[img=http://i.imgur.com/t9SKBzc.png]

Syed stepped aside, allowing Amy full view of her room, which had converted to blinding white emptiness. “Don’t worry, Amy. It’s not like you can run.” He stepped forward. She stepped back – hitting the balcony behind her. Shady figures crowded the ground floor, as if waiting for her to jump onto them, while the figures towards both her left and right were encroaching still. Syed, however, did not wait for another reaction before reaching forward and gripping her wrist. “You’ll be [i]fine!”[/i]

He flung her inside. As she passed him by, she caught sight of the red gem he was hiding behind his back, before flopping forward entirely – though not hitting the ground. Instead she was caught in safe and reassuring arms.

“Clericsis!” the savior gasped. “You need to be more careful! I mean, if I wasn’t here, you would have just…!”

Amy dropped to the floor. With a slight groan of pain she pushed herself up with her hands. A group of males from behind her pseudo-savior burst into a round of laughter, though they calmed down as one spoke up above the others. “Hey, hey, I have another joke. How many Amies does it take to change a light bulb?”

Amy yelped as she was suddenly thrown back – the jokester had approached her and knocked her onto her back by a shoe to her face. He put on a dopey grin. “None, because she’s [i]totally useless!”[/i]

Once again the white room filled with laughter. Amy backed away – she tried to back away – but she found her legs immobile. Numb? No, big and burly hands had broken from the ‘ground’ below and gripped tightly onto her thighs, forcing her legs in place.

---

[img=http://i.imgur.com/dO6vRyy.png]

As Trixie began chasing after the darkened figure, it turned around and began to flee. “Let’s play, Trixie!”

“Wait, wait, you just got back and now you’re running away again!? Oh come on, lemme at least hug you fi~rst!” Trixie pursued the figure further down the meadow, finally reaching its outskirts and diving into the forest that walled it. Heaps and heaps of trees cut off the distance between the two, and soon enough, Trixie had lost sight of who she was chasing. She slowed to a stop and began to wheeze. “Come back!”

Seconds later, the prankster found herself tackled to the ground. Upon landing on her stomach, she buried her face in the dirt beneath her, before plucking it back up and resting it on her hands, a mischievous smile on her face. The shadowy figure’s head leaned over to meet her eyes. “Got you!”

It removed itself from her body. When it noticed she wasn’t rising, the figure then knelt down and offered her a hand. She did not accept it. “Trixie?” The figure reached forward and brushed its fingers lovingly along her chin. “Trixie, you’re crying…”

“I was,” she hiccupped, looking away, “I was so scared that—that you… that we wouldn’t ever… Amy said that you…”

“Shhh, Trixie, it’s okay.” The figure helped sit Trixie up as it spoke, embracing her warmly once she was seated atop her knees. “I’m here. I’m here now. Shhh, it’s okay…”