asked her out, and his face turned a deep shade of red. He stole another glance at Ellard, then landed next to the girl. “...Are… Are you alright?” His wings folded neatly behind him. Ascot tucked a stray lock of hair behind his ear. He swallowed. “I know I was--...” He let his voice trail off, looking down at whatever she was looking for. “I’m here. Now.”

Anni turned her head just enough to peek at Ascot out the corner of her eye.  She smiled, barely.  He was acting a little more like the boy she knew from Lightbridge High.  Maybe his Semblance just… [i]pushed[/i] differently, and that was what made him act weird.  But if he could be normal… If he could, he wouldn’t become like Koda.  Right?

[color=ff4500]”No.”[/color]  It was the simple, honest answer.  [color=ff4500]”I’m not alright.  Not at all.”[/color]  She cut her voice off there as the emotions surged once again.  Moisture gathered in the corners of her eyes.  But she held it together.

Ambrosia pooled into his cupped hands, warm and sweet. Ascot looked at her with a soft and worried smile. “Here… Did you eat?” He offered the strange substance to her, practically putting it into her hands. “We have to keep our strength up. I know it’s hard, but our survival depends on it.” He could feel his feet lifting from the ground again, and he landed, clearing his throat. “Ah… What’s wrong?”

Where to even start with such a question.  A friend was upset with her, a man had died, she was still traveling with the one who had killed him, Stormy’s arm had to be reattached with magic, it was definitely a school night and she hadn’t finished the geometry homework and Mom would be frantic--nowhere in all her worries was there room for food.  She simply stared through the offered ration.

[color=ff4500]”This.  This is what’s wrong,”[/color]  Anni answered, taking out her mask to look at it once more.  The same narrow eyes; the same monstrous grin.  [color=ff4500]”I don’t know, I only…”[/color]  Her voice disappeared for a moment.  Then:  [color=ff4500]”Before you, um, tried to… to ask me out, earlier…”[/color]  Anni’s cheeks blushed slightly as she broached the subject.  She had to pause and suck in a deep breath.  [color=ff4500]”Before that, I was trying to ask you.  Do you… believe in God?”[/color]

Ascot raised his eyebrows. He looked down at the mask, brows furrowed. “God? I… I don’t understand.” He leaned back, looking straight up at the sky. The stars were different than they were in Lightbridge, than they were in [i]back home[/i]. He wondered if they had constellations here. Ascot scanned the night sky as they walked, letting a moment of silence pass between them. It was unusual; for the first time since he got his Semblance, Ascot felt small. He looked over at Anni and studied the way her cheeks flushed a rosy pink, the bright blue of her eyes. Her face was splotched red from crying. “Yes, I believe in God. Don’t you?” He grinned at her.

She simply nodded, her gaze following his out into the stars--and beyond.  [color=ff4500]”I pray a lot.  Especially when I need guidance.  And I thought, of course God would guide me this time.  This is a huge decision--bigger than presents or a job or even college.  But… He isn’t going to say.  If He told me to, I would put this on; or, if He said the opposite, I would drop it right here.  But He doesn’t.  He wants me to choose for myself.  And that scares me.”[/color]

The girl dared to sneak a peek back at her friend, still walking alongside her coworker.  Anni snapped her eyes quickly back to the heavens.  [color=ff4500]”I think… if I could help without it, I wouldn’t put this on.  I want to stay as me.  But I don’t believe being just human will be enough for… for whatever the Ghost Girl needs us to do.  Do I help?  Or do I stay human?”[/color] she asked rhetorically.  Only after the words were out did she realize the implication about those already wearing a Semblance--including Ascot.  [color=ff4500]”I mean-!  That is, um, you’re still-!”[/color] she flustered.

The boy sighed and scratched the back of his head. “It’s not about Ghost Girl, is it? She said we would face even worse if her world wasn’t saved… Isn’t that bigger than us?” Ascot tapped his chin thoughtfully, then looked back up at the night sky. “I don’t know either… It’s not my place to say,” he began slowly, as if chewing the words, “but you know what choice I made.” The wings on his back fluttered briefly, gesturing. He looked back to Anni. 

“If God wants you to choose, that must mean he’ll support whatever choice you make, right?” Ascot raised his pointer finger, speaking matter-of-factly. “No matter what you choose, it’s what he [i]wants[/i]. Your [i]free will[/i], your [i]agency[/i].” He reached out to put a hand on her shoulder, second guessed himself, and gave up. “But that comes at cost… You’ll do what’s best for the group… Won’t you?”

Anni spent some moments thinking that over.  Best for the group?  Her thoughts hadn’t been leaning that way; she had been wrapped up in which choice was [i]right[/i].  Which was best?  If both were right, then--

A flash of blue light lit the path ahead.  Startled out of her thoughts, Anni looked to the source.  A woman and… probably a man, though at a distance it wouldn’t be nice to assume.  Everyone seemed surprised by the sudden appearance of the pair; the two parties stared in a silent face-off for some moments before the woman with blue fire spoke.  This was the Magician.

His appearance was bizarre, yet oddly comforting to the small girl.  She wished she could see his face clearly.  Acting on that desire without realizing, Anni stepped tentatively forward as she listened to him speak.  His words confirmed her own fear:  that if she was to stay and [i]do[/i], she would need to wear the mask.  [i]’But why?  What is it that we have to do?’[/i] Anni wondered.  She wondered it so much that she began to open her mouth to ask exactly that.

The small girl pulled in a steadying breath.  [color=ff4500]”Um… What-?”[/color] she began faintly, almost bashfully.

Ascot flew over to the pair, his fists balled up in righteous anger. Without thinking, he let his words spill out, loudly blurting what he thought of the mysterious Magician. “Why are you brainwashing all those people?! How can we trust you?”