The arm, to Sasha’s wide-eyed surprise, shattered from the shot. The limb separated from its body, breaking apart at the elbow more than a person’s arm would when subjected to a mundane bullet; whatever effect it was her revolver had on the shadows, thinking of her strange power in terms of normal firearms was probably a mistake. The Rue fell back in silent agony and dissipated, Yiya dropping to the floor in a tangle heap now that the thing holding it up was gone. The old woman fell into a seat, unmoving and with her limbs bent into uncomfortable and worrying shapes.

She was hurt.

Sasha hurried to her side, revolver lowered but still clutched in a white-knuckle grip as her other hand hovered a few inches over Yiya’s body; wanting to help, to make sure she was okay, but having no idea how to do so. For a moment, she was worried that the old woman was dead, that her hesitation in not shooting the large, terrifying Rue immediately had meant she was too late, but then she saw the slow rise and fall of her chest; the signs of life, weak as they were.

Movement in the corner of her eye dragged her attention away from the woman and back down the train car. Someone else was here, a newcomer who she hadn’t seen on the platform, and behind her rose the same golden-tinged shadow; wounded, missing an arm, but still enough to make her breathe catch at the sight of it. The revolver rose, pointed now at the shadow’s face, but she couldn’t fire, not with the newcomer standing where she was, in the line of fire. If it attacked, she would fire immediately and risk the miss, but not yet.

But the Rue didn’t attack; it just stood there silently in the eerie way that Rue always did, movements that should have produced some kind of sound producing none at all. A facet of their limited existence in this world, or just of Sasha’s limited ability to perceive them. The newcomer spoke but the words were confusing at first, they made no sense on their own. [color=c4df9b]“Who are you… it is… speaking to you?”[/color]