11-10-2009, 10:43 PM
Every time Sophia was in the presence of Sage, her heart called out to her.
It was sort of pathetic, in a way. She knew that. Sage was more than old enough to take care of herself, to make her own decisions, but the healer still fell back into old habits by coddling her every time a word came out of her mouth. In fact, the girl had showed an impressive amount of independence just by showing up—she knew what the game entailed, even when everyone around her did not. There were still a few problems that lingered, like her stifling inability to deal with people, but Sophia knew that she definitely didn’t have to treat her like a child.
If anything, it was the healer who had become dependent.
As the pair split off from the group, Sophia shook her head and did her best to mask a sigh. She knew that this idea was a good one, and yet she found herself wanting to stay. Kaden had become her protector of sorts, that knight in shining armor that she never had, and walking away from him sent a shiver down her spine. It made her feel small, in a way, to put her complete and unwavering trust in him, and even smaller to feel almost afraid with him not around. Her faced reddened at the thought, and she couldn’t help but smirk—this was something that Kaden couldn’t know, lest it got to that ego of his.
She had to shake off her ponderings, as she had momentarily forgotten what she was doing. Sage took the lead, hesitant as she seemed, though she frequently looked back to make sure Sophia hadn’t trailed too far behind. Sophia looked past the girl, viewing the road up ahead. It was kind of a dreary sight, with the cracked pavement, the dim street lights, the dirt path and tall trees…
Sophia stopped. Something was wrong.
She turned around to make sure that she hadn’t lost about an hour of her life. Behind her, the city remained, but swiveling her head back around revealed a large forest. It reminded her of the puzzles she had put together as a child—she didn’t have the patience to do it right, so by forcing pieces together, she got a mash-up of images. Entire buildings ended abruptly, giving way to a more serene surrounding. It was even a different time of day—the city was in the dead of night, but the sun was just going down in the forest.
“Whoa, look at that!” Sophia cried out, her voice a mixture of delight and pure terror. Sage formed the word “wow” with her lips, though no sound actually came out. Sophia had to admit to herself that she had never visited Central City before, but she knew, somehow, that this wasn’t it. She had no idea where she was, nor did she stand much of a chance of finding out. With a shrug admitting defeat, the healer stepped onto the dirt of the path, making quick glances back at her companion as she went.
“Hurry up, Sage!” she teased, sticking her tongue out as she spotted her figure vaguely out of the corner of her eye. She chuckled and turned back around, only to see Sage standing a few feet ahead of her, eyeing her strangely.
“Wh-what?” her face reddened as she cleared her throat. “I-I’m walking ahead of you.”
Raising an eyebrow, the healer turned around again to figure out what she had seen. She gasped upon discovering that nothing stood behind her, just the ghostly sight of an abandoned city and the blurred edges of where the city and forest met. A gust ran by that made her shiver, causing her to cross her arms as she mulled over the various scenarios in her head. Scratching the back of her head, she turned to look back at Sage, who was waiting patiently for Sophia to get over whatever had vexed her.
“Hey, uh, Sage,” she said. “You, uh...have been hearing voices, right?”
“Y-yeah…” she looked around her, giving off a serious paranoid vibe. Her eyes widened as she picked apart the question in her head. “D-does that mean you’ve…you’re hearing them, too!?”
Another image flashed in her peripheral vision. It was there—she definitely saw it, but it was too brief and too…vague for her to know what it was. As soon as she glanced over, the vision was gone, replaced instead by a motionless tree and her own sense of embarrassment. The healer shook her head—she knew that without any sort of definable proof, there was no point in saying anything on the matter. “It’s nothing. Forget I brought it up.”
She smacked herself lightly and walked past the girl, who was understandably confused at the sudden outburst.
“Uh…um…” Sage stuttered, holding her head.
“Hm?” Sophia looked at Sage with concern, ignoring the large figure she saw out of the corner of her eye. She wasn’t going to fall for whatever was happening again. Blinking hard, she approached Sage and put a hand on her shoulder, who recoiled slightly. “Are you hearing things again?”
Sage looked down. “I…I must b-be…” She looked back up again with a heavy sigh. Her eyes drifted off of Sophia and widened. “B-bea…b-bear…”
“It’s okay,” Sophia was still in the process of trying to decipher exactly what Sage had said. Raising an eyebrow, she continued. “Wait, what was that last part?”
The figure to her side grew closer, and it took her until then to realize that it was slightly more…massive than the other ones had been. A loud growl made her actually turn to greet this figure with a glance, and the gaping maw of the bear gusted ghastly breath and sprayed saliva on her face. Sophia was too disgusted to be frightened initially—that void was filled by Sage nicely as she backed up quickly, shivering in fright as she mouthed a voiceless scream. Sophia followed suit soon enough, though she was too afraid to make any sudden movements.
“Nice bear…” she breathed. “Sweet…little…bear…”
It was sort of pathetic, in a way. She knew that. Sage was more than old enough to take care of herself, to make her own decisions, but the healer still fell back into old habits by coddling her every time a word came out of her mouth. In fact, the girl had showed an impressive amount of independence just by showing up—she knew what the game entailed, even when everyone around her did not. There were still a few problems that lingered, like her stifling inability to deal with people, but Sophia knew that she definitely didn’t have to treat her like a child.
If anything, it was the healer who had become dependent.
As the pair split off from the group, Sophia shook her head and did her best to mask a sigh. She knew that this idea was a good one, and yet she found herself wanting to stay. Kaden had become her protector of sorts, that knight in shining armor that she never had, and walking away from him sent a shiver down her spine. It made her feel small, in a way, to put her complete and unwavering trust in him, and even smaller to feel almost afraid with him not around. Her faced reddened at the thought, and she couldn’t help but smirk—this was something that Kaden couldn’t know, lest it got to that ego of his.
She had to shake off her ponderings, as she had momentarily forgotten what she was doing. Sage took the lead, hesitant as she seemed, though she frequently looked back to make sure Sophia hadn’t trailed too far behind. Sophia looked past the girl, viewing the road up ahead. It was kind of a dreary sight, with the cracked pavement, the dim street lights, the dirt path and tall trees…
Sophia stopped. Something was wrong.
She turned around to make sure that she hadn’t lost about an hour of her life. Behind her, the city remained, but swiveling her head back around revealed a large forest. It reminded her of the puzzles she had put together as a child—she didn’t have the patience to do it right, so by forcing pieces together, she got a mash-up of images. Entire buildings ended abruptly, giving way to a more serene surrounding. It was even a different time of day—the city was in the dead of night, but the sun was just going down in the forest.
“Whoa, look at that!” Sophia cried out, her voice a mixture of delight and pure terror. Sage formed the word “wow” with her lips, though no sound actually came out. Sophia had to admit to herself that she had never visited Central City before, but she knew, somehow, that this wasn’t it. She had no idea where she was, nor did she stand much of a chance of finding out. With a shrug admitting defeat, the healer stepped onto the dirt of the path, making quick glances back at her companion as she went.
“Hurry up, Sage!” she teased, sticking her tongue out as she spotted her figure vaguely out of the corner of her eye. She chuckled and turned back around, only to see Sage standing a few feet ahead of her, eyeing her strangely.
“Wh-what?” her face reddened as she cleared her throat. “I-I’m walking ahead of you.”
Raising an eyebrow, the healer turned around again to figure out what she had seen. She gasped upon discovering that nothing stood behind her, just the ghostly sight of an abandoned city and the blurred edges of where the city and forest met. A gust ran by that made her shiver, causing her to cross her arms as she mulled over the various scenarios in her head. Scratching the back of her head, she turned to look back at Sage, who was waiting patiently for Sophia to get over whatever had vexed her.
“Hey, uh, Sage,” she said. “You, uh...have been hearing voices, right?”
“Y-yeah…” she looked around her, giving off a serious paranoid vibe. Her eyes widened as she picked apart the question in her head. “D-does that mean you’ve…you’re hearing them, too!?”
Another image flashed in her peripheral vision. It was there—she definitely saw it, but it was too brief and too…vague for her to know what it was. As soon as she glanced over, the vision was gone, replaced instead by a motionless tree and her own sense of embarrassment. The healer shook her head—she knew that without any sort of definable proof, there was no point in saying anything on the matter. “It’s nothing. Forget I brought it up.”
She smacked herself lightly and walked past the girl, who was understandably confused at the sudden outburst.
“Uh…um…” Sage stuttered, holding her head.
“Hm?” Sophia looked at Sage with concern, ignoring the large figure she saw out of the corner of her eye. She wasn’t going to fall for whatever was happening again. Blinking hard, she approached Sage and put a hand on her shoulder, who recoiled slightly. “Are you hearing things again?”
Sage looked down. “I…I must b-be…” She looked back up again with a heavy sigh. Her eyes drifted off of Sophia and widened. “B-bea…b-bear…”
“It’s okay,” Sophia was still in the process of trying to decipher exactly what Sage had said. Raising an eyebrow, she continued. “Wait, what was that last part?”
The figure to her side grew closer, and it took her until then to realize that it was slightly more…massive than the other ones had been. A loud growl made her actually turn to greet this figure with a glance, and the gaping maw of the bear gusted ghastly breath and sprayed saliva on her face. Sophia was too disgusted to be frightened initially—that void was filled by Sage nicely as she backed up quickly, shivering in fright as she mouthed a voiceless scream. Sophia followed suit soon enough, though she was too afraid to make any sudden movements.
“Nice bear…” she breathed. “Sweet…little…bear…”