[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/MEEvh6i.png[/img][/center]
[hr][hr][sub][b]Location:[/b] Eye of the Beholder[/sub]
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Kira’s body recognized the object before her mind had the chance to catch up. 

A jolt of lighting shot straight through her body, then turned to ice inside her veins. 

Her eyes locked onto the gold coin, glinting faintly in the firelight. She didn’t need to look up to know exactly who had placed it there. The woman’s voice was sharp, steady, and all too familiar. 

Frozen, Kira stared at the coin.

Its edges were worn, marked with shallow divots on either side—evidence of the countless times it had been flipped between calloused fingers. A small crack split the top, thin and unmistakable

Not just any coin—[i]hers[/i]. 

It hit her like a fist to the chest, dragging the past to the surface. 

[quote][color=#9E0B0F]“Heads… or tails.”[/color]

Kira, only fifteen, trembled on all fours. 

She spat blood. Watched it stain snow. 

Her breathing came ragged and slow as she stared at the crimson splatters—some brand new, some hours old. Her hands had gone numb, buried beneath snow.

She squeezed her eyes shut and took a few deep breaths, trying to focus—to feel for a single thread of magic. Psychic magic, traced like fishing line through each and every mind.

She tried to picture the coin. Tried to picture the older man who stood before her—grizzled, angry, standing inches away with the coin in his hand, ready to deliver another steel-toed kick to the ribs. 

But her thoughts were scattered and frantic. Tears began to burn behind her eyes. 

She could sense nothing. No thread. No clarity. No thoughts. No image. 

The only tangible thing was the pain that lanced through her sides with every breath. The sting of the cold as it crept up her forearm. The warmth of the blood pooling inside her mouth.

Snow crunched. 

She’d taken too long—again. 

He was kneeling in front of her now. 

A hand tangled in her hair and yanked her upright. Her green eyes snapped open, staring back at dark, pitiless brown. 

[color=#9E0B0F]“Say it.”[/color] He commanded, a threat laced between the words. 

She had tried. She really had. 

Her gaze flicked to the hand holding the coin—his palm half-closed around it. She swallowed. His grip on her hair tightened, forcing her attention back to his face. 

[color=DC561E]“I..I–I–I…”[/color] The words choked in her throat. [color=DC561E]“I–I don’t—”[/color]

He let go and threw her head down again, disgusted. [color=#9E0B0F]“[b]Say it![/b]”[/color]

Snow grazed her cheeks before she managed to catch herself, shoulders shaking.  

[color=#9E0B0F]“Find the thread of magic [b]first[/b].”[/color] he growled, circling her like a predator. [color=#9E0B0F]“Follow it. Feel it. Let it guide you in. I’ve already seen the Goddess damn coin. Now find the opening—and [b][i]take[/i][/b] what you need.”[/color]

She clenched her teeth, blinking hard as she stifled a sob from escaping. 

When he stopped pacing, she lifted her eyes to him. Panic rose. She had seconds to get it right before—

[color=#DC561E]“Heads!”[/color] she blurted. 

Explosive, white-hot pain seared through her as a boot slammed into her ribs. 

She collapsed sideways into the snow. Her vision spun. The clouds overhead blurred. 

And then—black.[/quote]

A dish clattered nearby, and Kira blinked, dragging herself out of the memory. 

Her eyes were still fixed on the coin. Her jaw tense. One hand tightly gripped the bottle Sya had given her, the other curled into a fist in her lap beneath the table. 

She drew a slow, unsteady breath. 

Anger flickered briefly. She couldn’t remember the last time anything had caught her off guard in such a way—let alone shaken her. Her heart still wouldn’t slow, thudding hard against her chest like it didn’t belong to her. 

Candlelight flickered at the edges of her vision as she stared down at the artifact that shouldn’t be here.

And for the first time in a long time, Kira wasn’t sure if she wanted to run, lash out, or speak.

Then, finally, she looked up. 

[color=DC561E]“And you’re supposed to be in the capital, Cricket.”[/color]

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[sub][b]Interactions:[/b] Kat [@SpicyMeatball][/sub]