[hr][center][h3][b][u][Some Alley in ShieldTown][/u][/b][/h3][/center]
[center][A Druidquest / XianaEvermore Collaboration][/center][hr]

[b][color=#455420]”See what happens when we don’t listen?”[/color][/b] Her voice was closer to the ground now. She had crouched down, blocking Yue’s attempts to crawl away. [b][color=#455420]”Go ahead and take a breath for me. Nice and slow. Try and keep your eyes closed. I won’t touch, but it should be easy enough. Like breathin’. Just try and remember the sensation from before.”[/color][/b]

Yue froze, taking a few halting breaths. Right right right… a teleporting Mover she couldn’t look at. This was it! This was it. This was it… She [i]did[/i] warn us… her breath steadied after a minute, though she couldn’t force herself to uncoil the tension in her body. Yue tried to squash the primal fear twisting in her gut. Too many questions were ripping through her head.

[b][color=#CE2B95]"Okay!?!"[/color][/b] Was all that she managed to force out of her mouth.

[b][color=#455420]”Well not yet, but you look like you’re gettin’ there,”[/color][/b] the woman answered without missing a beat. [b][color=#455420]”How are your eyes feelin’?”[/color][/b]

[b][color=#CE2B95]"Like I’ve been staring into the sun, but it wasn’t there,"[/color][/b] grunted Yue.

A breezy chuckle followed her comment. [b][color=#455420]”That’s nice. I should write that one down.”[/color][/b] Gravel shifted in the alley as the woman made the stand. Yue felt a hand reach toward her, hesitate, and pull back. [b][color=#455420]”Think you can try closing your eyes yourself? It really is important.”[/color][/b] The woman snorted. [b][color=#455420]”Shocked they didn’t teach you that first, honestly,”[/color][/b] she muttered.

Was she talking about magic?? Goddammit what was it Archer was saying about how to tell… something about “blue moons” and being awake? All this cloak and dagger nonsense was making her head swim worse than it already was. Why wasn’t she paying attention for something so important?!

[b][color=#CE2B95]"I am… physically incapable of doing that,"[/color][/b] she ventured at a guess.

A click of a tongue. [b][color=#455420]”Is that a fact?”[/color][/b] The woman scoffed, footsteps moving away and coming back, moving away and coming back. The woman was saying something to herself, just above a breath. [b][color=#455420]”This was s’posed to be a quick thing…”[/color][/b]

[b][color=#455420]”Y’know what, let’s start smaller then,”[/color][/b] she said, addressing Yue once more. [b][color=#455420]”Try squinting for me. Like you’d do at the sun to keep it from burnin’ your baby burgundies.”[/color][/b]

[b][color=#CE2B95]"How ‘bout we start with introductions and… you know, like what you want from me? Since this was supposed to be so quick and all,"[/color][/b] Yue grumbled as she forced herself up to her knees without uncovering her eyes. [b][color=#CE2B95]"You seem to know an awful lot for someone I’ve never met."[/color][/b]

[b][color=#455420]”We have met, this is just the first time you’re conscious for it,”[/color][/b] the woman answered, apparently not concerned with what a terrifying comment that was. She paced away again, Scratching her head. [b][color=#455420]”Damn it, I had this whole thing planned out. It was- I was gonna be witty, and clever, and you were gonna find me just so, so charming. Ffffuck.”[/color][/b]

[b][i][color=#CE2B95]"CONCERNING?!"[/color][/i][/b]

[b][color=#455420]”Okay.”[/color][/b] She clapped her hands together, spinning back on her heel. [b][color=#455420]”This- well, you’re gonna think this is bullshit now, but I’m your… let’s say guardian angel, alright? Fairy godmother. I’m- I [i]was[/i] here to give you some sage wisdom, you know? Help you out and shit, before fucking off somewhere else until you got in trouble again.”[/color][/b] She let out a long sigh. 

[b][color=#455420]”You can call me… Well, this just sounds stupid now, but it would’ve killed if things had gone to plan, alright? You can just call me Devil God D for now. Don’t comment on it,”[/color][/b] she added hastily.

[b][color=#CE2B95]"I’m not-, this is-, you know what?"[/color][/b] Yue flustered with a sigh, finally relaxing the coiled tension in her body. Nobody was this awkward before they kidnapped or murdered someone. [b][color=#CE2B95]"I’ll humor it? Bestow upon me your sage wisdom whilst I squint upon thee, oh ‘Devil God D,’"[/color][/b] she said, with an air of defeat, tossing her hands up.

Yue let her palms down, careful not to look directly at ‘D’ and instead acted on an idea that had struck her- you know using her Aether threads to sew her astral eyes shut didn’t [i]sound[/i] like a terrifying, creepy, awful idea until just then. She decided to try squinting instead, as suggested, and managed to block out the worst of it. She still felt ridiculous, as she was [i]actually[/i] squinting at the woman.

A woman in a dark gray salary-man’s suit, tailored in places to keep it from being too baggy on her frame. Polished shoes, black leather gloves. Through squinted eyelids, burgundy hair and eyes met burgundy hair and eyes. D gazed at Yue for a long moment, a smile coming to her lips. When she spoke, Yue could hear it in her voice. 

[b][color=#455420]”You’re a good kid.”[/color][/b]

D did not continue for another short while after that, shifting her gaze to look down the other end of the alleyway for a moment. She rubbed at her wrist, like she was adjusting a watch that wasn’t there. 

[b][color=#455420]”How are you feeling, by the way?”[/color][/b] she asked, looking back in Yue’s direction. [b][color=#455420]”About the magic thing.”[/color][/b]

[b][color=#CE2B95]"Angry that it was kept from me for so long. Relieved that I’m not sick. Overwhelmed with all this new information and sensory overload. Like everything is better. Like everything is worse. Like I don’t understand the world, how it’s supposed to work or where I fit in anymore,"[/color][/b] she found herself admitting. She’d held most of this back from Archer.

D nodded sympathetically. [b][color=#455420]”Well, everyone’s gonna have their opinions on that,”[/color][/b] she stated simply. [b][color=#455420]”They’re all gonna have a favor, or an opinion, or a cause they want you to chime in on.”[/color][/b] She clicked her tongue, studying the tip of her shoe. 

[b][color=#455420]”That’s the one thing you can accept with absolute certainty movin’ forward, sister. Now you’re part of the world and so long as you stay in it, no one’s gonna let you just mind your business.”[/color][/b] She gave Yue an appraising look. [b][color=#455420]”Though I suppose that’ll be pretty familiar, yeah?”[/color][/b]

[b][color=#455420]”Beyond that… I mean really, your best bet would be to run while you can, but failing that, you’ll do fine so long as you keep a good grasp on who you are and who everyone else is.”[/color][/b]

[b][color=#CE2B95]"Tried running. I hit my head… fell a long way,"[/color][/b] she replied, gesturing to the mean scrape on her shoulder and the flecked cuts along her temple and nose. She knew that wasn’t what D meant, and couldn’t help the half-hearted smirk that flicked across her face. [b][color=#CE2B95]"Don’t think I can run from this, D. It’s everywhere I look, and I can’t close my eyes."[/color][/b] Yue sniffled and looked down into her lap, suddenly finding the dirt under her fingernails to be entirely transfixing.

[b][color=#455420]”You’re in Titan’s Fall, kiddo,”[/color][/b] D said gently. [b][color=#455420]”If you couldn’t close your eyes, they'd’ve burned outta your skull by now. More’n likely you used to do it without realizin’ and forgot how.”[/color][/b] She shook her head, glancing back down the alley. [b][color=#455420]”You’ll jus’ have to relearn to do it manually. It’s a practice thing is all.”[/color][/b]

[b][color=#455420]”You’re right though,”[/color][/b] she said after a moment, clicking her tongue. [b][color=#455420]”You won’t be able to run, not really. I was hopin’ I’d still be able to give you the option, but I guess I missed my window at some point.”[/color][/b]

[b][color=#455420]”I’m sorry about that.”[/color][/b]